"Talk out of School" on "integration fatigue" and what's happening in Finland's schools during the pandemic
First, I recapped some of the latest news from NYC, including that despite last week's order from Governor Cuomo to close more than 300 public and private schools in COVID hotspots in Brooklyn and Queens, it has been reported that little enforcement has been done to close the Ultra-orthodox Yeshivas in these neighborhoods.
Then I greeted back to the show Prof. Noliwe Rooks of Cornell University, whom I spoke to last week as well. Prof. Rooks, the author of "Cutting School," explained how successful independent schools run by Black educators in the 1960s and 1970s had closed due to the expansion of well-connected charter chains. Prof. Rooks also described why many Black parents and other advocates were suffering from “integration fatigue,” and provided her thoughts about how should the planned reopening of city schools should have proceeded this fall, instead of what actually happened.
William Doyle, whose book “Let the Children Play” is about to come out on paperback, then joined us. He is living in Finland this year, researching a book on that nation’s education system, and his 7th grade son is attending a public school in Helsinki. Doyle described how Finland is dealing with the pandemic and more specifically what's happening in the school his son attends. He also explained how Finland’s education system provided important lessons for the future direction of US public schools. You can find previous podcasts and//or subscribe here. .
Links and Resources:
- Noliwe Rooks, Cutting School: The Segrenomics of American Education
- William Doyle, Let the Children Play: For the Learning, Well-being and Life Success of Every Child, co-authored by Pasi Sahlberg
- Segment about Finnish schools in Michael Moore’s documentary, “Where to Invade Next”