Episodes
Fiscal Crisis and the Chicago School System
Welcome back to Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education! On this episode, David and Kevin delve into the current crisis facing Chicago Public Schools, highlighting issues of financial mismanagement, leadership changes, and the impact on teachers and students. The hosts discuss the implications ...
Gross Mismanagement Creates Turmoil in Chicago Schools
Welcome back to Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education! On this episode, David and Kevin delve into the current crisis facing Chicago Public Schools, highlighting issues of financial mismanagement, leadership changes, and the impact on teachers and students. The hosts discuss the implications ...
Lack of Respect Creates Low Morale: One Factor Driving the Teacher Retention Crisis
Welcome back to Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education! Thank you for being here, we appreciate our listeners and the feedback they give us. We welcome everyone to the 2024-2025 school year with the hope that this is the year educators everywhere speak up with one, unified voice to improve our...
The Complexities of Textbook Adoption
On this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education, Kevin and David delve into the complexities of textbook adoption in education, highlighting the challenges and limitations of traditional textbooks. They explore the impact of regional differences, historical revisionism, digitalizatio...
What Does Teacher Appreciation Look Like?
Teacher Appreciation Week is often seen as lacking authenticity and genuine appreciation. Many teachers feel that it is just window dressing and lip service from administrators. The timing of Teacher Appreciation Week, at the end of the school year, is seen as convenient but also a busy and stressfu...
Do Teachers Need to be Armed?
The conversation explores the topic of arming teachers in schools. The hosts discuss recent developments in states like Tennessee and Alaska that allow teachers to carry firearms. They examine the pros and cons of arming teachers and the potential impact on the education system. The conversation hig...
Teacher Attrition Continues for Good Reasons
In this conversation, Kevin and David discuss the reasons why teachers leave the education profession. They highlight several common themes, including the lack of substitutes and secretaries, the absence of work-life balance, low salaries, and inadequate health insurance. They also touch on the issu...
Do These Skills Matter?
In this conversation, David and Kevin discuss the importance of teaching certain skills that are often overlooked in schools. They highlight the significance of teaching students how to read analog clocks, write in cursive, and engage in home economics. They also emphasize the importance of public s...
Public Schools are Akin to the Post Office
On this episode of Breaking the Fourth Wall of Public Education, David and Kevin discuss how chronic absenteeism in public schools has become a significant issue, with at least a third of students across the country considered chronically absent. The problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pand...