ClassCast Podcast Ep.071, the FINAL episode of Season 2, features college professor, education enthusiast, and author Christina (Tina) Groeger, whose new book -- The Education Trap: Schools and the Remaking of Inequality. Tina and host Ryan Tibbens discuss school's limited ability to affect social inequality, how quality education relates to social mobility, project-based learning, unschooling, and much, much more. Tina is a professor at Lake Forest College, a graduate of Harvard University, and a thoughtful, sincere student of American education and its social impacts. If you are interested in equality/inequality, opportunity, the American Dream, or improving our education system, then this episode is for you! ​

Table of Contents (*highlights)

1. 0:00-4:03 -- Intro to Tina & The Education Trap 
2. 4:03-12:22 -- The Purpose of School According to Tina & "Defunding" Schools *
3. 12:22-21:08 -- Economic & Political Influences on Education, Inequality, & Social Mobility
4. 21:08-28:13 --Knowledge, Merit, & Mobility *
5. 28:13-36:33 -- Vocational vs Liberal Education & Local Control *
6. 36:33-47:41 -- Tina's Ideal School
7. 47:41-57:43 -- Unschooling, Project-Based Learning, & Organizing *
8. 57:43-1:10:31 -- School Choice, Unions, and Improving Schools
9. 1:10:31-1:16:59 -- Final Thoughts, 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.044 features Matt Bass, candidate for Board of Supervisors in Clarke County, VA, discussing life, school, politics, community, and planning in small town America.  Clarke County, VA is located just over an hour west of Washington DC in the northern Shenandoah Valley.  A small, rural county, it is home to just under 15,000 people, one high school, one grocery store, and a whole lot of genuine Virginia character.  Situated just over the Blue Ridge Mountains from the booming DC suburbs of Loudoun, Fairfax, and Arlington, Clarke has managed to preserve thousands of acres  of pristine farmland, beautiful mountain forests, and a small town charm that makes it unique in the northern Virginia region. In this episode, Matt shares his experiences growing up and going to school in Clarke County, attending the University of Virginia, becoming an attorney, starting a family, and future plans for the community he loves.  Listeners from big cities or growing suburbs may be surprised to hear about the significance of schools in small communities; listeners from small towns will feel affirmed and reassured by Matt Bass's vision for the future. 

Be sure to like, share, follow, subscribe, leave a positive review, and all that other good stuff wherever you get your podcasts!  

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Learn more about Matt Bass's platform at https://www.facebook.com/Bass4Board.  

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

Table of Contents

1. 0:00-13:24 -- Matt's Education and Background
2. 13:25-26:11 -- Higher Education: Applicable Skills vs Academic Knowledge in Small Towns
3. 26:12-29:37 -- Expanding Opportunities in Schools
4. 29:37-39:04 -- Choice & Innovation in Smaller Rural Schools (like Clarke County, VA)
5. 39:04-50:37 -- How Schools Anchor Communities like Clarke County, VA (Clip 01)
6. 50:38-1:11:00 -- Local Politics & Bass's Vision for Clarke County
7. 1:11:31-1:15:15 -- Student Loan Debt
8. 1:15:16-1:21:01 -- Matt's Ideal School
9. 1:21:02-1:22:39 -- Choosing Home
10. 1:22:39-1:30:58 -- Matt's Book & Movie Recommendations
11. 1:30:59-1:36:23 -- Final Thoughts

In this highlight clip from ClassCast Podcast Ep.044, Matt Bass, a candidate for Clarke County, VA Board of Supervisors, talks about how public schools anchor communities, particularly in small towns and rural areas across the country. In this clip, Matt and host Ryan Tibbens talk about the many roles that schools play in a community and how a sense of belonging, common identity, and unity can be forged through a healthy public school system.

Learn more about Matt Bass's platform at https://www.facebook.com/Bass4Board.  ​

In this highlight from ClassCast Podcast Ep.044, Clarke County, VA Board of Supervisors candidate Matt Bass and host Ryan Tibbens discuss politics, planning, and community preservation.  Clarke County is situated approximately an hour west of Washington DC in the northern Shenandoah Valley.  In many ways, Clarke County represents "genuine Virginia" -- small towns, agricultural economies, and traditional communities -- and its proximity to the booming, wealthy suburbs of northern Virginia present an unique situation, a bridge between two worlds in one of our nation's oldest and most historically rich regions.  Listen to this clip to hear more about Matt Bass's vision for the county's future and how to maximize opportunities and resources without departing from local culture and tradition.

Learn more about Matt Bass's platform at https://www.facebook.com/Bass4Board.  

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

​ClassCast Podcast Episode 019 features Tim "The Shop Teacher" Gregory, a beloved educator with a diverse skill set, critical mind, disarming sense of humor, and intense dedication to learning and teaching. He talks with host Ryan Tibbens about TechEd, shop class, expanding vo-tech programs, project-based learning, girls in STEM, post-secondary education, fatherly wisdom, books, and more. 

Five highlight clips have already been released, and in just a few days with no real promotions, they are already among the most-streamed ClassCast segments. This discussion hits on many, many major issues in public schools today without ever getting too deep into the weeds, too distracted by terms or trendy pedagogies. This is what the ClassCast Podcast is all about.