ClassCast Podcast Ep.066 features Dr. Casey Jakubowski, a professor, author, and teacher from upstate New York sharing his views on education in the United States, our need for greater civic education and engagement, as well as how we can "#ChangeTheNarrative" about our school system's successes and failures. Casey has worked in K12 and higher ed., in humanities and STEM, in the classroom and in leadership roles. Through his long and varied career, he has gained unique perspectives on what our schools do, how they function, and what we can do to improve how we serve students and communities. From standardized testing to specialization, from civics to community influences, we cover it all. Casey also shares a heartfelt story of family, loss, and students rising to the occasion and making change in the world.  You can contact Casey on Twitter and LinkedIn or leave a comment below if you want to continue the conversation.

Table of Contents (*highlights)

1. 0:00-4:29 -- Intro to Casey Jakubowski
2. 4:29-12:43 -- The Purpose of School According to Casey (#ChangeTheNarrative) **
3. 12:43-15:23 -- "Defunding" Schools
4. 15:23-33:37 -- Casey's Ideal School & How to Get There *
5. 33:37-44:34 -- Standardized Testing, Opportunity Data, & "Learning Loss" *
6. 44:34-54:43 -- Humanities, STEM, & Real Human Stories
7. 54:43-1:02:17 -- How Politics Limits Schools *
8. 1:02:17-1:11:01 -- Book/Movie Recs & Wrap-Up

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The ClassCast Podcast streams on all major platforms, including iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Stitcher, and more.  You can also find us on YouTube and at www.ClassCastPodcast.com.  Be sure to like, subscribe, follow, share, and comment wherever you listen.  Leave a comment below to let us know what you think of the discussion and if you have any questions!

Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)! If every listener made a one-time donation of $2-3, the podcast would be funded for the year! 

ClassCast Podcast Ep.064 features host Ryan Tibbens sharing his thoughts on school choice while concluding a five episode mini-series on school choice. After engaging, informative discussions with Citizen Stewart (pro-school choice), Jennifer Berkshire (pro-public school), Neal McCluskey (pro-school choice, and Jon Hale (pro-public school), Tibbens tries to connect the dots, share the learning, and make meaningful predictions about the future of school in the United States. Over half the episode focuses on the positive aspects of school choice -- freedom, specialization, individuality, and more -- but in the final 20 minutes, Tibbens explores the potential problems, including decreased community control, monopolies, reduced quality, and -- most importantly -- the abolition of publicly funded education. Whether you are pro-choice or pro-public schools, this episode includes a synthesis of ideas that is sure to make you second guess your biases.  

Support the show! If each listener donated just $2, we could fully fund the ClassCast Podcast! Please consider making a small donation to keep the discussion alive. 


Recent and ClassCast Podcast episodes featured public school advocates, school choice advocates, and the kind of thoughtful discourse that should inform our national conversation as well as individual listeners' opinions on school choice, public schools, funding, equity, justice, and opportunity. Let us know what you think about each part of this series and how you feel about school choice.  

- School Choice Series Part 1: Ep.060 -- Citizen Stewart -- School Choice & Educational Opportunity (3/21/21)
​- School Choice Series Part 2: Ep.061 -- Jennifer Berkshire -- The False Promises of School Choice (3/29/21)
- School Choice Series Part 3: Ep.062 -- Neal McCluskey -- School Choice & Liberty (4/5/21)
- School Choice Series Part 4: Ep.063 -- Jon Hale -- School Reform, Not School Choice (4/12/21)

​ Table of Contents (*highlights)

1. 0:00-4:32 -- Intro & Recap of School Choice Mini-Series
2. 4:32-9:51 -- Previous Connections to School Choice
3. 9:51-15:18 -- Is "Choice" Good? *
4. 15:18-24:26 -- Choice, M4A, Specializing, & Informing Parents *
5. 24:26-33:16 -- Racism & School Choice
6. 33:16-47:04 -- Tibbens' Problems with School Choice **
7. 47:04-54:04 -- The Best Path Forward: Choice and the Public System **
8. 54:04-56:58 -- Final Thoughts/Wrap-Up

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The ClassCast Podcast streams on all major platforms, including iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Stitcher, and more.  You can also find us on YouTube and right here at www.ClassCastPodcast.com.  Be sure to like, subscribe, follow, share, and comment wherever you listen.  Leave a comment below to let us know what you think of the discussion and if you have any questions!

Support the show (http://paypal.me/TibbensEST)!

WATCH: Mentioned in this episode, it is both hilarious and informative, frightening and stimulating.

ClassCast Podcast Ep.063 features education historian, professor at the University of Illinois, and author Jon Hale discussing school choice, its dark history, and the problems it may spawn in the future. Much of Jon's work focuses on past school choice movements and Civil Rights era freedom schools; he makes invaluable contributions to the on-going ClassCast discussion of school choice and freedom by provide clear historical context and common sense predictions about what the future may hold. Jon's upcoming book, The Choice We Face: How Segregation, Race, and Power Have Shaped America's Most Controversial Education Reform Movement, addresses the same topics in greater detail; he is also the author of The Freedom Schools: Student Activists in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and To Write in the Light of Freedom.

Recent and upcoming ClassCast Podcast episodes feature public school advocates, school choice advocates, and the kind of thoughtful discourse that should inform our national conversation as well as individual listeners' opinions on school choice, public schools, funding, equity, justice, and opportunity. Let us know what you think about each part of this series and how you feel about school choice.  

- School Choice Series Part 1: Ep.060 -- Citizen Stewart -- School Choice & Educational Opportunity (3/21/21)
​- School Choice Series Part 2: Ep.061 -- Jennifer Berkshire -- The False Promises of School Choice (3/29/21)
- School Choice Series Part 3: Ep.062 -- Neal McCluskey -- School Choice & Liberty (4/5/21)
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Support the show! If each listener donated just $2, we could fully fund the ClassCast Podcast! Please consider making a small donation to keep the discussion alive.

Table of Contents (*highlights)

1. 0:00-5:37 -- The Purpose of Education According to Jon Hale
2. 5:37-10:51 -- The Appeal of School Choice
3. 10:51-21:12 -- The History of School Choice & Race **
4. 21:12-27:38 -- Freedom Schools
5. 27:38-36:26 -- Jon's Ideal School *
6. 36:26-39:34 -- Why School Choice Has Momentum & School Reform Doesn't
7. 39:34-46:23 -- Public Schools & Community Cohesion
8. 46:23-54:00 -- Are Public Schools Actually Failing? *
9. 54:00-1:04:04 -- Final Thoughts & Recommendations *

The ClassCast Podcast streams on all major platforms, including iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Stitcher, and more.  You can also find us on YouTube and right here at www.ClassCastPodcast.com.  Be sure to like, subscribe, follow, share, and comment wherever you listen.  Leave a comment below to let us know what you think of the discussion and if you have any questions!