The Long Run Listen
Top Education Policy Podcasts for the Week of October 25
My listening list is a little late since I traveled for work last week, but better late than never.
I only missed one or two runs during travel, but I slept like a baby without my kids waking me up at the crack of dawn. In Seattle, I was jazzed to run along the waterfront up to Pikes’ Place Market. In Downtown Denver I barely made it back to the hotel due to the elevation (thankfully nobody spotted me whimpering along). What can I say, I am sea-level baby. In the end, Oregon welcomed me home with a very, very soggy long-run on Saturday (which I enjoyed).
The Role of Education Policy in American Politics
Last week, I ran one of my favorite loops across the The Bridge of the People in Portland, up the Southwest Waterfront, and back to the East side on the Hawthorne Bridge. I listened to two podcasts narrowing in on how education policy will be center stage in American politics between now and the midterms. And, the way that we choose to engage as wonks can inform the public dialogue, perception, and, ultimately, votes.
Why are all eyes on the Virginia Governor’s race?
First, the Daily’s coverage on the Virginia governor’s race illustrated how politics in Virginia are pitting parents against schools. The political tension arises from pet issues presented along party lines (e.g., critical race theory and vaccine mandates). And, unfortunately, the one thing missing from the conversation: students.
Politics and the pandemic in Latino and Native American communities
Next up, I tuned into an episode from The Brookings Cafeteria with Gabriel Sanchez, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico. The pod opened with a detailed run-down of US census data revealing the regional and geographic growth patterns for Latino and Native families. Then, in his interview, Sanchez discussed why COVID-19 has disproportionately devastated Latino families, as well as the role that the pandemic played in Latino education and the likely influence these outcomes will have on midterm elections.
So, what?
My take: the Virginia governor’s race is a microcosm of future races from now to the midterms in November 2022. While this is alarming, we are early enough in the game to plan locally. What does this look like?
We are responsible for the public narrative and local dialogue. Disagreements are natural, healthy, and necessary for transformative solutions. But, the way we disagree must improve. Arthur Brooks, well-known author and scholar, suggests that we fight more and better to make political progress. This has been documented through decades of research across topics like creativity research and political science. Yet, we’ve failed to leverage disagreement for its strengths.
Sometimes when I am running I like to think of a problem I am facing, like a complicated partnership, manuscript, or new project. I spend my jog trying to untangle the problem like a knot by thinking of different designs, plans, or actions that create some form of progress. I think as a society we can do more of this planning and meditation to intentionally prepare for our disagreements. Because, they are not going anywhere.
Dr. Christine M. T. Pitts serves as Resident Policy Fellow at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. As an Oregonian, raised by a multicultural family of educators, she brings over a decade of strategic leadership experience advancing a transformative vision for US education systems and bringing analytic skill to evidence-based policy agendas at all levels of governance. Prior to joining CRPE, Christine led research and evaluation for Portland Public Schools in Oregon and served as Policy Advisor at NWEA. Her academic research, focusing on accountability, governance, and social networks, can be found in Educational Researcher and Teachers College Record. As a lifelong educator, Christine has served in schools across the country as a teacher, reading specialist, and school and district administrator. Christine earned her BS and MAEd at East Carolina University, as well as her PhD at the University of Oregon. Christine lives with her husband and four children in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @cmtpitts.