Pulitzer Winner Diane McWhorter on Civil Rights History & Race in America

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard mark the Juneteenth commemoration of the end of slavery with an episode devoted to Civil Rights history. They are joined by Diane McWhorter, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. They explore the parallels between the current civil unrest and racial injustice the country is witnessing and what took place in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, including police brutality then and now, and the ongoing connection between race, economics, and political pressure. They discuss the Civil Rights Movement’s success with shifting public opinion, through nonviolent protests and indelible iconography, and whether strong statements and product name changes issued by so many corporations today are likely to lead to genuine structural change. They also delve into the role played by women in the Civil Rights Movement. Diane concludes with a reading from the epilogue of her book, Carry Me Home.

Stories of the Week: In England, the government will be funding tutoring programs to bridge learning gaps as a result of COVID school closures, targeted to disadvantaged communities. Is this a model worth exploring here? New York’s wealthy families have fled Manhattan due to COVID – will they return to those elite schools if remote learning continues in the fall, or shift to the suburbs?

The next episode will appear on June 26th, 2020 with guest, Dr. Patrick Wolf, Distinguished Professor of Education Policy and 21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions.

Newsmaker Interview Guest:

Diane McWhorter, a journalist based in Washington, D.C., and a long-time contributor to The New York Times, is the author of Carry Me Home, a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the civil rights revolution in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Her young-adult history of the civil rights movement, A Dream of Freedom, was one of The New York Times’ nine “Notable Children’s Books of 2004.” A graduate of Wellesley College, she is a member of the Society of American Historians and has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard University, the National Air and Space Museum, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Tweet of the Week

https://twitter.com/Milenatehoff/status/1273569000287547399

News links:

Government to fund private tutors for English schools

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/17/government-to-fund-private-tutors-for-english-schools?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1592423749

As wealthy families flee, New York City’s private schools brace for an uncertain fall

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/14/nyc-private-schools-prep-for-enrollment-decline-amid-covid-19.html

Recent podcast episodes:

The Institute for Justice’s Tim Keller on Espinoza v. Montana DOR & ongoing school choice litigation

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April 10, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Tim Keller, Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice, which is representing the plaintiffs in the high-profile Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court,.

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Stanford Pulitzer Winner David Kennedy on Lessons for COVID-19 from the 1918 Flu Epidemic & Great Depression

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April 3, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Pulitzer-winning historian David Kennedy, the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus at Stanford University.

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The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews on schooling during COVID-19 & lessons from teaching great Jaime Escalante

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March 27, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Jay Mathews, Washington Post education columnist.

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Ambassador Ray Flynn on Public Leadership During Global Crisis & the Case for Catholic Schools

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March 20, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve” (St. Patrick’s Day edition), Cara and Gerard discuss COVID-19’s ongoing toll on families and K-12 education, and interview Raymond Flynn, former Ambassador to the Vatican and three-term Mayor of Boston, about the world-historical moment presented by the Coronavirus pandemic as well as his advocacy for religious education.

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NC State’s Anna Egalite on School Choice in America & Abroad

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March 13, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard talk with Dr. Anna Egalite, Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University, about her experiences and research on K-12 education systems in her native Ireland, as well as America and India.

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Kevin Chavous on the Promise & Potential of Quality School Choice Options

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March 6, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Kevin Chavous, President of Academics, Policy, and Schools of K12, Inc. about how to promote quality education options that meet the diverse needs of all kids.

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Citizen Stewart on Changing the K-12 Education Power Structure

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February 28, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard engage in a candid conversation about education policymaking with Citizen Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of Brightbeam.

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CREDO’s Macke Raymond on Charter Schools’ Quality & Growth

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February 21, 2020

CREDO's Margaret “Macke” Raymond joins "The Learning Curve" this week to discuss charter school performance; the types of charters that are succeeding consistently and replicating; and the formula for quality both in instruction and policymaking.

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Cato’s Neal McCluskey on School Choice & Educational Federalism

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February 14, 2020

This week on "The Learning Curve" podcast, Cara Candal welcomes new co-host Gerard Robinson and guest Neal McCluskey, Director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. They discuss America’s growing interest in school choice, and some of its many benefits.

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Julie Young, Virtual Schooling Pioneer

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February 7, 2020

Julie Young, CEO of ASU Prep Digital High School, joins The Learning Curve podcast this week to talk about the digital learning revolution.

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Susan Wise Bauer on Classical Education & Homeschooling

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January 31, 2020

This week on “The Learning Curve,” Bob Bowdon & guest co-host Kerry McDonald talk with Susan Wise Bauer, writer, historian, homeschool parent, and author of The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, as well as numerous other books.

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Dick Komer on Espinoza v. Montana & the Bigoted Legacy of Blaine Amendments

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January 24, 2020

On this episode of “The Learning Curve,” Bob & Cara are joined by Dick Komer, Senior Attorney with the Institute for Justice. Komer led the oral argument this week before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the plaintiffs in the high-profile school choice case, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue.

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