Ep.036 features the founders of Allies for Black Voices:
​Pooja Tanjore, Roma Sharma, Grace Crangle, & Nikita Sajai.

Allies for Black Voices is a project founded and operated by four brilliant young women in Loudoun County, Virginia. After the murder of George Floyd and the outbreak of Black Lives Matter protests across, Pooja, Roma, Grace, and Nikita felt compelled to act. They realized that social media posts aren't real action, and they understood that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were unable to participate in protests or engage in robust discussions about systemic racism and reform. They pooled their ideas and resources and, after joining forces with the Loudoun County chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women) and their vice president (Jessica Berg -- teacher, writer, activist, and former ClassCast Podcast guest), decided to create a virtual platform to showcase Black speakers who wanted to share their ideas, experiences, and aspirations for improving racial justice in the United States. Each week throughout the summer of 2020, Allies for Black Voices is hosting a live Zoom session featuring different speakers and ideas. The events are free to attend, and they post the videos to their YouTube channel for sharing or viewing after the live event ends.  Keep up with their speakers and new events on their Instagram page. 

In this episode of the ClassCast Podcast, host Ryan Tibbens talks with Pooja, Roma, Grace, and Nikita about their work for racial justice and how public education factors into our country's race problems and solutions. From activism to curriculum improvement, multiculturalism to book/movie/podcast recommendations, Episode 036 is a deep, content rich discussion about how all Americans can contribute to social improvement. 

NEW!
​For ease of access and organization, the ClassCast Podcast will no longer post separate highlight clips for reach episode.  Of course, we recommend listening to the full episode, but from now on, each upload will include a Table of Contents with time stamps to to help listeners find specific topics and sections.

Table of Contents

• 6:03 - 25:43 -- Intro to Allies for Black Voices, Audience/Purpose, & Anti-Racist Materials
• 38:56 - 1:02:57 -- Anti-Racism in Schools (Curriculum, Gerrymandering, Representation, Racial Disparities, & School Resource Officers/Police)
• 1:03:22 - 1:11:58 -- Teacher Race and Representation
• 1:12:00 - 1:28:21 -- Improving Schools
• 1:32:00 - 1:44:00 -- Book, Movie, & Podcast Recommendations

ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli speaking with host Ryan Tibbens about higher education, helping students prepare for the admissions process, improving schools, and how to better serve both students and our communities. As a former English professor and current admissions advisor/entrepreneur, Benjamin offers insights into the "education space" that few students, parents, teachers, or professors fully understand because most people don't see the many angles that he has experienced. This episode includes discussions about adjunct faculty and tenure, developing the "whole student," cultural support of public education, and more.  Enjoy this episode, learn from Mr. Caldarelli's insights, and think about how his ideas could improve the schools around you. 

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This clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032 features host and tutor Ryan Tibbens speaking with college admissions expert and Princeton College Consulting co-founder Benjamin Caldarelli about the college application process, the significance of good essays and letters of recommendation, holistic evaluations, and pandemic-related changes in the process, including schools going "test optional." This highlight offers both insights into the admissions process itself AND useful advice and ideas to help students who will be applying to college soon. 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, college admissions expert Benjamin Caldarelli describes his ideal school, how to create a better school environment, and how pandemic-related pressures might ultimately change higher education. "What's your ideal school?" is a standard question included in all ClassCast Podcasts, but it only occasionally generates a highlight clip; in this case, Benjamin addresses students' needs before school design, offers concrete examples of his vision, and then transitions into how COVID-19 might force higher education to evolve in the coming years. For those interested in how higher education could better serve students or what the future may hold, this clip is not to be missed. 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.032, co-founder of Princeton College Consulting Benjamin Caldarelli and host Ryan Tibbens discuss the pressures that students face, pressures from grades and college admissions, and how those feelings can inhibit learning and derail education. Both speakers agree that many people's grades-above-all mentality is counterproductive -- it does not increase learning, personal development, nor chances college acceptance. Listen to this clip and learn more about how grading could change in ways that would ultimately improve students' learning, intrinsic motivation, and purpose. 

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ClassCast Podcast Ep.031 features Camryn Thompson, a rising senior at Duke University and a former student of host Ryan Tibbens.  As a brilliant young black woman who grew up in a globally diverse, yet majority white, wealthy suburb, Camryn offers insights and suggestions to improve schools that are informed by both academic studies and personal experience.  Currently working through the medical school application process, Ms. Thompson has begun dedicating more of her personal time to activism and is involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.  In this discussion with her former English teacher, she advocates for anti-racism through improved public relations, hiring, staff accountability, classroom discussions, and compensation so that our schools can truly serve all Americans equitably. 

** DISCLAIMER -- This episode contains honest, open discussions about race, racism, and bias in schools. Both Camryn Thompson and host Ryan Tibbens engaged in this discourse to share perspectives and learn. For those listening with a more critical ear (or predisposition to cancel culture/virtue signalling), please extend a little grace.  We're all trying to get better.  Also, as a teacher, I have referred to professional experiences that have occurred in six different schools and with a wide variety of coworkers; I do not intend to disparage any person or institution, nor do I intend to speak on "out of place" or on behalf of my employer. I am solely responsible for my views.  At a few points in this discussion, specific names are obscured so that listeners focus on the broader issues rather than individual schools or people involved in the situations.  If you have a suggestion or question about content in this episode, you can contact ClassCast Podcast directly via readthinkwritespeak@yahoo.com. 

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The first highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031 features Duke University senior Camryn Thompson speaking with host Ryan Tibbens, her former English teacher, about racism (and, more importantly, anti-racism) in schools. As a young black woman, Camryn reflects on her own experiences with explicit and implicit racism and what we can do to make schools more inclusive and productive for all students. This clip sets up the discussions that follow throughout the remainder of the episode. 

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 In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, Camryn Thompson addresses the impacts of implicit racial biases and microaggressions in schools. Speaking with her former English teacher, she details personal experiences and shared anecdotes in which students were (intentionally or unintentionally) made to feel different, excluded, or less  capable than their peers. Host Ryan Tibbens suggests that the cumulative effects of these unintentional expressions of implicit or subconscious bias may actually be more damaging to many students than the more overt, explicit acts that school staffs tend to focus upon. The two then discuss how school leadership should respond and promote anti-racist culture. 
 

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In this clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, future doctor Camryn Thompson talks with host Ryan Tibbens about how student participation and direction might improve staff equity/race training, school committees, and new anti-racist measures in schools. Essentially, Camryn picks up a thread that has connected several episodes of the ClassCast Podcast -- if we're serious about student efficacy and empowerment, then they must be involved in the decision-making process.  In this segment, Thompson and Tibbens discuss how including students, particularly students of color, in school-wide race and equity activities might improve inclusion, participation, and effectiveness. 

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​In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.031, student and Black Lives Matter activist Camryn Thompson shares her thoughts on the importance of racially diverse school faculties as well as how to increase racial diversity without resorting to quotas or altered expectations. Among her many thoughtful suggestions is how improved teacher compensation could help to attract the best talent from a variety of racial and ethnic groups, ultimately improving the quality of education and job satisfaction for teachers. While "pay teachers more" is a common (but not always productive) strategy, Camryn makes a logical and passionate argument for why educators are deserving of more pay and prestige, and how those improvements could yield faculties more representative of (and effective with) their student bodies.

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