Of Note: Try on Different Perspectives

Free Range Humans by Jal Mehta and Rod Allen

New this past summer, the podcast Free Range Humans is twenty-five episodes into its exploration of "how we can make schools fit for human consumption." Hosts Jal Mehta and Rod Allen invite guest educators to ponder how schools might create cultures of curiosity and innovation, shift mental health paradigms, dismantle meritocracies, and be intentional about not returning to normal after the pandemic. They probe whether it’s fair to ask kids to change the world, and wonder after the pragmatism of affecting systemic change when "you can’t change anybody but yourself." Particularly thought-provoking is an episode on "Street Data" with Jamila Dugan and Shane Safir, which leads with the query: "Is data actually preventing us from making transformative change in education systems?" Educators rely on data to make evidence-based decisions, but perhaps tests created to assess progress are in and of themselves the issue. A new hour-long episode is released every week and invites the listener to try on a different perspective, all in service of deepening teaching and learning experiences in today's schools.