window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={"attachmentsReducer":{"audio_0":{"type":"attachments","id":"audio_0","imgSizes":{"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"}}},"audio_1":{"type":"attachments","id":"audio_1","imgSizes":{"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"}}},"audio_2":{"type":"attachments","id":"audio_2","imgSizes":{"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"}}},"audio_3":{"type":"attachments","id":"audio_3","imgSizes":{"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"}}},"audio_4":{"type":"attachments","id":"audio_4","imgSizes":{"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"}}},"placeholder":{"type":"attachments","id":"placeholder","imgSizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-160x96.jpg","width":160,"height":96,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-800x478.jpg","width":800,"height":478,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1020x610.jpg","width":1020,"height":610,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-lrg":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1920x1148.jpg","width":1920,"height":1148,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-med":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1180x705.jpg","width":1180,"height":705,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"fd-sm":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-960x574.jpg","width":960,"height":574,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"xxsmall":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-240x143.jpg","width":240,"height":143,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"xsmall":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-375x224.jpg","width":375,"height":224,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"small":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-520x311.jpg","width":520,"height":311,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"xlarge":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1180x705.jpg","width":1180,"height":705,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"full-width":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-1920x1148.jpg","width":1920,"height":1148,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-32x32.jpg","width":32,"height":32,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-50x50.jpg","width":50,"height":50,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-64x64.jpg","width":64,"height":64,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-96x96.jpg","width":96,"height":96,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-128x128.jpg","width":128,"height":128,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"detail":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://ww2.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/01/GettyImages-896326950-e1514998105161.jpg","width":1920,"height":1148}}},"root-site_21235":{"type":"attachments","id":"root-site_21235","meta":{"index":"attachments_1716263798","site":"root-site","id":"21235","found":true},"parent":0,"imgSizes":{"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x-880x576.png","width":880,"mimeType":"image/png","height":576},"thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x-160x200.png","width":160,"mimeType":"image/png","height":200},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x-672x372.png","width":672,"mimeType":"image/png","height":372},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x.png","width":880,"height":1100},"medium":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x-800x1000.png","width":800,"mimeType":"image/png","height":1000},"medium_large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x-768x960.png","width":768,"mimeType":"image/png","height":960}},"publishDate":1657013188,"modified":1657013188,"caption":null,"description":null,"title":"Newsletter-MindShift-Desktop-440x550@2x","credit":null,"status":"inherit","altTag":null,"fetchFailed":false,"isLoading":false},"mindshift_64740":{"type":"attachments","id":"mindshift_64740","meta":{"index":"attachments_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64740","found":true},"title":"DSC_6358","publishDate":1726795002,"status":"inherit","parent":64621,"modified":1726795371,"caption":"Students in Melissa Smith's class at Lake Norman Charter High School add food coloring to bottles of warm water during a poetry analysis activity.","credit":"David Boraks for KQED","altTag":"A group of high school students gathered around a classroom table holding plastic bottles. Small containers of food color are arranged on the table.","description":null,"imgSizes":{"medium":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-800x533.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-1020x680.jpg","width":1020,"height":680,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-160x107.jpg","width":160,"height":107,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium_large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-768x512.jpg","width":768,"height":512,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"1536x1536":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-1536x1024.jpg","width":1536,"height":1024,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"2048x2048":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-2048x1365.jpg","width":2048,"height":1365,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-1920x1280.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6358-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707}},"fetchFailed":false,"isLoading":false},"mindshift_64638":{"type":"attachments","id":"mindshift_64638","meta":{"index":"attachments_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64638","found":true},"title":null,"publishDate":1725847988,"status":"inherit","parent":64572,"modified":1725848276,"caption":"Teacher Miranda Lyle asks students in her fourth grade class what they notice about a historical photo during a social studies lesson on segregation and integration.","credit":"Kara Newhouse/KQED","altTag":"A teacher sits cross legged on a carpet in a circle with three young students. She holds and points to a printout of a black and white photo. Similar printouts are on the rug in the center of the circle. Another circle of students sit in the background.","description":null,"imgSizes":{"medium":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-800x600.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-1020x765.jpg","width":1020,"height":765,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-160x120.jpg","width":160,"height":120,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium_large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-768x576.jpg","width":768,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"1536x1536":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-1536x1152.jpg","width":1536,"height":1152,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"2048x2048":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-2048x1536.jpg","width":2048,"height":1536,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-1920x1440.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/4-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1920}},"fetchFailed":false,"isLoading":false},"mindshift_64549":{"type":"attachments","id":"mindshift_64549","meta":{"index":"attachments_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64549","found":true},"title":"btcFEAT","publishDate":1724728407,"status":"inherit","parent":64539,"modified":1724728851,"caption":"Students in Staci Durnin's sixth grade math class convert fractions and decimals into percents at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024.","credit":"Kara Newhouse/KQED","altTag":"Three middle school girls stand facing a whiteboard with rows of number conversions written on it.","description":null,"imgSizes":{"medium":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-800x600.jpg","width":800,"height":600,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-1020x766.jpg","width":1020,"height":766,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-160x120.jpg","width":160,"height":120,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"medium_large":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-768x576.jpg","width":768,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"1536x1536":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-1536x1153.jpg","width":1536,"height":1153,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"2048x2048":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-2048x1537.jpg","width":2048,"height":1537,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"post-thumbnail":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-672x372.jpg","width":672,"height":372,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"twentyfourteen-full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-1038x576.jpg","width":1038,"height":576,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"full-width":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-1920x1441.jpg","width":1920,"height":1441,"mimeType":"image/jpeg"},"kqedFullSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btcFEAT-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1921}},"fetchFailed":false,"isLoading":false}},"audioPlayerReducer":{"postId":"stream_live"},"authorsReducer":{"kdnewhouse":{"type":"authors","id":"11487","meta":{"index":"authors_1716337520","id":"11487","found":true},"name":"Kara Newhouse","firstName":"Kara","lastName":"Newhouse","slug":"kdnewhouse","email":"knewhouse@kqed.org","display_author_email":false,"staff_mastheads":["news"],"title":"MindShift Editor","bio":null,"avatar":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3dceed6fb271527113abfa9a8e9df34e?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twitter":null,"facebook":null,"instagram":null,"linkedin":null,"sites":[{"site":"","roles":["editor"]},{"site":"mindshift","roles":["editor"]}],"headData":{"title":"Kara Newhouse | KQED","description":"MindShift Editor","ogImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3dceed6fb271527113abfa9a8e9df34e?s=600&d=blank&r=g","twImgSrc":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3dceed6fb271527113abfa9a8e9df34e?s=600&d=blank&r=g"},"isLoading":false,"link":"/author/kdnewhouse"}},"breakingNewsReducer":{},"campaignFinanceReducer":{},"pagesReducer":{"root-site_mindshift-podcasts":{"type":"pages","id":"root-site_21553","meta":{"index":"pages_1716337520","site":"root-site","id":"21553","score":0},"parent":0,"pageMeta":{"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","sticky":false,"adSlotOverride":"kqed300x250_mindshift","WpPageTemplate":"page-podcast"},"labelTerm":{"site":""},"blocks":[{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/hero","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"backgroundImageAlt":"MindShift","titleLayout":"svg","titleSVG":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Mindshift-Logotype@2x.png","hasSponsorLogo":true,"blurbImageUrl":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","blurb":"It’s easy to see a child’s education as a path determined by grades, test scores and extracurricular activities. But genuine learning is about so much more than the points schools tally. MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators are helping all children succeed. \u003cbr>\u003cbr>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Visit MindShift's blog\u003c/a>","previewID":"mindshift_43474","blurbImageAlt":"MindShift","backgroundImageUrl":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Banner-2560x1000-1.jpg"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/post-list","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"layout":"cardsRecent","sizeBase":6,"seeMore":true,"sizeSeeMore":6,"query":"posts?category=mindshiftpodcast&queryId=6760532009","title":"Episodes"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/listen-and-subscribe","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":[]},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/email-signup","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"newsletterSlug":"mindshift"}},{"innerHTML":"\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-biographies\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/div>\n","blockName":"kqed/biographies","innerContent":["\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-biographies\">",null,"\n\n",null,"\n\n",null,"\n\n",null,"\u003c/div>\n"],"innerBlocks":[{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/biographies-item","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"mediaURL":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/77/2021/06/ksung-1178x1178-1.jpg","name":"Ki Sung","link":"/author/ksung","bio":"Ki is the senior editor of MindShift. Prior to joining MindShift in 2014, she was a digital news trainer at NPR, where she gained valuable lessons about how people learn and the support needed to implement change. She cares deeply about finding solutions that help children and loves meeting educators who create meaningful learning experiences for their students. At KQED, she leads diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and spearheaded our first source audit. She makes incredible kimchi, writes fiction and dreams of hiking the Camino de Santiago.","mediaAlt":"Ki Sung","position":"Podcast host/Senior editor"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/biographies-item","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"mediaURL":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/77/2021/06/ngobir-1920x1920-1.jpg","name":"Nimah Gobir","link":"/author/ngobir","bio":"Nimah is a writer and producer for MindShift. She has worked with young learners in many capacities including teacher, curriculum developer, and youth media producer. Each role offered a window into the different ways caregivers and educators strive to meet children’s needs and promote meaningful learning experiences in and out of the classroom. Nimah is committed to exploring stories about how to make learning more equitable, accessible, and magical for all students.","mediaAlt":"Nimah Gobir","position":"Podcast host/Writer"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/biographies-item","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"mediaURL":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/1104221619p-1.jpg","name":"Chris Hambrick","link":"","bio":"Chris is an editor for KQED Podcasts and loves holding the big picture vision for shows. Previously they were a producer for \u003cem>Spooked\u003c/em> Podcast from Snap Judgment Studios, host for \u003cem>The Tracklist\u003c/em> on KGPC, as well as \u003cem>White Rabbit Story Hour \u003c/em>podcast. They have contributed to KALW, KQED’s Bay Curious, and facilitated for national oral history project, \u003cem>StoryCorps.\u003c/em> Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you can catch her telling stories on the\u003cem> Mortified\u003c/em>, \u003cem>SFLitCrawl \u003c/em>or \u003cem>Moth\u003c/em> stages.","mediaAlt":"Chris Hambrick","position":"Editor"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/biographies-item","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"mediaURL":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/77/2021/06/seth-853x853-1.jpg","name":"Seth Samuel","bio":"Seth is a six-time Emmy Award-winning composer and sound designer. He is the score composer for PBS and KQED’s video series \u003cem>Deep Look\u003c/em>, composer for the podcast \u003cem>Against The Rules With Michael Lewis\u003c/em>; and the sound designer for podcasts from KQED, KALW, CPR, Radiotopia, Mother Jones, and Al Jazeera. He lives in Denver, Colorado with his brilliant wife, his brilliant son, his brilliant Australian shepherd, and their latest foster cat (the intelligence of which varies from cat to cat).","mediaAlt":"Seth Samuel","position":"Sound Designer"}}],"attrs":{"bioType":"white","heading":"MindShift Team"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/programs","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"programIDs":["baycurious","truthbetold","rightnowish","politicalbreakdown","soldout","thebay"],"title":"We Also Recommend"}},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/ad","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":[]},{"innerHTML":"","blockName":"kqed/funding-credits","innerContent":[],"innerBlocks":[],"attrs":{"text":"Support for MindShift is provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, sponsors and the members of KQED."}}],"publishDate":1669753343,"title":"MindShift | Podcasts","pagePath":"mindshift-podcasts","headTitle":"MindShift | Podcasts | KQED","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-biographies\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n","modified":1713223244,"headData":{"twImgId":"","twTitle":"","socialTitle":"MindShift Podcast - Future of Learning and Raising Kids | KQED","canonicalUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/podcasts/mindshift","ogTitle":"","ogImgId":"","twDescription":"","description":"Explore the future of learning and parenting on MindShift, a podcast by KQED. Gain valuable insights into raising kids in a changing world.","socialDescription":"Explore the future of learning and parenting on MindShift, a podcast by KQED. Gain valuable insights into raising kids in a changing world.","title":"MindShift Podcast - Future of Learning and Raising Kids | KQED","ogDescription":"","imageData":{"ogImageSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":630},"twImageSize":{"file":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg"},"twitterCard":"summary_large_image"}},"slug":"mindshift-podcasts","status":"publish","format":"standard","path":"/podcasts/mindshift","redirect":{"type":"internal","url":"/podcasts/mindshift"},"audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-biographies\">\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"featImg":"root-site_21235","label":"root-site","isLoading":false}},"postsReducer":{"stream_live":{"type":"live","id":"stream_live","audioUrl":"https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio","title":"Live Stream","excerpt":"Live Stream information currently unavailable.","link":"/radio","featImg":"","label":{"name":"KQED Live","link":"/"}},"stream_kqedNewscast":{"type":"posts","id":"stream_kqedNewscast","audioUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1","title":"KQED Newscast","featImg":"","label":{"name":"88.5 FM","link":"/"}},"mindshift_64621":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_64621","meta":{"index":"posts_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64621","score":null,"sort":[1727172054000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"why-poetry-is-making-a-comeback-in-schools","title":"Why Poetry Is Making a Comeback in Schools","publishDate":1727172054,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Why Poetry Is Making a Comeback in Schools | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":21942,"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a spring afternoon last year, students in \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/MelAlterSmith\">Melissa Alter Smith\u003c/a>’s class bustled around the room, filling 16 ounce plastic bottles with hot water, food dye, glitter and glue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You can mix colors if you want. Just use one whatever you think represents the theme of your poem,” Smith instructed as students moved between stations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This was English, not art class, and the goal was not just to make a pretty, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instructables.com/Calm-Bottle-aka-Glitter-Jar/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">calming\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> bottle. Each student had selected a contemporary poem to analyze, and they chose food coloring and glitter that would represent the tone of the poem. When finished with their bottles, they wrote a paragraph on an index card, explaining their choices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One student, Christina, chose a poem called, “Like When Passing Graveyards” by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803296381/reliquaria/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">R.A. Villanueva\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In it, the poet recalls holding his breath when riding past cemeteries as a child. “The sparkles are for nostalgia and your childhood and looking back when you have like, you’re growing up with your siblings,” Christina said as she held up her bottle. “But then also the dark color is the whole point of the poem is it’s about a childhood fear. So I wanted to do something that shows the darkness of a graveyard and the fear behind it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2019/05/31/tone-bottles-explore-tone-in-poetry-with-this-engaging-hands-on-activity/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tone bottles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” exercise, which was created by teacher Valerie A. Person, is one of dozens on Smith’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teach Living Poets\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> website. Smith created the website as a place for teachers to share lesson plans as her hashtag, #teachlivingpoets, took off on social media in the late 2010s. The idea behind both the website and the hashtag is to encourage teachers to diversify the literary canon and expose students to the vibrant world of contemporary poetry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64741\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A white woman in a polka dot dress holds a pen and pad of sticky notes. She stands in front of a white board.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">High school teacher Melissa Smith is the creator of the #teachlivingpoets hashtag and website. \u003ccite>(David Boraks for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith began using the #teachlivingpoets hashtag about eight years ago, after seeing how actively her students tuned in when she invited real poets to class to give readings and talk about their craft. After a few students asked to borrow her poetry books over spring break, she tweeted about it, and tagged the poets. One of them, Kaveh Akbar, replied: “Thank you for teaching living poets.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was like, that has a real ring to it, doesn’t it? And so that’s how the hashtag was born,” Smith said. “So every time I would share then, anything I was doing in my classroom regarding living poets, I included that hashtag with it, and teachers were liking it. They were sharing it, they were replying to it, they were eating it up.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the idea and hashtag grew, so, too, did the need for lesson plans to teach the work of living poets. “You can easily find a curriculum guide for Robert Frost’s work or for Shakespeare’s sonnets, right? But if you’re going to teach a poem that was just published a month ago, there’s no SparkNotes for that,” Smith said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Filling that gap meant getting creative, even weird, Smith said, whether that means asking students to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2023/11/30/exploring-structure-in-hanif-abdurraqibs-poem-it-is-maybe-time-to-admit-that-michael-jordan-definitely-pushed-off/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“walk a poem”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to feel the rhythm and patterns, having them \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2024/03/06/shoe-design-as-poetry-analysis/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">design shoes based on a poem\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or facilitating a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2024/03/07/new-march-madness-poetry-bracket-2024/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March-Madness-style poetry smackdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/StanfillKristin/status/1791633632274055590\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Christina, making the tone bottle reminded her of kindergarten – in a good way. “It makes it honestly a little bit more fun,” she said. “When you notice the colors and you’re able to point out more techniques and, like, the smaller details of a poem, especially when we’re looking for certain lines and certain words, rather than just ‘Oh, what’s the theme? What’s the tone?’ You’re looking for more specifics.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Smith and former students, teaching and studying living poets not only makes poetry more fun; it also makes it more accessible and relevant to current generations and empowers them to find themselves as readers and writers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Opening up the canon\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah Farmer, a former student of Smith’s and recent college graduate, remembers loving poetry as a kid – when her classes read whimsical poetry by Shel Silverstein. “In elementary school and middle school, we’re so used to reading poetry like that. And then whenever we got to, like, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, it was immediately like, oh, you’re reading Shakespeare or like Shakespeare-esque poets from previous, before, like, way before we could even think about.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmer said that when she read centuries-old poetry, the language and the themes felt disconnected from her life. But things changed when she took Smith’s AP literature class at Lake Norman Charter High School. Reading books by contemporary poets, like \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clintsmithiii.com/about\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Clint Smith\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://aimeenez.net/bio\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aimee Nezhukumatathil\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, reminded Farmer of her early love for the form. “18-year-old, 17-year-old Aaliyah, reading Clint Smith and Aimee, I’m so excited to read it because I just understand it better than other poets I had read before,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Farmer, Clint Smith’s writing did something the classics did not: It reflected the world she was growing up in. “For me and I would say my other friends that I had the class with that were also African-American, we had a pride in what he was saying in the book,” she explained. “If he was talking about, like his father or his grandfather or influential people in his life, we all have like that same person in our lives, so we were just able to build that pride and then also … how there’s also duality between slavery, but also everything that everything else that we’ve overcome, we were able to connect. And I think the pride for me came out in that sense as well.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64739\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64739\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Students in desks and on a couch in a classroom take notes. A person appears on smartboard screen at the front of the room.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students in Melissa Smith’s class at Lake Norman Charter High School take notes while watching Rudy Francisco recite “My Honest Poem.” \u003ccite>(David Boraks for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giving students a chance to see themselves in the literary canon is one of the biggest benefits of teaching living poets, according to Smith. She has a lot of stories about her students finding personal connections to living poets. Like when she gave a blog writing assignment and two transgender students chose to write about the trans poet H. Melt. With permission from her students, Smith shared the blog posts with H. Melt, who in turn sent signed book copies to the students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of Kaveh Akbar’s poems about addiction resonated with another student. “One of my students’ father was struggling with alcoholism, and the way that the poem hit her was very different than how I took in the poem,” Smith said. “Hers was just more raw and emotional and personal, and really beautiful, actually, in the way that she processed it, and tied it to her own experiences with her family.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Latina student told Melissa that her class was the first time in her entire schooling she’d been assigned a book by a Latino writer. “And she’s a senior. So it’s moments like that that make all of this – the Teach Living Poets hashtag, movement, website, all the things happening in the classroom – worth it,” Smith said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmer said Clint Smith’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has stuck with her. “A lot of the books from high school, I’m not going to lie, I did not keep. But that one I did keep.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Empowering young writers\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another powerful effect of teaching living poets, according to Smith, is empowering students as writers. Every spring, she organizes a big workshop where guest poets visit in person to give readings and discuss their craft with her students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It was probably one of my favorite days of high school. It was like a full day and we had lunch with them,” said Jenna Johnson, another of Melissa’s former students. “I sat at a table with R.A. Villanueva and I was just, like, freaked out the whole time, like kind of starstruck.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Johnson started writing poetry around age 15. “It felt important in the moment. But looking back, it’s like reading your embarrassing diary. Like a lot of just melodramatic high school love poems, breakup poems, all that stuff,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early in high school, Johnson planned to become a nurse. But when she didn’t like AP bio and loved AP lit, she started rethinking her path. “One of the big things that I didn’t realize until I read contemporary poets is kind of like the lawlessness of poetry. You don’t have to adhere to strict forms or rhyme schemes or – kind of knowing that you can literally just write a poem and there’s so many different forms, you can do literally anything with it. That was a huge thing to me that felt like that made it something I could do,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The workshop in Smith’s class was Johnson’s first time hearing poets read their work live. “That just changes how you can approach someone’s work completely. Kind of hearing the tone and the voice that they intend for it to be read.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Johnson is now in a creative writing master’s program at New York University. She wants to continue writing poetry and become a professor. This fall, she’s teaching a writing class for undergraduates. Heading into the semester, Smith’s influence was still present.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I felt like I had a really good education in poetry because of her. And I felt really well prepared going into undergrad and grad school that I knew of these contemporary poets,” Johnson said. “So when I was writing my syllabus, I was thinking a lot about it, and including as many living poets as possible that I felt like my students will be able to feel close to and feel like they can relate to a lot more.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Embracing joy and rigor\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://caesura.nu/\">Villanueva\u003c/a> – the writer whose poem Christina analyzed and who Johnson met during the workshop – is not only a living poet. He’s also a middle school English teacher and a professor at Sarah Lawrence College. He met Smith on Twitter, around the time she started the #teachlivingpoets hashtag. He said it was inspiring to see that conversation spread among teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Melissa’s pedagogy really continues to vivify and bring to life over and over again, the fact that poetry is not some ancient, antiquated form for us to to be archeologists and dig around in. But it’s that and something else. It’s something contemporary, it’s something modern. It’s something that people do because they love and are frustrated by language,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Villanueva is a recurring guest at Melissa’s poetry workshop. He said her classroom is special because of the way she challenges students academically while also centering joy. He thinks teachers are too often told that joy and rigor can’t co-exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What if rigor is not just pain?” He asked. “What if … what you’re actually trying to say is there’s a certain intensity? But intensity can also be imagination. And that’s what her classroom feels like. … There are skills that are being tested, muscles that are being stretched. But it’s not done only through trauma or grief or like rote memorization and then regurgitation. It’s something else. It’s something weirder. And I think that is what we should allow teachers to have space to try.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith said teaching living poets has transformed not only what she teaches, but how she teaches. “It has re-sparked my passion for teaching in general. I have loosened up my sense of the need for control over the lesson and the learning and giving some of that control over to my students,” she said. “I have come to realize for me in my classroom that the best learning happens when I actually don’t say a thing, right? Where I allow my students to have a conversation, to collaborate and to explore a poem together, and then to share it with me.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC7494279697\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shel Silverstein: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I cannot go to school today!” / Said little Peggy Ann McKay / “I have the measles and the mumps / A gash, a rash, and purple bumps / My mouth…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the voice of Shel Silverstein, who’s been one of the most popular poets for elementary schoolers – for multiple generations now. Recent college graduate Aaliyah Farmer remembers loving Silverstein’s poems when she was young.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In elementary school and like middle school, we’re so used to reading poetry like that. And then whenever we got to, like, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, it was immediately like, oh, you’re reading Shakespeare or like Shakespeare-esque poets from previous, before, like way before we could even think about.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah says that when she read poetry from several centuries ago, the language and the themes felt disconnected from her life. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But things changed during her senior year of high school. That’s when Aaliyah took AP literature, and her teacher assigned books by contemporary poets, like Clint Smith and Aimee Nezhukumatathil.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was like a comparable experience, like five-year-old or six year old Aaliyah reading Shel Silverstein, like, I was so excited to read poetry. 18-year-old, 17-year-old Aaliyah, reading Clint Smith and Aimee, like, I’m so excited to read it because I just understand it better than other poets I had read before.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Aaliyah, Clint Smith’s writing did something older poetry did not: It reflected the world she was growing up in. Here’s an excerpt from Smith’s poetry collection, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">explores themes of lineage, tradition and Black humanity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clint Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My grandfather is a quarter century / older than his right to vote & two / decades younger than the president / who signed the paper that made it so. / He married my grandmother when they / Were four years younger than I am now / & were twice as sure about each other / As I’ve ever been about most things.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For me and I would say my other friends that I had the class with that were like also African American, we like, had a pride in what he was saying in the book. If he was talking about, like his father, or his grandfather, or influential people in his life, we all have like that same person in our lives, like so we were just able to build that pride and then also, like, how there’s, like, also duality between slavery, but also everything that everything else that we’ve overcome, um, we were able to connect. And I think the pride for me came out in that sense as well.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah says \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has stuck with her.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of the books from high school, I’m not going to lie, I did not keep. But that one I did keep.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah Farmer read Clint Smith’s book in a class at Lake Norman Charter High School in North Carolina. Her teacher, Melissa Smith, has made it her mission to bring vibrant contemporary poetry into her classroom. She encourages other teachers to do this too – through the social media hashtag #teachinglivingpoets. She’s written a book and created a website with the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I say teach living poets, I don’t mean to completely cut off those traditional canonical poets. To discover how they’re in conversation with poets today is actually really brilliant and amazing. It’s just we need to open the door wider to let more voices into our classrooms and who we’re teaching in our poetry curriculum.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa first observed the power of teaching living poets about eight years ago.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s when she found out that Pulitzer Prize finalist Morri Creech taught at a university not far from her school. She invited him to visit her classes.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was like, here, sitting in front of us and having conversation with us about his poems. And I distinctly remember one of my boys, he was decked out in his soccer uniform because he had a game later that day, and at the end of that class he said, ‘Miss Smith, that was the coolest class I ever had.’ And I was like, by golly, I’ve unlocked some sort of secret, right? I was like, I need to do this more and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So she reached out to poets who were active online. She invited them to speak with her students in person and on Skype.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I saw just the energy change in my classroom. I saw their eyes light up. I saw them actually being interested. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When some of Melissa’s students wanted to borrow her poetry books over spring break, she was thrilled. She tweeted about it, and tagged the poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Kaveh Akbar, one of my favorite, most favorite poets ever retweeted and said, ‘Thank you for teaching living poets.’ And I was like, huh, that has a real ring to it, doesn’t it? And so that’s how the hashtag was born, was out of his, retweet, ‘Thank you for teaching living poets.’ And so every time I would share then, anything I was doing in my classroom regarding living poets, I included that hashtag with it, and teachers were liking it, they were sharing it, they were replying to it. They were eating it up.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the #teachlivingpoets hashtag grew, Melissa realized there weren’t a lot of materials for teaching contemporary poetry in high school English.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can easily find a curriculum guide for Robert Frost’s work or for Shakespeare’s sonnets, right? But if you’re going to teach a poem that was just published a month ago, there’s no SparkNotes for that. Right? And so I think a lot of teachers are – I don’t want to use the word fearful, but for lack of a better word, nervous or uncomfortable with teaching contemporary poetry, because it’s, they feel like they have to have all the answers. And that’s really not the case. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa created the Teach Living Poets website\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to fill the gap. She and other English teachers share free lesson plans there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Sometimes as a teacher it can be a very isolating job, especially in our current climate, with teachers being attacked by angry parents and, you know, trying to ban books at school board meetings and whatnot. To have a community that you feel supported by and included in can be a game changer for some teachers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One activity Melissa’s students enjoy is a March Madness Poetry Bracket.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like the March Madness basketball tournaments. But instead of athletes competing, it’s poetry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So first thing we’re going to do is we’re going to watch the poems one last time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Each day Melissa’s classes watch two poetry videos. Students decide which poem they think is best and try to persuade their classmates in an informal debate. Then they vote.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa tallies the votes across all periods. The winners from one week go head-to-head the next week, and so on. Until only two remain for the final round.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s where things stand today. The students are going to vote for the big winner.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OMG. A true battle of champions.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first contender is “My Honest Poem” by Rudy Francisco. It’s an exploration of his fears and flaws. Here’s an excerpt.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rudy Francisco: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m still learning how to whisper\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m often loud in places where I should be quiet, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m often quiet in places where I should be loud.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was born feet first and I’ve been backwards ever since.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The other finalist in today’s showdown is called “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones. It’s about how technology is reshaping our lives.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marshall Davis Jones: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Introducing the new Apple iPerson / complete with multitouch and volume control / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / my world is so digital / that I have forgotten what that feels like\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of Melissa’s students take notes at desks around the edge of the room. Others lounge on comfy chairs in the middle, using lap pads to write on. When the second poem finishes playing, they dive into discussion.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xuting: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s this one line where he says, ‘We used to be in the trees. We swung down, and then someone slipped a disc, and now we’re hunched over touchscreens.’ Right. And if you think of that image of, like, the human evolution, right. What is hunched over is the ape, the primates. And what is standing up is the human. And if we’re hunched over again, then, I mean, does that mean we’re going backwards? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They debate how well each poem conveys its message.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Collin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of the quotes, for example, ‘I wonder what my bedsheets say when I’m not around.’ I feel like that’s kind of one of those things when you don’t know your own identity. So it’s kind of a broader message that Rudy is speaking, and I feel like that makes it where it’s easier to relate to.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And they reflect on bigger issues raised by the poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emma: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I, I think that, um, the fact that technology is such a prevalent problem, like everybody knows. You are constantly told not to be on your phone, to limit your screen time, over and over and over. What isn’t talked about is how all of us face our own, like internal issues. That’s and I think that’s what makes, like ‘My Honest Poem’ more impactful because nobody really talks about that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sam: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d like to say that I think a lot of these internal issues, at least in modern society, are being intensified by the technology talked about in ‘Touchscreen.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These high school seniors are identifying literary devices, citing evidence to support their arguments, and connecting what they’ve heard to their own lives. These are all the things English teachers want to hear in class. They’re also laughing and being playful with each other. Melissa says that’s typical.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At first, the kids are like, oh, yeah, this is fine. This is cool. But once we get down to, like, the Final Four and especially the last two poems, they start arguing. They start getting really, you know, invested in the poem that they like better. They, they try to convince their neighbor like, ‘no man, vote for the other one.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After 15 minutes of discussion, it’s time to pick a winner.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right. Heads down. Secret vote. Raise your hand if you want to vote for Rudy Francisco, ‘My Honest Poem.’ Raise your hand if you want to vote for Marshall Jones, ‘Touchscreen.’\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students won’t hear the winner until the next day, but when Melissa counts votes across all her classes, “Touchscreen,” the poem about technology, comes out on top.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the vote, they move on to an activity called tone bottles.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so, one of your glitter choices is going to represent the tone before the shift.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This lesson plan was created by another teacher, Valerie A. Person. She shared it on Melissa’s Teach Living Poets website.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s meant to help students capture the tone of a poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right, so what is the author’s attitude towards his subject before the shift? And then the other type of glitter you’re adding into your bottle is the tone after the shift, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each student has picked a poem to analyze. They fill a 16-ounce bottle with hot water and glue. Then add food dye, glitter and sequins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can mix colors if you want, just use one, whatever you think represents the theme of your poem.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When they’re finished, Melissa adds mineral oil and hand soap to the bottles to create viscosity. Students shake up their bottles to see the glitter and sequins swirl around. They also write a paragraph on an index card, explaining how their tone bottle reflects their poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A student named Dean based his bottle on “Looking for the Golf Motel” by Richard Blanco.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And why did you pick orange for your liquid? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because it reminds me of, like, the sunset that he was describing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what what glitter do you have in there? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have, like, a mixture of red and yellow to go, like, counteract the orange. But then I also like black describing his feelings when he couldn’t find it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aw, that’s really good. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nice job, Dean.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another student, Christina, chose a poem called, “Like When Passing Graveyards” by R.A. Villanueva. In it, the poet recalls holding his breath when riding past cemeteries as a child.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christina: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the sparkles are for nostalgia and your childhood, but then also the dark color is the whole point of the poem is like it’s about a childhood fear. So I wanted to do something that shows, like, the darkness of a graveyard and the fear behind it. But it’s also like the nostalgia of growing up with your siblings and, like, having these connections and these little fears that you like, create off each other.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christina says she enjoys this approach to analyzing a poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christina: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel like it makes it honestly a\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> little bit more fun. It’s like kindergarten, but also it makes it more visual, because a lot of the time when you’re just writing what you feel from a poem or what you imagine, it’s when you notice, like, the colors and, like, you’re able to point out more techniques and, like, the smaller details of a poem, especially when we’re looking for certain lines and certain words, rather than just oh, what’s the theme? What’s the tone? Like, you’re looking for more specifics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With these activities, students are practicing the same academic skills as when they study any other piece of literature. But Melissa says focusing on living poets does two things that studying dead poets does not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first is that it diversifies the literary canon. We heard a little about that from Aaliyah, the former student who identified with Clint Smith’s poems about his experiences as an African American.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa has a lot of stories about her students finding personal connections to living poets. Like when she gave a blog writing assignment and two transgender students chose to write about the trans poet H. Melt. Here’s an excerpt from H. Melt.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>H. Melt: \u003c/b>When they say “we are all trapped in the wrong body” / Imposter, impossible / No. / We are on the bus next to you / In the cubicle next to you…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">H. Melt sent signed book copies to Melissa’s two students after she shared their blogs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it was really special that now they have this signed copy of a, of a poet that they studied in class and, and just fell in love with and felt that common bond with because that’s like part of their identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kaveh Akbar’s poem about addiction resonated with another student. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kaveh Akbar: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Fort Wayne I drank the seniors / Old Milwaukee Old Crow / in Indianapolis I stopped / now I regret / every drink I never took \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my students’ father was struggling with alcoholism, and the way that the poem hit her was very different than how I took in the poem. Hers was just more raw and emotional and personal, and really beautiful, actually, in the way that she processed it and tied it to her own experiences with her family. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Latina student told Melissa that her class was the first time in her entire schooling she’d been assigned a book by a Latino writer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And she’s a senior. So it’s moments like that that are – make all of this, the Teach Living Poets hashtag, movement, website, all the things happening in the classroom, worth it.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second big thing Melissa says teaching living poets can do is empower students as writers. Every spring, she organizes a big workshop where guest poets visit in person to give readings and discuss their craft with her students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was probably one of my favorite days of high school. I sat at a table with R.A. Villanueva and I was just, like, freaked out the whole time, like kind of starstruck.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Jenna Johnson, another of Melissa’s former students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I started writing when I was about 15. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> like, it felt important in the moment. But looking back, it’s like reading your embarrassing, like, diary. Like a lot of just, like, melodramatic, like high school love poems, breakup poems, all that stuff.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The workshop was her first time hearing poets read their work live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That just, like, changes how you can approach someone’s work completely. Hearing, like, the tone and like the voice that they intend for it to be read.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early in high school, Jenna planned to become a nurse. But when she didn’t like AP bio and loved AP lit, she started rethinking her path.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the big things that, like I didn’t realize until I read contemporary poets is kind of like the lawlessness of poetry. Like, you don’t have to like, um, adhere to, like, strict forms or rhyme schemes or – kind of knowing that you can literally just write a poem and there’s so many different forms, you can do literally anything with it. That was a huge thing to me that felt like that made it something I could do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jenna is now in a creative writing master’s program at New York University. She wants to continue writing poetry and become a professor. This fall, she’s teaching a writing class for undergraduates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been thinking a lot about Miss Smith, because I know that, like, I felt like I had a really good education in poetry because of her. And like, I felt really well prepared going into undergrad and grad school that I knew of these contemporary poets and stuff. So when I was writing my syllabus I was thinking a lot about it. And like including as many living poets as possible, that I felt like my students could or will be able to, like, feel close to and feel like they can relate to a lot more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember how Jenna said she felt starstruck sitting next to a guest writer at the poetry workshop?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I spoke with that poet – R.A. Villanueva, whose first name is Ron.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/strong>We open class with still images where / by the thousands above Costa Brava / starlings flock and tumble, swirl in answer / to some unseen danger, their looping dark / against that bonfire sky, shifting\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b> Ron is not only a living poet. He’s also a middle school English teacher and a professor at Sarah Lawrence College. He met Melissa on Twitter, around the time she started the #teachlivingpoets hashtag. He says it was inspiring to see that conversation spread among teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa’s pedagogy really continues to vivify and bring to life over and over again, the fact that poetry is not some ancient, antiquated form for us to to be archeologists and dig around in. But it’s it’s that and something else. It’s something contemporary, it’s something modern. It’s something that people do because they love and are frustrated by language.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ron is a recurring guest at Melissa’s poetry workshop. He says her classroom is special because of the way she challenges students academically while also centering joy. He thinks, too often, teachers are told that joy and rigor can’t co-exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What if rigor is not just pain? And like, what if rigor is what you’re actually trying to say is like – there’s a certain intensity. But intensity can also be imagination. And that’s what her classroom feels like. There are skills that are being tested, muscles that are being stretched. Um, but it’s not done only through trauma or grief or like rote memorization and then regurgitation.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s something else. It’s something weirder. And I think that is what we should allow teachers to have space to, to try. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa says teaching living poets has transformed not only what she teaches, but how she teaches.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It has re-sparked my passion for teaching in general. I have loosened up my sense of the need for control over the lesson and the learning and giving some of that control over to my students. I have come to realize for me in my classroom that the best learning happens when I actually don’t say a thing. Right? Where I allow my students to have a conversation, to collaborate and to explore a poem together, and then to share it with me.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The contemporary poetry scene is full of innovative and diverse writers. By inviting those voices into their classrooms, teachers can open doors for students to connect with the rhythms and rhymes of poetry. And that can help them grow as readers, writers, and people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode would not have been possible without Melissa Smith. To learn more, you can read the book she wrote with Lindsay Illich. It’s called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teach Living Poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students you heard in this episode were: Xuting, Collin, Emma, Sam, Dean and Christina.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Aaliyah Farmer, Jenna Johnson and Ron Villanueva.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo, Nimah Gobir and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Boraks provided field recording.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you for listening to Season 9 of the MindShift podcast. That’s it for these deep dive episodes. MindShift will be back soon with new episodes featuring conversations about big ideas in education. Be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss a thing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>*Editor’s note: R.A. Villanueva’s poem ‘We open class with still images where’ first appeared in the fall 2024 issue of Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Teaching living poets not only makes poetry more fun; it also makes it more accessible and relevant to students and empowers them as readers and writers.\r\n","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1727181752,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":151,"wordCount":6362},"headData":{"title":"Why Poetry Is Making a Comeback in Schools | KQED","description":"Teaching living poets not only makes poetry more fun; it also makes it more accessible and relevant to students and empowers them as readers and writers.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialDescription":"Teaching living poets not only makes poetry more fun; it also makes it more accessible and relevant to students and empowers them as readers and writers.","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Why Poetry Is Making a Comeback in Schools","datePublished":"2024-09-24T03:00:54-07:00","dateModified":"2024-09-24T05:42:32-07:00","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC7494279697.mp3?updated=1726863821","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-64621","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/mindshift/64621/why-poetry-is-making-a-comeback-in-schools","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a spring afternoon last year, students in \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/MelAlterSmith\">Melissa Alter Smith\u003c/a>’s class bustled around the room, filling 16 ounce plastic bottles with hot water, food dye, glitter and glue.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You can mix colors if you want. Just use one whatever you think represents the theme of your poem,” Smith instructed as students moved between stations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This was English, not art class, and the goal was not just to make a pretty, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instructables.com/Calm-Bottle-aka-Glitter-Jar/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">calming\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> bottle. Each student had selected a contemporary poem to analyze, and they chose food coloring and glitter that would represent the tone of the poem. When finished with their bottles, they wrote a paragraph on an index card, explaining their choices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One student, Christina, chose a poem called, “Like When Passing Graveyards” by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803296381/reliquaria/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">R.A. Villanueva\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In it, the poet recalls holding his breath when riding past cemeteries as a child. “The sparkles are for nostalgia and your childhood and looking back when you have like, you’re growing up with your siblings,” Christina said as she held up her bottle. “But then also the dark color is the whole point of the poem is it’s about a childhood fear. So I wanted to do something that shows the darkness of a graveyard and the fear behind it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2019/05/31/tone-bottles-explore-tone-in-poetry-with-this-engaging-hands-on-activity/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">tone bottles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” exercise, which was created by teacher Valerie A. Person, is one of dozens on Smith’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teach Living Poets\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> website. Smith created the website as a place for teachers to share lesson plans as her hashtag, #teachlivingpoets, took off on social media in the late 2010s. The idea behind both the website and the hashtag is to encourage teachers to diversify the literary canon and expose students to the vibrant world of contemporary poetry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64741\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A white woman in a polka dot dress holds a pen and pad of sticky notes. She stands in front of a white board.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6337-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">High school teacher Melissa Smith is the creator of the #teachlivingpoets hashtag and website. \u003ccite>(David Boraks for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith began using the #teachlivingpoets hashtag about eight years ago, after seeing how actively her students tuned in when she invited real poets to class to give readings and talk about their craft. After a few students asked to borrow her poetry books over spring break, she tweeted about it, and tagged the poets. One of them, Kaveh Akbar, replied: “Thank you for teaching living poets.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I was like, that has a real ring to it, doesn’t it? And so that’s how the hashtag was born,” Smith said. “So every time I would share then, anything I was doing in my classroom regarding living poets, I included that hashtag with it, and teachers were liking it. They were sharing it, they were replying to it, they were eating it up.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the idea and hashtag grew, so, too, did the need for lesson plans to teach the work of living poets. “You can easily find a curriculum guide for Robert Frost’s work or for Shakespeare’s sonnets, right? But if you’re going to teach a poem that was just published a month ago, there’s no SparkNotes for that,” Smith said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Filling that gap meant getting creative, even weird, Smith said, whether that means asking students to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2023/11/30/exploring-structure-in-hanif-abdurraqibs-poem-it-is-maybe-time-to-admit-that-michael-jordan-definitely-pushed-off/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“walk a poem”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to feel the rhythm and patterns, having them \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2024/03/06/shoe-design-as-poetry-analysis/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">design shoes based on a poem\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or facilitating a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://teachlivingpoets.com/2024/03/07/new-march-madness-poetry-bracket-2024/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March-Madness-style poetry smackdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1791633632274055590"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Christina, making the tone bottle reminded her of kindergarten – in a good way. “It makes it honestly a little bit more fun,” she said. “When you notice the colors and you’re able to point out more techniques and, like, the smaller details of a poem, especially when we’re looking for certain lines and certain words, rather than just ‘Oh, what’s the theme? What’s the tone?’ You’re looking for more specifics.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Smith and former students, teaching and studying living poets not only makes poetry more fun; it also makes it more accessible and relevant to current generations and empowers them to find themselves as readers and writers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Opening up the canon\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah Farmer, a former student of Smith’s and recent college graduate, remembers loving poetry as a kid – when her classes read whimsical poetry by Shel Silverstein. “In elementary school and middle school, we’re so used to reading poetry like that. And then whenever we got to, like, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, it was immediately like, oh, you’re reading Shakespeare or like Shakespeare-esque poets from previous, before, like, way before we could even think about.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmer said that when she read centuries-old poetry, the language and the themes felt disconnected from her life. But things changed when she took Smith’s AP literature class at Lake Norman Charter High School. Reading books by contemporary poets, like \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.clintsmithiii.com/about\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Clint Smith\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://aimeenez.net/bio\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aimee Nezhukumatathil\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, reminded Farmer of her early love for the form. “18-year-old, 17-year-old Aaliyah, reading Clint Smith and Aimee, I’m so excited to read it because I just understand it better than other poets I had read before,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Farmer, Clint Smith’s writing did something the classics did not: It reflected the world she was growing up in. “For me and I would say my other friends that I had the class with that were also African-American, we had a pride in what he was saying in the book,” she explained. “If he was talking about, like his father or his grandfather or influential people in his life, we all have like that same person in our lives, so we were just able to build that pride and then also … how there’s also duality between slavery, but also everything that everything else that we’ve overcome, we were able to connect. And I think the pride for me came out in that sense as well.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64739\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-64739\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Students in desks and on a couch in a classroom take notes. A person appears on smartboard screen at the front of the room.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/DSC_6260-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students in Melissa Smith’s class at Lake Norman Charter High School take notes while watching Rudy Francisco recite “My Honest Poem.” \u003ccite>(David Boraks for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giving students a chance to see themselves in the literary canon is one of the biggest benefits of teaching living poets, according to Smith. She has a lot of stories about her students finding personal connections to living poets. Like when she gave a blog writing assignment and two transgender students chose to write about the trans poet H. Melt. With permission from her students, Smith shared the blog posts with H. Melt, who in turn sent signed book copies to the students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of Kaveh Akbar’s poems about addiction resonated with another student. “One of my students’ father was struggling with alcoholism, and the way that the poem hit her was very different than how I took in the poem,” Smith said. “Hers was just more raw and emotional and personal, and really beautiful, actually, in the way that she processed it, and tied it to her own experiences with her family.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Latina student told Melissa that her class was the first time in her entire schooling she’d been assigned a book by a Latino writer. “And she’s a senior. So it’s moments like that that make all of this – the Teach Living Poets hashtag, movement, website, all the things happening in the classroom – worth it,” Smith said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Farmer said Clint Smith’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has stuck with her. “A lot of the books from high school, I’m not going to lie, I did not keep. But that one I did keep.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Empowering young writers\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another powerful effect of teaching living poets, according to Smith, is empowering students as writers. Every spring, she organizes a big workshop where guest poets visit in person to give readings and discuss their craft with her students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It was probably one of my favorite days of high school. It was like a full day and we had lunch with them,” said Jenna Johnson, another of Melissa’s former students. “I sat at a table with R.A. Villanueva and I was just, like, freaked out the whole time, like kind of starstruck.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Johnson started writing poetry around age 15. “It felt important in the moment. But looking back, it’s like reading your embarrassing diary. Like a lot of just melodramatic high school love poems, breakup poems, all that stuff,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early in high school, Johnson planned to become a nurse. But when she didn’t like AP bio and loved AP lit, she started rethinking her path. “One of the big things that I didn’t realize until I read contemporary poets is kind of like the lawlessness of poetry. You don’t have to adhere to strict forms or rhyme schemes or – kind of knowing that you can literally just write a poem and there’s so many different forms, you can do literally anything with it. That was a huge thing to me that felt like that made it something I could do,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The workshop in Smith’s class was Johnson’s first time hearing poets read their work live. “That just changes how you can approach someone’s work completely. Kind of hearing the tone and the voice that they intend for it to be read.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Johnson is now in a creative writing master’s program at New York University. She wants to continue writing poetry and become a professor. This fall, she’s teaching a writing class for undergraduates. Heading into the semester, Smith’s influence was still present.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I felt like I had a really good education in poetry because of her. And I felt really well prepared going into undergrad and grad school that I knew of these contemporary poets,” Johnson said. “So when I was writing my syllabus, I was thinking a lot about it, and including as many living poets as possible that I felt like my students will be able to feel close to and feel like they can relate to a lot more.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Embracing joy and rigor\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://caesura.nu/\">Villanueva\u003c/a> – the writer whose poem Christina analyzed and who Johnson met during the workshop – is not only a living poet. He’s also a middle school English teacher and a professor at Sarah Lawrence College. He met Smith on Twitter, around the time she started the #teachlivingpoets hashtag. He said it was inspiring to see that conversation spread among teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Melissa’s pedagogy really continues to vivify and bring to life over and over again, the fact that poetry is not some ancient, antiquated form for us to to be archeologists and dig around in. But it’s that and something else. It’s something contemporary, it’s something modern. It’s something that people do because they love and are frustrated by language,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Villanueva is a recurring guest at Melissa’s poetry workshop. He said her classroom is special because of the way she challenges students academically while also centering joy. He thinks teachers are too often told that joy and rigor can’t co-exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What if rigor is not just pain?” He asked. “What if … what you’re actually trying to say is there’s a certain intensity? But intensity can also be imagination. And that’s what her classroom feels like. … There are skills that are being tested, muscles that are being stretched. But it’s not done only through trauma or grief or like rote memorization and then regurgitation. It’s something else. It’s something weirder. And I think that is what we should allow teachers to have space to try.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith said teaching living poets has transformed not only what she teaches, but how she teaches. “It has re-sparked my passion for teaching in general. I have loosened up my sense of the need for control over the lesson and the learning and giving some of that control over to my students,” she said. “I have come to realize for me in my classroom that the best learning happens when I actually don’t say a thing, right? Where I allow my students to have a conversation, to collaborate and to explore a poem together, and then to share it with me.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC7494279697\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Shel Silverstein: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I cannot go to school today!” / Said little Peggy Ann McKay / “I have the measles and the mumps / A gash, a rash, and purple bumps / My mouth…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the voice of Shel Silverstein, who’s been one of the most popular poets for elementary schoolers – for multiple generations now. Recent college graduate Aaliyah Farmer remembers loving Silverstein’s poems when she was young.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In elementary school and like middle school, we’re so used to reading poetry like that. And then whenever we got to, like, ninth grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, it was immediately like, oh, you’re reading Shakespeare or like Shakespeare-esque poets from previous, before, like way before we could even think about.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah says that when she read poetry from several centuries ago, the language and the themes felt disconnected from her life. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But things changed during her senior year of high school. That’s when Aaliyah took AP literature, and her teacher assigned books by contemporary poets, like Clint Smith and Aimee Nezhukumatathil.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That was like a comparable experience, like five-year-old or six year old Aaliyah reading Shel Silverstein, like, I was so excited to read poetry. 18-year-old, 17-year-old Aaliyah, reading Clint Smith and Aimee, like, I’m so excited to read it because I just understand it better than other poets I had read before.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Aaliyah, Clint Smith’s writing did something older poetry did not: It reflected the world she was growing up in. Here’s an excerpt from Smith’s poetry collection, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">explores themes of lineage, tradition and Black humanity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clint Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My grandfather is a quarter century / older than his right to vote & two / decades younger than the president / who signed the paper that made it so. / He married my grandmother when they / Were four years younger than I am now / & were twice as sure about each other / As I’ve ever been about most things.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For me and I would say my other friends that I had the class with that were like also African American, we like, had a pride in what he was saying in the book. If he was talking about, like his father, or his grandfather, or influential people in his life, we all have like that same person in our lives, like so we were just able to build that pride and then also, like, how there’s, like, also duality between slavery, but also everything that everything else that we’ve overcome, um, we were able to connect. And I think the pride for me came out in that sense as well.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah says \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Counting Descent\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> has stuck with her.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Aaliyah Farmer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of the books from high school, I’m not going to lie, I did not keep. But that one I did keep.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aaliyah Farmer read Clint Smith’s book in a class at Lake Norman Charter High School in North Carolina. Her teacher, Melissa Smith, has made it her mission to bring vibrant contemporary poetry into her classroom. She encourages other teachers to do this too – through the social media hashtag #teachinglivingpoets. She’s written a book and created a website with the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I say teach living poets, I don’t mean to completely cut off those traditional canonical poets. To discover how they’re in conversation with poets today is actually really brilliant and amazing. It’s just we need to open the door wider to let more voices into our classrooms and who we’re teaching in our poetry curriculum.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa first observed the power of teaching living poets about eight years ago.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s when she found out that Pulitzer Prize finalist Morri Creech taught at a university not far from her school. She invited him to visit her classes.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was like, here, sitting in front of us and having conversation with us about his poems. And I distinctly remember one of my boys, he was decked out in his soccer uniform because he had a game later that day, and at the end of that class he said, ‘Miss Smith, that was the coolest class I ever had.’ And I was like, by golly, I’ve unlocked some sort of secret, right? I was like, I need to do this more and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So she reached out to poets who were active online. She invited them to speak with her students in person and on Skype.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I saw just the energy change in my classroom. I saw their eyes light up. I saw them actually being interested. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When some of Melissa’s students wanted to borrow her poetry books over spring break, she was thrilled. She tweeted about it, and tagged the poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Kaveh Akbar, one of my favorite, most favorite poets ever retweeted and said, ‘Thank you for teaching living poets.’ And I was like, huh, that has a real ring to it, doesn’t it? And so that’s how the hashtag was born, was out of his, retweet, ‘Thank you for teaching living poets.’ And so every time I would share then, anything I was doing in my classroom regarding living poets, I included that hashtag with it, and teachers were liking it, they were sharing it, they were replying to it. They were eating it up.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the #teachlivingpoets hashtag grew, Melissa realized there weren’t a lot of materials for teaching contemporary poetry in high school English.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can easily find a curriculum guide for Robert Frost’s work or for Shakespeare’s sonnets, right? But if you’re going to teach a poem that was just published a month ago, there’s no SparkNotes for that. Right? And so I think a lot of teachers are – I don’t want to use the word fearful, but for lack of a better word, nervous or uncomfortable with teaching contemporary poetry, because it’s, they feel like they have to have all the answers. And that’s really not the case. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa created the Teach Living Poets website\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to fill the gap. She and other English teachers share free lesson plans there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Sometimes as a teacher it can be a very isolating job, especially in our current climate, with teachers being attacked by angry parents and, you know, trying to ban books at school board meetings and whatnot. To have a community that you feel supported by and included in can be a game changer for some teachers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One activity Melissa’s students enjoy is a March Madness Poetry Bracket.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like the March Madness basketball tournaments. But instead of athletes competing, it’s poetry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So first thing we’re going to do is we’re going to watch the poems one last time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Each day Melissa’s classes watch two poetry videos. Students decide which poem they think is best and try to persuade their classmates in an informal debate. Then they vote.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa tallies the votes across all periods. The winners from one week go head-to-head the next week, and so on. Until only two remain for the final round.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s where things stand today. The students are going to vote for the big winner.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OMG. A true battle of champions.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first contender is “My Honest Poem” by Rudy Francisco. It’s an exploration of his fears and flaws. Here’s an excerpt.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rudy Francisco: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m still learning how to whisper\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m often loud in places where I should be quiet, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m often quiet in places where I should be loud.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> / \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was born feet first and I’ve been backwards ever since.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The other finalist in today’s showdown is called “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones. It’s about how technology is reshaping our lives.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marshall Davis Jones: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Introducing the new Apple iPerson / complete with multitouch and volume control / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / doesn’t it feel good to touch? / my world is so digital / that I have forgotten what that feels like\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of Melissa’s students take notes at desks around the edge of the room. Others lounge on comfy chairs in the middle, using lap pads to write on. When the second poem finishes playing, they dive into discussion.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Xuting: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s this one line where he says, ‘We used to be in the trees. We swung down, and then someone slipped a disc, and now we’re hunched over touchscreens.’ Right. And if you think of that image of, like, the human evolution, right. What is hunched over is the ape, the primates. And what is standing up is the human. And if we’re hunched over again, then, I mean, does that mean we’re going backwards? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They debate how well each poem conveys its message.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Collin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some of the quotes, for example, ‘I wonder what my bedsheets say when I’m not around.’ I feel like that’s kind of one of those things when you don’t know your own identity. So it’s kind of a broader message that Rudy is speaking, and I feel like that makes it where it’s easier to relate to.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And they reflect on bigger issues raised by the poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emma: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I, I think that, um, the fact that technology is such a prevalent problem, like everybody knows. You are constantly told not to be on your phone, to limit your screen time, over and over and over. What isn’t talked about is how all of us face our own, like internal issues. That’s and I think that’s what makes, like ‘My Honest Poem’ more impactful because nobody really talks about that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sam: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d like to say that I think a lot of these internal issues, at least in modern society, are being intensified by the technology talked about in ‘Touchscreen.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These high school seniors are identifying literary devices, citing evidence to support their arguments, and connecting what they’ve heard to their own lives. These are all the things English teachers want to hear in class. They’re also laughing and being playful with each other. Melissa says that’s typical.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At first, the kids are like, oh, yeah, this is fine. This is cool. But once we get down to, like, the Final Four and especially the last two poems, they start arguing. They start getting really, you know, invested in the poem that they like better. They, they try to convince their neighbor like, ‘no man, vote for the other one.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After 15 minutes of discussion, it’s time to pick a winner.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right. Heads down. Secret vote. Raise your hand if you want to vote for Rudy Francisco, ‘My Honest Poem.’ Raise your hand if you want to vote for Marshall Jones, ‘Touchscreen.’\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students won’t hear the winner until the next day, but when Melissa counts votes across all her classes, “Touchscreen,” the poem about technology, comes out on top.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the vote, they move on to an activity called tone bottles.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so, one of your glitter choices is going to represent the tone before the shift.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This lesson plan was created by another teacher, Valerie A. Person. She shared it on Melissa’s Teach Living Poets website.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s meant to help students capture the tone of a poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right, so what is the author’s attitude towards his subject before the shift? And then the other type of glitter you’re adding into your bottle is the tone after the shift, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each student has picked a poem to analyze. They fill a 16-ounce bottle with hot water and glue. Then add food dye, glitter and sequins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can mix colors if you want, just use one, whatever you think represents the theme of your poem.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When they’re finished, Melissa adds mineral oil and hand soap to the bottles to create viscosity. Students shake up their bottles to see the glitter and sequins swirl around. They also write a paragraph on an index card, explaining how their tone bottle reflects their poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A student named Dean based his bottle on “Looking for the Golf Motel” by Richard Blanco.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And why did you pick orange for your liquid? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because it reminds me of, like, the sunset that he was describing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what what glitter do you have in there? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have, like, a mixture of red and yellow to go, like, counteract the orange. But then I also like black describing his feelings when he couldn’t find it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aw, that’s really good. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Dean: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nice job, Dean.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another student, Christina, chose a poem called, “Like When Passing Graveyards” by R.A. Villanueva. In it, the poet recalls holding his breath when riding past cemeteries as a child.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christina: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the sparkles are for nostalgia and your childhood, but then also the dark color is the whole point of the poem is like it’s about a childhood fear. So I wanted to do something that shows, like, the darkness of a graveyard and the fear behind it. But it’s also like the nostalgia of growing up with your siblings and, like, having these connections and these little fears that you like, create off each other.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christina says she enjoys this approach to analyzing a poem.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Christina: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel like it makes it honestly a\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> little bit more fun. It’s like kindergarten, but also it makes it more visual, because a lot of the time when you’re just writing what you feel from a poem or what you imagine, it’s when you notice, like, the colors and, like, you’re able to point out more techniques and, like, the smaller details of a poem, especially when we’re looking for certain lines and certain words, rather than just oh, what’s the theme? What’s the tone? Like, you’re looking for more specifics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With these activities, students are practicing the same academic skills as when they study any other piece of literature. But Melissa says focusing on living poets does two things that studying dead poets does not.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first is that it diversifies the literary canon. We heard a little about that from Aaliyah, the former student who identified with Clint Smith’s poems about his experiences as an African American.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa has a lot of stories about her students finding personal connections to living poets. Like when she gave a blog writing assignment and two transgender students chose to write about the trans poet H. Melt. Here’s an excerpt from H. Melt.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>H. Melt: \u003c/b>When they say “we are all trapped in the wrong body” / Imposter, impossible / No. / We are on the bus next to you / In the cubicle next to you…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">H. Melt sent signed book copies to Melissa’s two students after she shared their blogs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it was really special that now they have this signed copy of a, of a poet that they studied in class and, and just fell in love with and felt that common bond with because that’s like part of their identity. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kaveh Akbar’s poem about addiction resonated with another student. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kaveh Akbar: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Fort Wayne I drank the seniors / Old Milwaukee Old Crow / in Indianapolis I stopped / now I regret / every drink I never took \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my students’ father was struggling with alcoholism, and the way that the poem hit her was very different than how I took in the poem. Hers was just more raw and emotional and personal, and really beautiful, actually, in the way that she processed it and tied it to her own experiences with her family. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Latina student told Melissa that her class was the first time in her entire schooling she’d been assigned a book by a Latino writer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And she’s a senior. So it’s moments like that that are – make all of this, the Teach Living Poets hashtag, movement, website, all the things happening in the classroom, worth it.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The second big thing Melissa says teaching living poets can do is empower students as writers. Every spring, she organizes a big workshop where guest poets visit in person to give readings and discuss their craft with her students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was probably one of my favorite days of high school. I sat at a table with R.A. Villanueva and I was just, like, freaked out the whole time, like kind of starstruck.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Jenna Johnson, another of Melissa’s former students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I started writing when I was about 15. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> like, it felt important in the moment. But looking back, it’s like reading your embarrassing, like, diary. Like a lot of just, like, melodramatic, like high school love poems, breakup poems, all that stuff.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The workshop was her first time hearing poets read their work live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That just, like, changes how you can approach someone’s work completely. Hearing, like, the tone and like the voice that they intend for it to be read.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early in high school, Jenna planned to become a nurse. But when she didn’t like AP bio and loved AP lit, she started rethinking her path.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the big things that, like I didn’t realize until I read contemporary poets is kind of like the lawlessness of poetry. Like, you don’t have to like, um, adhere to, like, strict forms or rhyme schemes or – kind of knowing that you can literally just write a poem and there’s so many different forms, you can do literally anything with it. That was a huge thing to me that felt like that made it something I could do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jenna is now in a creative writing master’s program at New York University. She wants to continue writing poetry and become a professor. This fall, she’s teaching a writing class for undergraduates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jenna Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been thinking a lot about Miss Smith, because I know that, like, I felt like I had a really good education in poetry because of her. And like, I felt really well prepared going into undergrad and grad school that I knew of these contemporary poets and stuff. So when I was writing my syllabus I was thinking a lot about it. And like including as many living poets as possible, that I felt like my students could or will be able to, like, feel close to and feel like they can relate to a lot more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember how Jenna said she felt starstruck sitting next to a guest writer at the poetry workshop?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I spoke with that poet – R.A. Villanueva, whose first name is Ron.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/strong>We open class with still images where / by the thousands above Costa Brava / starlings flock and tumble, swirl in answer / to some unseen danger, their looping dark / against that bonfire sky, shifting\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b> Ron is not only a living poet. He’s also a middle school English teacher and a professor at Sarah Lawrence College. He met Melissa on Twitter, around the time she started the #teachlivingpoets hashtag. He says it was inspiring to see that conversation spread among teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa’s pedagogy really continues to vivify and bring to life over and over again, the fact that poetry is not some ancient, antiquated form for us to to be archeologists and dig around in. But it’s it’s that and something else. It’s something contemporary, it’s something modern. It’s something that people do because they love and are frustrated by language.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ron is a recurring guest at Melissa’s poetry workshop. He says her classroom is special because of the way she challenges students academically while also centering joy. He thinks, too often, teachers are told that joy and rigor can’t co-exist.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Ron Villanueva: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What if rigor is not just pain? And like, what if rigor is what you’re actually trying to say is like – there’s a certain intensity. But intensity can also be imagination. And that’s what her classroom feels like. There are skills that are being tested, muscles that are being stretched. Um, but it’s not done only through trauma or grief or like rote memorization and then regurgitation.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s something else. It’s something weirder. And I think that is what we should allow teachers to have space to, to try. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Melissa says teaching living poets has transformed not only what she teaches, but how she teaches.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Melissa Smith: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It has re-sparked my passion for teaching in general. I have loosened up my sense of the need for control over the lesson and the learning and giving some of that control over to my students. I have come to realize for me in my classroom that the best learning happens when I actually don’t say a thing. Right? Where I allow my students to have a conversation, to collaborate and to explore a poem together, and then to share it with me.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The contemporary poetry scene is full of innovative and diverse writers. By inviting those voices into their classrooms, teachers can open doors for students to connect with the rhythms and rhymes of poetry. And that can help them grow as readers, writers, and people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode would not have been possible without Melissa Smith. To learn more, you can read the book she wrote with Lindsay Illich. It’s called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teach Living Poets.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students you heard in this episode were: Xuting, Collin, Emma, Sam, Dean and Christina.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Aaliyah Farmer, Jenna Johnson and Ron Villanueva.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo, Nimah Gobir and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Boraks provided field recording.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you for listening to Season 9 of the MindShift podcast. That’s it for these deep dive episodes. MindShift will be back soon with new episodes featuring conversations about big ideas in education. Be sure to follow the show so you don’t miss a thing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>*Editor’s note: R.A. Villanueva’s poem ‘We open class with still images where’ first appeared in the fall 2024 issue of Mānoa: A Pacific Journal of International Writing.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/64621/why-poetry-is-making-a-comeback-in-schools","authors":["11487"],"programs":["mindshift_21942"],"categories":["mindshift_21130","mindshift_193"],"tags":["mindshift_21016"],"featImg":"mindshift_64740","label":"mindshift_21942"},"mindshift_64572":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_64572","meta":{"index":"posts_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64572","score":null,"sort":[1725962434000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"humanizing-history-by-learning-with-primary-sources","title":"Humanizing History by Teaching with Primary Sources","publishDate":1725962434,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Humanizing History by Teaching with Primary Sources | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":21942,"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To an outside observer, there’s nothing particularly special about the beige rug at the front of Miranda Lyle’s fourth grade classroom. But for Lyle, it’s the best spot in the room. It’s where students gather for morning meetings, read-alouds, and when Lyle wants to facilitate an intimate learning conversation instead of a lecture. Lyle compared the feeling on the rug to that of gathering around a campfire. “They’re all kind of sitting in a relaxed, comfortable place, there’s proximity, but there’s also, you know, just like a shared comfort level of having the rug,” she said. That makes it easier for her students to test new ideas, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62501/want-your-kids-to-be-happier-and-healthier-start-talking-with-them-about-uncomfortable-emotions\">express emotions\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52590/why-debate-may-be-the-best-way-to-save-constructive-disagreement\">disagree civilly\u003c/a>. “It’s been a very intentional place for us every year to see each other as equals and see each other as people,” Lyle said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last spring, her students gathered on the rug as they kicked off a social studies unit on school desegregation in Virginia, where they live. Lyle projected vocabulary words, like segregation, prejudice and integration on the smartboard above their heads, and the class practiced saying them together. Then Lyle clicked forward to a \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/learn/moton-school-story-digital-exhibit/\">black and white photo of a group of teenagers\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lyle asked the fourth graders to study the image closely. “I want you to observe and see as many things as you can before we even start today,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The teenagers in the photo were students at R.R. Moton High School – a segregated school in Farmville, Virginia, just over two hours southeast of where the fourth graders attended school.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In 1951, the Moton students \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/about/the-moton-story/\">went on strike to demand better school conditions\u003c/a>, which the white school board denied them. Their activism led to them becoming the only student plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education – the Supreme Court case that found school segregation unconstitutional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63692/5-takeaways-on-school-segregation-70-years-after-brown-v-board\">70 years ago\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead of reading about the Moton student strike in a textbook, fourth graders in Rockingham County Public Schools, where Lyle teaches, learn about it through photographs, diary entries and stories of the young people involved. These first-hand accounts of history are called primary sources. “A primary source at its very core is the raw material of history,” said Lee Ann Potter, the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many students today are \u003ca href=\"https://www.socialstudies.org/tps\">learning history through primary sources\u003c/a>. That shift, according to Potter, arose in the last two decades as museums and archival institutions began digitizing their collections, making them accessible to teachers and students online. At the Library of Congress, Potter and her team develop resources to help teachers use primary sources in their classrooms. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64657\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An exit ticket for a fourth grade lesson on segregation and integration at Rockingham County Public Schools. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Rockingham County, Lyle and a team of teachers designed a fourth grade civil rights unit\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> using the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://c3teachers.org/inquiry-design-model/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inquiry Design Model\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an instructional approach that encourages students to explore and investigate topics, rather than being passive recipients of information. In the civil rights unit, primary sources prompt that inquiry and exploration. That’s possible because, according to Lyle and her colleagues, primary sources can make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62588/how-two-teachers-spark-a-love-of-history-with-their-wardrobes\">people and events from history\u003c/a> feel more real and more textured for students. They can also help kids learn to think critically about the information they’re consuming. That’s increasingly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63390/ai-images-and-conspiracy-theories-are-driving-a-push-for-media-literacy-education\">necessary\u003c/a> as young people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63681/how-do-you-counter-misinformation-critical-thinking-is-step-one\">navigate a digital world\u003c/a> filled with misinformation and disinformation from both humans and artificial intelligence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Building empathy with historical figures\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the first day of the civil rights unit last spring, Lyle didn’t tell her students all the details about the Moton student strike. That would come later. Looking at the photo of the students was a preview amid a broader introduction to racial segregation. After answering some initial questions, Lyle clicked through slides that included background information on the Jim Crow era and more black and white photos of segregated water fountains, buses and neighborhoods. With each slide, the fourth graders pointed out details and asked questions. As the images marched on, their frustration with the injustices of the past rose.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64640\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 350px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64640\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1020x1360.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fourth graders in Miranda Lyle’s class sort through historical photos trying to identify which ones reflect segregation and which ones reflect integration. The activity was part of a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement in Virginia. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“So far, are you guys feeling like ‘separate but equal’ is fair?” Lyle asked.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Nooo! No!” The students shouted before she even finished the question.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think that’s a lie,” said one student, Alex.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyle said their reactions illustrated how photographs can help students empathize with people and events of the past. “Giving kids primary sources is one of the biggest signs of respect we can show the kids and the story,” she said. “I think it tells [them] we trust them. We know they can do it. And it gives them the opportunity to not just sit back and listen, but to become detectives, to uncover the story that might be deeper than what we were going to present them to begin with.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Examining agency and decision making\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At another fourth grade classroom in Rockingham County, students know teacher Carrie Lillard as a history buff who will occasionally bust out a rap from \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hamilton\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. On one wall of her room, a bulletin board says “History is storytelling” and features over a dozen cards highlighting notable people and events in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61095/how-a-virginia-educator-teaches-black-history-with-joy\">Virginia history\u003c/a>. By framing history as storytelling, Lillard said she wants students to see that the past is composed of people who made choices. And to be able to analyze the consequences – good, bad or complicated.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64658\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bulletin board in Carrie Lillard’s fourth grade classroom at Mountain View Elementary School in Rockingham County, Virginia. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the historical characters the fourth graders learn the most about in the civil rights unit is \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/learn/biography-barbara-rose-johns-powell/\">Barbara Johns\u003c/a>, the quiet 16-year-old\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who led her \u003ca href=\"https://motonschoolstory.org/home/\">Moton High School classmates\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the strike for better school facilities and resources. According to the \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/\">Robert Russa Moton Museum\u003c/a>, Moton High School was constructed for about 200 students. But by the 1950s it held more than 450.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And that wasn’t the only challenge. The roofs of the buildings leaked. Students had to hold umbrellas over their heads on rainy days. The only heat was from a potbelly stove. Anyone who sat near it got too hot, and kids who sat far away shivered in their winter coats.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">None of these problems existed at the nearby high school attended by white students. But despite lobbying by parents, the school board refused to build a new school for Black students. When Johns and her classmates went on strike, they wrote to the NAACP for help\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and eventually sued the school board. Their case became one of five that made up Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For a nine and ten year old, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that someone their age, or slightly older, or sometimes slightly younger, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62224/student-activists-go-to-summer-camp-to-learn-how-to-help-institute-a-green-new-deal-on-their-campuses\">can change the world\u003c/a> and with just one small decision. And that’s exactly what she did. So kids really grasp onto that,” said Lillard. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64647\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64647\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-800x500.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of a smiling woman shown from shoulders up. Grass, bushes and a house are in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Johns led classmates at Moton High School in a fight for better school facilities that they took all the way to the Supreme Court. She is shown here as an adult. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Robert Russa Moton Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to photos, the Rockingham County fourth graders learn about Johns’ motivations through another primary source: her diary. They read entries that Johns wrote later in life, recounting her time in high school. In one entry, she recalled missing the school bus one morning and trying to hitch a ride.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“One morning I was so busy rushing my brothers and sister down the hill to school that I forgot my own lunch and had to rush back up the hill to retrieve it. In the meantime, the bus arrived, picked them up and left me standing there by the roadside waiting to thumb a ride with whomever came by. About an hour later, I was still waiting when the white school bus drives by half empty on its way to Farmville High School. It would have to pass by my school to get to that school, and I couldn’t ride with them. Right then and there, I decided, indeed, something had to be done about this inequality – and I still didn’t know what.”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Emery, a fourth grader in Lillard’s class, reading Johns’ own words brought this history to life. “I liked how it was, in particular, how it was [the story of] a young girl,” Emery said. “Normally we learn about older people. But no, we learned about a 16-year-old, still a teenager.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although the Moton students and other Brown v. Board plaintiffs were successful, school segregation didn’t end immediately in Virginia. Local and state officials there actively defied the court ruling, even closing schools in several counties instead of integrating.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It took more protests\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and more court cases,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for schools to actually integrate.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lillard said her emphasis on viewing historical figures as people who had agency and made choices helps her students process this complex history. “I’m like, OK, so, you know, think about the same people who weren’t just automatically okay with the Civil War being over? They still harbor a lot of anger and resentment the same way, just because you’re forced to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62290/teaching-kids-the-right-way-to-say-im-sorry\">apologize to a friend\u003c/a> doesn’t automatically fix it,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Fostering critical thinking skills\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lillard and Lyle said that their former students still bring up Barbara Johns even when they leave fourth grade. For Lyle, that’s different from when she covered this topic without primary sources. “They knew her role. They knew her name. That was really it,” she said of earlier students. “I’m not even sure if they remember her story at all. Because they were passive in that process.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The goal of social studies isn’t just to memorize a list of names and dates. It’s also to help kids learn skills like analyzing information sources, using evidence to distinguish fact from opinion, and comparing and contrasting people, places and events.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> An example of that kind of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54470/why-content-knowledge-is-crucial-to-effective-critical-thinking\">critical thinking\u003c/a> occurred as Lyle’s students studied old photos of segregation. While examining a photo of a sign for a whites-only neighborhood, a student named Lily raised her hand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What makes me mad is that when the sign says, ‘We want white tenants in our white community,’ it has American flags on it,” Lily said. “And the Black people … are a part of America. So why do the white people say they’re usually more a part of America than the Black people?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyle said that Lily’s observation and question impressed her: “I was kind of sitting back there like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s brilliance.’ And that’s because she had the opportunity to just stare at a picture and stare long enough to see the little details that otherwise could be missed.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Potter, the Library of Congress educator, agreed that giving students opportunities to study primary sources can foster critical thinking. “The fact that you can go to the source where the information originated and get the context of the source and the rest of the story – if you can get kids interested and excited about that, then what we’re going to do is train a generation of young people to constantly question where information is coming from,” she said. “That is absolutely what primary sources can do for young people. And goodness knows we need more of that.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For teachers \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new to primary sources\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Potter recommended picking one item or document that complements the secondary sources in the curriculum. Teachers can invite students to observe, reflect and ask questions about the primary source using a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/documents/Primary_Source_Analysis_Tool_LOC.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one-page worksheet\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> developed by her team. The library’s website also contains \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/?fa=partof_type:primary+source+set\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">curated sets of primary sources\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> related to popular curriculum topics, such as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/new-deal/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the New Deal\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/womens-suffrage/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">women’s suffrage\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/rosa-parks/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rosa Parks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Blog posts\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> offer tips for how to use those resources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8008383152\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Welcome to MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nimah, do you like to make pancakes?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I do! They’re one of my favorite foods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Have you ever put peanut butter in your pancakes?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. It sounds delicious, but Kara, why do you ask?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I recently learned that civil rights icon Rosa Parks put peanut butter in her pancake batter. Her recipe is handwritten on the back of a bank envelope.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the recipe itself is terrific. It really is. If you need a good pancake recipe, add some peanut butter to it, and you will love them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Lee Ann Potter. She’s the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where the Rosa Parks papers are held.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Library of Congress is home to all sorts of documents from America’s past. They range from legal records\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to items that reflect the daily life of historical figures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rosa Parks collection includes a date book\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, photos of her with family,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> birthday cards sent to her by admiring children\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s a series in her papers of her membership cards. And, you know, you see her membership card for AARP. And it’s like, never occurred to me that Rosa Parks might be a member of AARP. But her membership card is in her papers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lee Ann and her team develop resources\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to help teachers use Library of Congress materials like these\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in their classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is not a day that goes by when I don’t stumble on something in the collection that either catches my breath or makes me think, oh, who can I tell about this cool thing? And\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the former classroom teacher in me is always thinking about, what is the thing that might have captured student attention or gotten students to think differently or deeply about something?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The materials at the Library of Congress are what we call primary sources. Unlike textbooks, they are first-hand accounts of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A primary source at its very core is the raw material of history. They can be newspapers. They can be photographs, maps, architectural drawings, sound recordings. They can be receipts. They can be memos. They can be scribbles. They can be doodles. They can be, truly, objects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many students today are learning history through primary sources. That wasn’t always the norm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the past two decades, museums and archival institutions started digitizing their collections and putting them online.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think as soon as the materials became available and more and more of these organizations worked in partnership with educators to really start building some pedagogy and tools around using these materials as classroom tools, as exercises, as opportunities for students, that’s when everything started to change.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Primary sources can make people and events of the past feel more real and more textured for students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They can also help kids learn to think critically about the information they’re consuming. That’s increasingly necessary as young people navigate a digital world filled with misinformation and disinformation from both humans and artificial intelligence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fact that you can go to the source where the information originated and get the context of the source and the rest of the story – if you can get kids interested and excited about that, then what we’re going to do is, is train a generation of young people to constantly question where information is coming from and constantly wonder, what is the original source for this bit of information that someone is trying to convey to me? And I think that is absolutely what primary sources can do for young people. And and goodness knows we need more of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this episode of MindShift, we’re going to hear how primary sources can bring history to life and deepen students’ understanding of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’ll do that by visiting two schools in Virginia where students are learning about the Civil Rights Movement. Stay with us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What happened after the Civil war?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Reconstruction!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To dig into the power of learning with primary sources, we’re visiting a fourth grade classroom in Rockingham County, Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So what are the words we’re gonna talk about today?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amendment, segregation, and pre-\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prejudice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amendment, segregation and prejudice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prejudice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those are the vocab words that students are learning in Miranda Lyle’s fourth grade class. The class is gathered on a beige rug at the front of the room.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You think you know what segregation means? What do you think it means?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is the start of a social studies unit about school desegregation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">White and Black people were separated from each other based on race, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Next, Miranda projects a black and white photo of a group of teenagers onto the smart board.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re going to read this picture. I want you to observe and see as many things as you can before we even start today. What do you, what do you notice? Why don’t you have a quiet thumb up. Keep looking at the screen. See if you can give me more than one idea.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The photograph is from 1951. It shows about 40 African-American teenagers standing outside looking at the camera. The boys wear collared shirts and in some cases ties. The girls wear dresses or long skirts and blouses. Many also wear long coats. In the background there are two buildings and a sidewalk flanked by mud and puddles.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Levi: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They look like they’re going to school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They look like they’re going to school. What makes you think they’re going to school?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Levi: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because they have, like, uniforms on. Well, like they have clothes that look school-y.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They have clothes that look kind of professional, kind of ready for school, I like that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These teenagers were students at R.R. Moton High School.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That was a segregated school in Farmville, Virginia – just over two hours southeast of where the fourth graders are sitting now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Miranda’s students don’t know it yet, but the young people they’re looking at were some of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education – the Supreme Court case that found school segregation unconstitutional 70 years ago.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Abigail.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Abigail: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It looks like, like, in the background those are like schools. Like the schools that they were in, like those small buildings.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like cabins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It looks like schools, smaller buildings, you notice they kind of look like cabins. What makes you think cabins when you look at that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like they’re made out of, like, wood and, like, it doesn’t really look like somewhere you’d want to live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The buildings they’re discussing were temporary classrooms made with cheap tar paper siding. Some people in Farmville said they looked like chicken coops. County officials built them to deal with overcrowding at Moton High School.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The school was constructed for about 200 students. But by the 1950s it held more than 450.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And that wasn’t the only challenge. The roofs of the buildings leaked. Students had to hold umbrellas over their heads on rainy days.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only heat was from a potbelly stove. Anyone who sat near it got too hot, and kids who sat far away shivered in their winter coats.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">None of these problems existed at the nearby high school attended by white students. But despite lobbying by parents, the school board refused to build a new school for Black students.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> To protest the disparities, a quiet 16-year-old named Barbara Johns led her classmates in a two-week\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> strike in 1951.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students wrote to the NAACP for help\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and eventually sued the school board. Their case became one of five that made up Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda’s fourth grade class will learn about all of that during this social studies unit. For now, this photo of the R. R. Moton students is just a teaser. Today is all about understanding the historical context of the Jim Crow era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We’re going to keep going because today we’re going to be looking at a lot of different pictures and a lot of different primary sources like this one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda clicks through slides that include background info and more black and white photos depicting segregated water fountains, buses and neighborhoods. The fourth graders point out details and ask questions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As they study the photos, they’re getting a strong sense of what racial segregation looked like. And they are not happy about it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, so far, are you guys feeling like separate but equal …\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alex: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is really a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is fair?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. No!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What are you feeling so far, Alex?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alex: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s like, I think that’s a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You think that separate but equal is a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda says, these photographs help students empathize with people and events of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Actually giving kids primary sources is one of the biggest signs of respect we can show the kids and the story. I think it tells us we trust them. We know they can do it. And it gives them the opportunity to not just sit back and listen, but to become detectives, to uncover the story that might be deeper than what we were going to present them to begin with.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s one student, Lily, responding to a photo of a sign for a whites-only neighborhood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What makes me mad is that when the sign says ‘We want white people in our white community,’ it has American flags on it. And the Black people are a part of America. So why do the white people say they’re usually more a part of America than the Black people?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re angry because those flags are for the United States, right? And you’re saying all races live in the United States. And at this point, remember, this is after that 15, 13, 14, the 15th amendment. So the Constitution says, yeah, these people are Americans, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Miranda and a team of teachers in Rockingham County designed this civil rights unit using inquiry-based teaching. That’s a method that encourages students to ask questions about the world and develop analytical thinking skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lily’s observation about the flag is an example of how primary sources can drive inquiry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was really impressed. I was I was kind of, like, sitting back there like, oh my goodness, that’s brilliance. And that’s because she had the, you know, like, had the opportunity to just stare at a picture and stare long enough to see the little details that otherwise could be missed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learning with primary sources has some great benefits, but it also comes with challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the big ones is that documents from the past may use language we wouldn’t use today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For instance, some of the photos that Miranda’s students were looking at included signs referring to Black people as “colored.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which is a sign that we’re going to see in a lot of different primary sources we look at. But remember, we talked last week about that Maya Angelou quote in, um, growth mindset that said, ‘know better and do better.’ Remember how we talked about how that’s something that was on those signs, but are we going to use that term? No, because we know better than that, so we’re going to do better than that. So using terms like African-American, even saying things like Black people or brown people, that’s allowed. But we want to stray away from using words that aren’t used anymore.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even with the upfront discussion about appropriate language, these are fourth graders. They’re still learning. And things can come up that require gentle correction.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> … that the Blacks are not getting treated very nicely because they have like —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Black people – we want to make sure we have that ‘people’ word at the end there. The Black people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mmhm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda tries to model the “know better, do better” idea herself, too. During their Civil War study, she had a slide that used the term “runaway slaves.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was talking with my class one day. I was like, I don’t like how that sounds, because, you know, and they’re like, ‘Well, yeah, runaway sounds like it’s a bad thing.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She went online and looked for alternate terms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And one that I found that my kids have really attached to was freedom seekers, because we talked about how ‘runaway’ sounds like they’re doing something wrong and they’re not doing anything wrong. They’re trying to, you know, gives them just a different way of looking at the entire situation.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not just language that can be hard in social studies. Topics like slavery and segregation reveal difficult truths about violence and injustice in American history. These topics have also become politicized in recent years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the news outlet Education Week, 17 states have passed bills or other policies that limit teachers’ ability to discuss racism in school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That includes here in Virginia, where the governor issued an executive order that bans so-called “divisive concepts,” such as critical race theory – which is an academic and legal framework.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Proponents of such policies often say that talking about racial injustice will make white children feel guilty. Miranda’s school is predominantly white\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and that hasn’t been her experience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had a student put on a study guide, ‘Which side did Virginia support?’ It was like ‘Virginia,’ he outlined in a heart, and then ‘supported the Confederacy’ and then had a broken heart. So they’re able to see, like, it’s not ‘you’re the problem’ or ‘Virginia today is the problem.’ They’re able to kind of see these, yeah, that was a big mistake people made for a long time. That was actually really detrimental. Why? Because kids, I think even our age, when we were children would have had the same, ‘That’s not fair’ had it been presented as, look at these primary sources. Look at these actual pictures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda also makes sure her students know that even though the R.R. Moton facilities were unequal, the students there were smart and had teachers who maintained high expectations for them. She doesn’t want her students to unconsciously equate bad conditions with people being downtrodden.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just because they had more supplies or they had better buildings or things like that, does that mean that the students weren’t as good?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Does it mean that the teachers weren’t as good?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No, no.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember we talked about at one of the schools we’re going to discuss, at R.R. Moton high school, one of the teachers would go on to work for NASA. Does that sound like somebody who’s going to be a good science teacher? Somebody who goes to NASA?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A good math teacher?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So we’re going to keep talking about these things.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After this introduction to segregation, the fourth graders will learn about Barbara Johns, the 16-year-old I mentioned earlier. She led her classmates in a fight for equal education that they took all the way to the Supreme Court.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That story is the beating heart\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">of this unit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the coolest things about Barbara Johns is that she was one, a student. She was not the same age as my own kids that I teach, but she was still a student who saw a problem in her school, which was in Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Carrie Lillard. She’s another fourth grade teacher in Rockingham County. She was on the same team as Miranda that created this unit about Barbara Johns and her classmates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For a nine and ten year old, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that someone their age or slightly older, or sometimes slightly younger, can change the world and with just one small decision. And that’s exactly what she did. So kids really grasp onto that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One way the fourth graders learn about Barbara Johns is from another primary source: her diary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One morning I was so busy rushing my brothers and sister down the hill to school that I forgot my own lunch and had to rush back up the hill to retrieve it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s one of Carrie’s students, Lily. She’s reading a diary entry that Barbara Johns wrote later in life recounting her time in high school. In it, Barbara recalls missing the school bus one morning and trying to hitch a ride.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">About an hour later, I was still waiting when the white school bus drives by half empty on its way to Farmville High School. It would have to pass by my school to get to that school, and I couldn’t ride with them. Right then and there, I decided, indeed, something had to be done about this inequality.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s another student, Emery, recalling what Barbara did after the day she missed the bus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She went up to her music teacher and said, ‘Hey, I have a problem’. And the teacher and she told her the problem. And the music teacher said, ‘If you have a problem, why don’t you fix it?’ And she gathered all these people in the auditorium and said, ‘If you want to be with me, you can be with me.’ And then she led a strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reading the diary entries helped Emery connect with Barbara Johns and the Brown v. Board case on a personal level.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I liked how it was, in particular, how it was a young girl. Normally when we, we learn about, like, older people. But no, we learned about a 16 year old. Still a teenager.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why did that stand out to you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because usually to teenagers, like these days in 2024, do some dumb stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Barbara Johns wasn’t doing dumb stuff?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No, she was doing brilliant stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rockingham County teachers told me that their former students still bring up Barbara Johns even when they leave fourth grade. Miranda says that’s different from when she covered this topic without primary sources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They knew her role. They knew her name. That was really it. And if they held onto it, what I could say about it now. I’m not even sure if they remember her story at all. Because it was more, they were passive in that process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The goal of social studies isn’t just to memorize a list of names and dates. It’s also to help kids learn skills like analyzing information sources, using evidence to distinguish fact from opinion, and comparing and contrasting people, places and events.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I heard examples of all of those skills as the fourth graders discussed photos and diary entries from Virginia’s history.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re not just sitting back and being passive listeners to a story. They’re seeing the actual actions and the consequences of those actions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those critical thinking skills also help students wrestle with the complexity of the past. Like the fact that schools did not immediately integrate after Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Virginia, local and state officials actively defied the court ruling. They even closed schools in several counties instead of integrating.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It took more protests\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and more court cases,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for schools to actually integrate in Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Carrie says the fourth graders learn about all of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Approaching history from ‘we are we are a combination of all of the choices we make’ helps when we get to this point. I’m like, OK, so, you know, think about the same people who weren’t just automatically okay with the Civil War being over, they still harbor a lot of anger and resentment the same way, just because you’re forced to apologize to a friend doesn’t automatically fix it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For their final assignment, the fourth graders write a letter to Barbara Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobbs. She participated in the Moton student strike and is still alive today.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leigha: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dear Mrs. Johns Cobbs. We have been learning about your sister Barbara Johns’ legacy in my history class and the impacts she has made in our lives. She was brave by doing what is right because she felt like she had to do something.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Leigha, now a fifth grader. She’s reading the letter she wrote a year earlier in Carrie’s class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leigha: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">… I’m going to defend girls because she inspired me to say ‘no’ when boys say girls can’t run or play sports, but they can. Barbara Johns has inspired me to stand up for what I believe in. Thank you for making the USA what it is today. Thanks for everything.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We just heard about an entire social studies unit centered around primary sources. But teachers don’t have to overhaul the whole curriculum to get started teaching this way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lee Ann Potter’s team at the Library of Congress recommends picking one primary source that complements the secondary sources schools are using.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Teachers can invite students to observe, reflect and ask questions about the primary source.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Library of Congress’s website for teachers has a one-page worksheet to walk students through that observe-reflect-question cycle.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The website also has curated sets of primary sources related to popular curriculum topics.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And lots of tips for how to use those resources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">History is rich with stories. Primary sources can unlock those stories by humanizing the people who came before us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When young people form connections with the past, it helps them understand our world today and determine the future they want to create.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you to Miranda Lyle, Carrie Lillard and all of their fourth grade students. The students you heard in this episode were:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Levi, Abigail, Alex, Lily D., Lilly J., Emery and Leigha.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Lee Ann Potter at the Library of Congress and Beau Dickenson at Rockingham County Public Schools.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want to learn more about Barbara Johns, you can visit the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks for listening!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"At a school district in Virginia, fourth graders learn about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement by studying historical photos and diary entries.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1726872221,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":182,"wordCount":6410},"headData":{"title":"Humanizing History by Teaching with Primary Sources | KQED","description":"At a school district in Virginia, fourth graders learn about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement by studying historical photos and diary entries.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","socialDescription":"At a school district in Virginia, fourth graders learn about segregation and the Civil Rights Movement by studying historical photos and diary entries.","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Humanizing History by Teaching with Primary Sources","datePublished":"2024-09-10T03:00:34-07:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T15:43:41-07:00","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC8008383152.mp3?updated=1725914762","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-64572","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/mindshift/64572/humanizing-history-by-learning-with-primary-sources","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To an outside observer, there’s nothing particularly special about the beige rug at the front of Miranda Lyle’s fourth grade classroom. But for Lyle, it’s the best spot in the room. It’s where students gather for morning meetings, read-alouds, and when Lyle wants to facilitate an intimate learning conversation instead of a lecture. Lyle compared the feeling on the rug to that of gathering around a campfire. “They’re all kind of sitting in a relaxed, comfortable place, there’s proximity, but there’s also, you know, just like a shared comfort level of having the rug,” she said. That makes it easier for her students to test new ideas, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62501/want-your-kids-to-be-happier-and-healthier-start-talking-with-them-about-uncomfortable-emotions\">express emotions\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52590/why-debate-may-be-the-best-way-to-save-constructive-disagreement\">disagree civilly\u003c/a>. “It’s been a very intentional place for us every year to see each other as equals and see each other as people,” Lyle said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last spring, her students gathered on the rug as they kicked off a social studies unit on school desegregation in Virginia, where they live. Lyle projected vocabulary words, like segregation, prejudice and integration on the smartboard above their heads, and the class practiced saying them together. Then Lyle clicked forward to a \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/learn/moton-school-story-digital-exhibit/\">black and white photo of a group of teenagers\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lyle asked the fourth graders to study the image closely. “I want you to observe and see as many things as you can before we even start today,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The teenagers in the photo were students at R.R. Moton High School – a segregated school in Farmville, Virginia, just over two hours southeast of where the fourth graders attended school.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In 1951, the Moton students \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/about/the-moton-story/\">went on strike to demand better school conditions\u003c/a>, which the white school board denied them. Their activism led to them becoming the only student plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education – the Supreme Court case that found school segregation unconstitutional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63692/5-takeaways-on-school-segregation-70-years-after-brown-v-board\">70 years ago\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead of reading about the Moton student strike in a textbook, fourth graders in Rockingham County Public Schools, where Lyle teaches, learn about it through photographs, diary entries and stories of the young people involved. These first-hand accounts of history are called primary sources. “A primary source at its very core is the raw material of history,” said Lee Ann Potter, the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many students today are \u003ca href=\"https://www.socialstudies.org/tps\">learning history through primary sources\u003c/a>. That shift, according to Potter, arose in the last two decades as museums and archival institutions began digitizing their collections, making them accessible to teachers and students online. At the Library of Congress, Potter and her team develop resources to help teachers use primary sources in their classrooms. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64657\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/exit-ticket-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An exit ticket for a fourth grade lesson on segregation and integration at Rockingham County Public Schools. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Rockingham County, Lyle and a team of teachers designed a fourth grade civil rights unit\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> using the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://c3teachers.org/inquiry-design-model/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inquiry Design Model\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an instructional approach that encourages students to explore and investigate topics, rather than being passive recipients of information. In the civil rights unit, primary sources prompt that inquiry and exploration. That’s possible because, according to Lyle and her colleagues, primary sources can make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62588/how-two-teachers-spark-a-love-of-history-with-their-wardrobes\">people and events from history\u003c/a> feel more real and more textured for students. They can also help kids learn to think critically about the information they’re consuming. That’s increasingly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63390/ai-images-and-conspiracy-theories-are-driving-a-push-for-media-literacy-education\">necessary\u003c/a> as young people \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63681/how-do-you-counter-misinformation-critical-thinking-is-step-one\">navigate a digital world\u003c/a> filled with misinformation and disinformation from both humans and artificial intelligence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Building empathy with historical figures\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the first day of the civil rights unit last spring, Lyle didn’t tell her students all the details about the Moton student strike. That would come later. Looking at the photo of the students was a preview amid a broader introduction to racial segregation. After answering some initial questions, Lyle clicked through slides that included background information on the Jim Crow era and more black and white photos of segregated water fountains, buses and neighborhoods. With each slide, the fourth graders pointed out details and asked questions. As the images marched on, their frustration with the injustices of the past rose.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64640\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 350px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64640\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1020x1360.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/asa-alex-best-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fourth graders in Miranda Lyle’s class sort through historical photos trying to identify which ones reflect segregation and which ones reflect integration. The activity was part of a lesson on the Civil Rights Movement in Virginia. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“So far, are you guys feeling like ‘separate but equal’ is fair?” Lyle asked.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Nooo! No!” The students shouted before she even finished the question.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think that’s a lie,” said one student, Alex.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyle said their reactions illustrated how photographs can help students empathize with people and events of the past. “Giving kids primary sources is one of the biggest signs of respect we can show the kids and the story,” she said. “I think it tells [them] we trust them. We know they can do it. And it gives them the opportunity to not just sit back and listen, but to become detectives, to uncover the story that might be deeper than what we were going to present them to begin with.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Examining agency and decision making\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At another fourth grade classroom in Rockingham County, students know teacher Carrie Lillard as a history buff who will occasionally bust out a rap from \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hamilton\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. On one wall of her room, a bulletin board says “History is storytelling” and features over a dozen cards highlighting notable people and events in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61095/how-a-virginia-educator-teaches-black-history-with-joy\">Virginia history\u003c/a>. By framing history as storytelling, Lillard said she wants students to see that the past is composed of people who made choices. And to be able to analyze the consequences – good, bad or complicated.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64658\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/historystorytelling-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bulletin board in Carrie Lillard’s fourth grade classroom at Mountain View Elementary School in Rockingham County, Virginia. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the historical characters the fourth graders learn the most about in the civil rights unit is \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/learn/biography-barbara-rose-johns-powell/\">Barbara Johns\u003c/a>, the quiet 16-year-old\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> who led her \u003ca href=\"https://motonschoolstory.org/home/\">Moton High School classmates\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the strike for better school facilities and resources. According to the \u003ca href=\"https://motonmuseum.org/\">Robert Russa Moton Museum\u003c/a>, Moton High School was constructed for about 200 students. But by the 1950s it held more than 450.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And that wasn’t the only challenge. The roofs of the buildings leaked. Students had to hold umbrellas over their heads on rainy days. The only heat was from a potbelly stove. Anyone who sat near it got too hot, and kids who sat far away shivered in their winter coats.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">None of these problems existed at the nearby high school attended by white students. But despite lobbying by parents, the school board refused to build a new school for Black students. When Johns and her classmates went on strike, they wrote to the NAACP for help\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and eventually sued the school board. Their case became one of five that made up Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For a nine and ten year old, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that someone their age, or slightly older, or sometimes slightly younger, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62224/student-activists-go-to-summer-camp-to-learn-how-to-help-institute-a-green-new-deal-on-their-campuses\">can change the world\u003c/a> and with just one small decision. And that’s exactly what she did. So kids really grasp onto that,” said Lillard. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64647\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-64647\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-800x500.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of a smiling woman shown from shoulders up. Grass, bushes and a house are in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/09/BarbaraJohns1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barbara Johns led classmates at Moton High School in a fight for better school facilities that they took all the way to the Supreme Court. She is shown here as an adult. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Robert Russa Moton Museum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to photos, the Rockingham County fourth graders learn about Johns’ motivations through another primary source: her diary. They read entries that Johns wrote later in life, recounting her time in high school. In one entry, she recalled missing the school bus one morning and trying to hitch a ride.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“One morning I was so busy rushing my brothers and sister down the hill to school that I forgot my own lunch and had to rush back up the hill to retrieve it. In the meantime, the bus arrived, picked them up and left me standing there by the roadside waiting to thumb a ride with whomever came by. About an hour later, I was still waiting when the white school bus drives by half empty on its way to Farmville High School. It would have to pass by my school to get to that school, and I couldn’t ride with them. Right then and there, I decided, indeed, something had to be done about this inequality – and I still didn’t know what.”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Emery, a fourth grader in Lillard’s class, reading Johns’ own words brought this history to life. “I liked how it was, in particular, how it was [the story of] a young girl,” Emery said. “Normally we learn about older people. But no, we learned about a 16-year-old, still a teenager.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although the Moton students and other Brown v. Board plaintiffs were successful, school segregation didn’t end immediately in Virginia. Local and state officials there actively defied the court ruling, even closing schools in several counties instead of integrating.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It took more protests\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and more court cases,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for schools to actually integrate.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lillard said her emphasis on viewing historical figures as people who had agency and made choices helps her students process this complex history. “I’m like, OK, so, you know, think about the same people who weren’t just automatically okay with the Civil War being over? They still harbor a lot of anger and resentment the same way, just because you’re forced to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62290/teaching-kids-the-right-way-to-say-im-sorry\">apologize to a friend\u003c/a> doesn’t automatically fix it,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Fostering critical thinking skills\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lillard and Lyle said that their former students still bring up Barbara Johns even when they leave fourth grade. For Lyle, that’s different from when she covered this topic without primary sources. “They knew her role. They knew her name. That was really it,” she said of earlier students. “I’m not even sure if they remember her story at all. Because they were passive in that process.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The goal of social studies isn’t just to memorize a list of names and dates. It’s also to help kids learn skills like analyzing information sources, using evidence to distinguish fact from opinion, and comparing and contrasting people, places and events.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> An example of that kind of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54470/why-content-knowledge-is-crucial-to-effective-critical-thinking\">critical thinking\u003c/a> occurred as Lyle’s students studied old photos of segregation. While examining a photo of a sign for a whites-only neighborhood, a student named Lily raised her hand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What makes me mad is that when the sign says, ‘We want white tenants in our white community,’ it has American flags on it,” Lily said. “And the Black people … are a part of America. So why do the white people say they’re usually more a part of America than the Black people?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lyle said that Lily’s observation and question impressed her: “I was kind of sitting back there like, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s brilliance.’ And that’s because she had the opportunity to just stare at a picture and stare long enough to see the little details that otherwise could be missed.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Potter, the Library of Congress educator, agreed that giving students opportunities to study primary sources can foster critical thinking. “The fact that you can go to the source where the information originated and get the context of the source and the rest of the story – if you can get kids interested and excited about that, then what we’re going to do is train a generation of young people to constantly question where information is coming from,” she said. “That is absolutely what primary sources can do for young people. And goodness knows we need more of that.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For teachers \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new to primary sources\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Potter recommended picking one item or document that complements the secondary sources in the curriculum. Teachers can invite students to observe, reflect and ask questions about the primary source using a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/documents/Primary_Source_Analysis_Tool_LOC.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one-page worksheet\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> developed by her team. The library’s website also contains \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/?fa=partof_type:primary+source+set\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">curated sets of primary sources\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> related to popular curriculum topics, such as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/new-deal/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the New Deal\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/womens-suffrage/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">women’s suffrage\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/rosa-parks/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rosa Parks\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Blog posts\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> offer tips for how to use those resources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8008383152\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Welcome to MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nimah, do you like to make pancakes?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I do! They’re one of my favorite foods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Have you ever put peanut butter in your pancakes?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. It sounds delicious, but Kara, why do you ask?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I recently learned that civil rights icon Rosa Parks put peanut butter in her pancake batter. Her recipe is handwritten on the back of a bank envelope.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the recipe itself is terrific. It really is. If you need a good pancake recipe, add some peanut butter to it, and you will love them.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Lee Ann Potter. She’s the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, where the Rosa Parks papers are held.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Library of Congress is home to all sorts of documents from America’s past. They range from legal records\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to items that reflect the daily life of historical figures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rosa Parks collection includes a date book\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, photos of her with family,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> birthday cards sent to her by admiring children\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s a series in her papers of her membership cards. And, you know, you see her membership card for AARP. And it’s like, never occurred to me that Rosa Parks might be a member of AARP. But her membership card is in her papers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lee Ann and her team develop resources\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to help teachers use Library of Congress materials like these\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in their classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is not a day that goes by when I don’t stumble on something in the collection that either catches my breath or makes me think, oh, who can I tell about this cool thing? And\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the former classroom teacher in me is always thinking about, what is the thing that might have captured student attention or gotten students to think differently or deeply about something?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The materials at the Library of Congress are what we call primary sources. Unlike textbooks, they are first-hand accounts of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A primary source at its very core is the raw material of history. They can be newspapers. They can be photographs, maps, architectural drawings, sound recordings. They can be receipts. They can be memos. They can be scribbles. They can be doodles. They can be, truly, objects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many students today are learning history through primary sources. That wasn’t always the norm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the past two decades, museums and archival institutions started digitizing their collections and putting them online.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think as soon as the materials became available and more and more of these organizations worked in partnership with educators to really start building some pedagogy and tools around using these materials as classroom tools, as exercises, as opportunities for students, that’s when everything started to change.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Primary sources can make people and events of the past feel more real and more textured for students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They can also help kids learn to think critically about the information they’re consuming. That’s increasingly necessary as young people navigate a digital world filled with misinformation and disinformation from both humans and artificial intelligence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lee Ann Potter:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fact that you can go to the source where the information originated and get the context of the source and the rest of the story – if you can get kids interested and excited about that, then what we’re going to do is, is train a generation of young people to constantly question where information is coming from and constantly wonder, what is the original source for this bit of information that someone is trying to convey to me? And I think that is absolutely what primary sources can do for young people. And and goodness knows we need more of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this episode of MindShift, we’re going to hear how primary sources can bring history to life and deepen students’ understanding of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’ll do that by visiting two schools in Virginia where students are learning about the Civil Rights Movement. Stay with us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What happened after the Civil war?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Reconstruction!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To dig into the power of learning with primary sources, we’re visiting a fourth grade classroom in Rockingham County, Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So what are the words we’re gonna talk about today?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amendment, segregation, and pre-\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prejudice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Amendment, segregation and prejudice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prejudice.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those are the vocab words that students are learning in Miranda Lyle’s fourth grade class. The class is gathered on a beige rug at the front of the room.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You think you know what segregation means? What do you think it means?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is the start of a social studies unit about school desegregation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">White and Black people were separated from each other based on race, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Next, Miranda projects a black and white photo of a group of teenagers onto the smart board.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re going to read this picture. I want you to observe and see as many things as you can before we even start today. What do you, what do you notice? Why don’t you have a quiet thumb up. Keep looking at the screen. See if you can give me more than one idea.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The photograph is from 1951. It shows about 40 African-American teenagers standing outside looking at the camera. The boys wear collared shirts and in some cases ties. The girls wear dresses or long skirts and blouses. Many also wear long coats. In the background there are two buildings and a sidewalk flanked by mud and puddles.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Levi: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They look like they’re going to school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They look like they’re going to school. What makes you think they’re going to school?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Levi: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because they have, like, uniforms on. Well, like they have clothes that look school-y.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They have clothes that look kind of professional, kind of ready for school, I like that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These teenagers were students at R.R. Moton High School.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That was a segregated school in Farmville, Virginia – just over two hours southeast of where the fourth graders are sitting now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Miranda’s students don’t know it yet, but the young people they’re looking at were some of the plaintiffs in Brown v. Board of Education – the Supreme Court case that found school segregation unconstitutional 70 years ago.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Abigail.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Abigail: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It looks like, like, in the background those are like schools. Like the schools that they were in, like those small buildings.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like cabins.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It looks like schools, smaller buildings, you notice they kind of look like cabins. What makes you think cabins when you look at that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like they’re made out of, like, wood and, like, it doesn’t really look like somewhere you’d want to live.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The buildings they’re discussing were temporary classrooms made with cheap tar paper siding. Some people in Farmville said they looked like chicken coops. County officials built them to deal with overcrowding at Moton High School.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The school was constructed for about 200 students. But by the 1950s it held more than 450.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And that wasn’t the only challenge. The roofs of the buildings leaked. Students had to hold umbrellas over their heads on rainy days.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The only heat was from a potbelly stove. Anyone who sat near it got too hot, and kids who sat far away shivered in their winter coats.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">None of these problems existed at the nearby high school attended by white students. But despite lobbying by parents, the school board refused to build a new school for Black students.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> To protest the disparities, a quiet 16-year-old named Barbara Johns led her classmates in a two-week\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> strike in 1951.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The students wrote to the NAACP for help\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and eventually sued the school board. Their case became one of five that made up Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda’s fourth grade class will learn about all of that during this social studies unit. For now, this photo of the R. R. Moton students is just a teaser. Today is all about understanding the historical context of the Jim Crow era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We’re going to keep going because today we’re going to be looking at a lot of different pictures and a lot of different primary sources like this one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda clicks through slides that include background info and more black and white photos depicting segregated water fountains, buses and neighborhoods. The fourth graders point out details and ask questions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As they study the photos, they’re getting a strong sense of what racial segregation looked like. And they are not happy about it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, so far, are you guys feeling like separate but equal …\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alex: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is really a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Is fair?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No. No!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What are you feeling so far, Alex?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alex: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s like, I think that’s a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You think that separate but equal is a lie.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda says, these photographs help students empathize with people and events of the past.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Actually giving kids primary sources is one of the biggest signs of respect we can show the kids and the story. I think it tells us we trust them. We know they can do it. And it gives them the opportunity to not just sit back and listen, but to become detectives, to uncover the story that might be deeper than what we were going to present them to begin with.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s one student, Lily, responding to a photo of a sign for a whites-only neighborhood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What makes me mad is that when the sign says ‘We want white people in our white community,’ it has American flags on it. And the Black people are a part of America. So why do the white people say they’re usually more a part of America than the Black people?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You’re angry because those flags are for the United States, right? And you’re saying all races live in the United States. And at this point, remember, this is after that 15, 13, 14, the 15th amendment. So the Constitution says, yeah, these people are Americans, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Miranda and a team of teachers in Rockingham County designed this civil rights unit using inquiry-based teaching. That’s a method that encourages students to ask questions about the world and develop analytical thinking skills.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lily’s observation about the flag is an example of how primary sources can drive inquiry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was really impressed. I was I was kind of, like, sitting back there like, oh my goodness, that’s brilliance. And that’s because she had the, you know, like, had the opportunity to just stare at a picture and stare long enough to see the little details that otherwise could be missed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learning with primary sources has some great benefits, but it also comes with challenges.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the big ones is that documents from the past may use language we wouldn’t use today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For instance, some of the photos that Miranda’s students were looking at included signs referring to Black people as “colored.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which is a sign that we’re going to see in a lot of different primary sources we look at. But remember, we talked last week about that Maya Angelou quote in, um, growth mindset that said, ‘know better and do better.’ Remember how we talked about how that’s something that was on those signs, but are we going to use that term? No, because we know better than that, so we’re going to do better than that. So using terms like African-American, even saying things like Black people or brown people, that’s allowed. But we want to stray away from using words that aren’t used anymore.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even with the upfront discussion about appropriate language, these are fourth graders. They’re still learning. And things can come up that require gentle correction.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> … that the Blacks are not getting treated very nicely because they have like —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Black people – we want to make sure we have that ‘people’ word at the end there. The Black people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mmhm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda tries to model the “know better, do better” idea herself, too. During their Civil War study, she had a slide that used the term “runaway slaves.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was talking with my class one day. I was like, I don’t like how that sounds, because, you know, and they’re like, ‘Well, yeah, runaway sounds like it’s a bad thing.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She went online and looked for alternate terms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And one that I found that my kids have really attached to was freedom seekers, because we talked about how ‘runaway’ sounds like they’re doing something wrong and they’re not doing anything wrong. They’re trying to, you know, gives them just a different way of looking at the entire situation.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not just language that can be hard in social studies. Topics like slavery and segregation reveal difficult truths about violence and injustice in American history. These topics have also become politicized in recent years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to the news outlet Education Week, 17 states have passed bills or other policies that limit teachers’ ability to discuss racism in school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That includes here in Virginia, where the governor issued an executive order that bans so-called “divisive concepts,” such as critical race theory – which is an academic and legal framework.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Proponents of such policies often say that talking about racial injustice will make white children feel guilty. Miranda’s school is predominantly white\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and that hasn’t been her experience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had a student put on a study guide, ‘Which side did Virginia support?’ It was like ‘Virginia,’ he outlined in a heart, and then ‘supported the Confederacy’ and then had a broken heart. So they’re able to see, like, it’s not ‘you’re the problem’ or ‘Virginia today is the problem.’ They’re able to kind of see these, yeah, that was a big mistake people made for a long time. That was actually really detrimental. Why? Because kids, I think even our age, when we were children would have had the same, ‘That’s not fair’ had it been presented as, look at these primary sources. Look at these actual pictures.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Miranda also makes sure her students know that even though the R.R. Moton facilities were unequal, the students there were smart and had teachers who maintained high expectations for them. She doesn’t want her students to unconsciously equate bad conditions with people being downtrodden.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just because they had more supplies or they had better buildings or things like that, does that mean that the students weren’t as good?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Does it mean that the teachers weren’t as good?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Whole class: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No, no.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember we talked about at one of the schools we’re going to discuss, at R.R. Moton high school, one of the teachers would go on to work for NASA. Does that sound like somebody who’s going to be a good science teacher? Somebody who goes to NASA?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A good math teacher?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So we’re going to keep talking about these things.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After this introduction to segregation, the fourth graders will learn about Barbara Johns, the 16-year-old I mentioned earlier. She led her classmates in a fight for equal education that they took all the way to the Supreme Court.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That story is the beating heart\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">of this unit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the coolest things about Barbara Johns is that she was one, a student. She was not the same age as my own kids that I teach, but she was still a student who saw a problem in her school, which was in Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Carrie Lillard. She’s another fourth grade teacher in Rockingham County. She was on the same team as Miranda that created this unit about Barbara Johns and her classmates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For a nine and ten year old, it’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that someone their age or slightly older, or sometimes slightly younger, can change the world and with just one small decision. And that’s exactly what she did. So kids really grasp onto that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One way the fourth graders learn about Barbara Johns is from another primary source: her diary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One morning I was so busy rushing my brothers and sister down the hill to school that I forgot my own lunch and had to rush back up the hill to retrieve it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s one of Carrie’s students, Lily. She’s reading a diary entry that Barbara Johns wrote later in life recounting her time in high school. In it, Barbara recalls missing the school bus one morning and trying to hitch a ride.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lily: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">About an hour later, I was still waiting when the white school bus drives by half empty on its way to Farmville High School. It would have to pass by my school to get to that school, and I couldn’t ride with them. Right then and there, I decided, indeed, something had to be done about this inequality.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s another student, Emery, recalling what Barbara did after the day she missed the bus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She went up to her music teacher and said, ‘Hey, I have a problem’. And the teacher and she told her the problem. And the music teacher said, ‘If you have a problem, why don’t you fix it?’ And she gathered all these people in the auditorium and said, ‘If you want to be with me, you can be with me.’ And then she led a strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reading the diary entries helped Emery connect with Barbara Johns and the Brown v. Board case on a personal level.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I liked how it was, in particular, how it was a young girl. Normally when we, we learn about, like, older people. But no, we learned about a 16 year old. Still a teenager.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why did that stand out to you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because usually to teenagers, like these days in 2024, do some dumb stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Barbara Johns wasn’t doing dumb stuff?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Emery: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No, she was doing brilliant stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rockingham County teachers told me that their former students still bring up Barbara Johns even when they leave fourth grade. Miranda says that’s different from when she covered this topic without primary sources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They knew her role. They knew her name. That was really it. And if they held onto it, what I could say about it now. I’m not even sure if they remember her story at all. Because it was more, they were passive in that process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The goal of social studies isn’t just to memorize a list of names and dates. It’s also to help kids learn skills like analyzing information sources, using evidence to distinguish fact from opinion, and comparing and contrasting people, places and events.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I heard examples of all of those skills as the fourth graders discussed photos and diary entries from Virginia’s history.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Miranda Lyle: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re not just sitting back and being passive listeners to a story. They’re seeing the actual actions and the consequences of those actions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those critical thinking skills also help students wrestle with the complexity of the past. Like the fact that schools did not immediately integrate after Brown v. Board of Education.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Virginia, local and state officials actively defied the court ruling. They even closed schools in several counties instead of integrating.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It took more protests\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and more court cases,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for schools to actually integrate in Virginia.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Carrie says the fourth graders learn about all of that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carrie Lillard: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Approaching history from ‘we are we are a combination of all of the choices we make’ helps when we get to this point. I’m like, OK, so, you know, think about the same people who weren’t just automatically okay with the Civil War being over, they still harbor a lot of anger and resentment the same way, just because you’re forced to apologize to a friend doesn’t automatically fix it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For their final assignment, the fourth graders write a letter to Barbara Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobbs. She participated in the Moton student strike and is still alive today.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leigha: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dear Mrs. Johns Cobbs. We have been learning about your sister Barbara Johns’ legacy in my history class and the impacts she has made in our lives. She was brave by doing what is right because she felt like she had to do something.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Leigha, now a fifth grader. She’s reading the letter she wrote a year earlier in Carrie’s class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leigha: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">… I’m going to defend girls because she inspired me to say ‘no’ when boys say girls can’t run or play sports, but they can. Barbara Johns has inspired me to stand up for what I believe in. Thank you for making the USA what it is today. Thanks for everything.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We just heard about an entire social studies unit centered around primary sources. But teachers don’t have to overhaul the whole curriculum to get started teaching this way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Lee Ann Potter’s team at the Library of Congress recommends picking one primary source that complements the secondary sources schools are using.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Teachers can invite students to observe, reflect and ask questions about the primary source.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Library of Congress’s website for teachers has a one-page worksheet to walk students through that observe-reflect-question cycle.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The website also has curated sets of primary sources related to popular curriculum topics.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And lots of tips for how to use those resources.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">History is rich with stories. Primary sources can unlock those stories by humanizing the people who came before us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When young people form connections with the past, it helps them understand our world today and determine the future they want to create.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you to Miranda Lyle, Carrie Lillard and all of their fourth grade students. The students you heard in this episode were:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Levi, Abigail, Alex, Lily D., Lilly J., Emery and Leigha.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Lee Ann Potter at the Library of Congress and Beau Dickenson at Rockingham County Public Schools.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you want to learn more about Barbara Johns, you can visit the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, Virginia\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks for listening!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/64572/humanizing-history-by-learning-with-primary-sources","authors":["11487"],"programs":["mindshift_21942"],"categories":["mindshift_21130","mindshift_21848","mindshift_193"],"tags":["mindshift_648","mindshift_1013","mindshift_21281","mindshift_20615"],"featImg":"mindshift_64638","label":"mindshift_21942"},"mindshift_64539":{"type":"posts","id":"mindshift_64539","meta":{"index":"posts_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"64539","score":null,"sort":[1724752823000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"how-to-get-kids-thinking-instead-of-mimicking-in-math-class","title":"How to Get Kids Thinking Instead of Mimicking in Math Class","publishDate":1724752823,"format":"standard","headTitle":"How to Get Kids Thinking Instead of Mimicking in Math Class | KQED","labelTerm":{"term":21942,"site":"mindshift"},"content":"\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many math classes, students are ready to bolt as soon as the bell rings. Not in \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/staci_durnin\">Staci Durnin\u003c/a>’s room. “A lot of times I hear kids say, ‘that was two periods of math already?’ And you know, when I hear that, it just makes me so happy,” said Durnin, who teaches sixth grade math at Mineola Middle School in New York. “Now I’m almost running out of time because, when the bell rings, they don’t want to leave the boards.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It wasn’t always that way. After 29 years of teaching, Durnin last year adopted a new instructional approach called “thinking classrooms.” The model was developed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfu.ca/education/faculty-profiles/pliljedahl.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Simon Fraser University professor\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and researcher \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/pgliljedahl\">Peter Liljedahl\u003c/a> and laid out in his book, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://us.corwin.com/books/building-thinking-classrooms-268862\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Liljedahl said that his work is “a reaction to an observed and documented reality that the majority of students spend the majority of their time in math classrooms not thinking.” What are they doing instead? Mimicking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://ascd.org/el/articles/you-do-we-do-i-do-a-strategy-for-productive-struggle\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I do, we do, you do”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> approach is a common teaching strategy in math classrooms. In it, a teacher demonstrates how to solve a certain type of problem, the class practices as a whole, and students practice independently. But Liljedahl said, “There’s nothing about that environment that prepares students for all of a sudden me saying, ‘Well, here, let me show you this property. Now figure out what this is,’ because all of their habits are around mimicking. And this is a problem because if students are not thinking, they’re not learning.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The thinking classrooms model shakes up the norms of math class to create \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.edutopia.org/article/independent-critical-thinking-math/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a different culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> around problem-solving. It draws on 15 years of Liljedahl’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275953429_Building_Thinking_Classrooms_Conditions_for_Problem_Solving\">research\u003c/a> about how teaching practices affect different outcomes, such as, how quickly students start a math task, their eagerness to try a problem, how much they persist in a task, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and other behaviors related to engagement\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model involves students working in small, randomly chosen groups; solving problems standing up at whiteboards; building on small bits of knowledge as they go; and consolidating their discoveries as a class after working through problems. As teachers of all subjects have struggled to get students engaged in the years after pandemic shutdowns, many in math have turned to these routines as a solution.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/staci_durnin/status/1793378687976636754\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Durnin, it’s been transformative. “I’ve always looked forward to going to work, but even more so now because I know that there’s so much going on,” she said. “It’s just a lot of up out of the seats talking, collaborating. The kids are walking around the room, they’re working and they’re having fun.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Visibly random groups\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Education leaders often tout collaboration as a “21st century skill.” But in the daily reality of classrooms, group work doesn’t always go well. Liljedahl has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Liljedahl/publication/275953522_The_Affordances_of_Using_Visibly_Random_Groups_in_a_Mathematics_Classroom/links/554abf040cf29752ee7c332b/The-Affordances-of-Using-Visibly-Random-Groups-in-a-Mathematics-Classroom.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">studied how to improve it\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, starting with a basic question: How are groups formed?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He describes two common approaches to creating student groups: teacher-assigned groups or student-selected groups. Teachers might prefer to choose groups based on academic or social goals, while students often like getting to work with their friends. It turns out, however, that neither approach is great for math engagement. Liljedahl found through interviews and surveys that regardless of who picks the groups, students go into their groups expecting to play a passive role. What works better for engagement are random groups, which break students’ expectations for how the group will act.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64546\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sixth graders convert fractions and decimals into percents with support from teacher Heather Hazen at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But there’s a catch – students have to witness the groups being randomly assigned. They’ve had too many years of experience trying to decipher the logic behind teacher-assigned groups. They need to see the random assignment to believe it. Liljedahl calls this approach “visibly random grouping.” He suggests creating visibly random groups by having students pull from a deck of playing cards, but teachers who follow this approach have created their own methods, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Melissa, Texas, ninth–grade math teacher Amber McMellan chose UNO cards to serve the purpose. She fans out the cards, and students pick one as they enter her room. Desks are clustered in threes with a jumbo UNO card at each to signal where each group will sit. McMellan said that the first year she tried visibly random groups, she wasn’t consistent with it, and students pushed back. The second year, she made it a daily routine, and students got on board. “Now my kids don’t even think twice about getting a card from me on the way into my classroom,” she said. “If I’m not standing over by the entryway with the cards out, they’ll walk up to me and just stand waiting for me to put the cards out. It’s pretty awesome.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Durnin’s classroom in New York, students pick groups via popsicle sticks with names written on them. According to Jena, one of Durnin’s students, at first it was disappointing not getting to team up with friends every day. “But now we know it’s a lot more helpful to be with other people,” she said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asked why it’s more helpful, Jena’s peers chimed in:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Becoming friends with other people,” said Suraj.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Probably you can communicate with others better,” said Sami.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Different ways to help you learn,” said Roel.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Maybe some people are better at the skill than you, so they can help you find strategies,” added Isabella.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Across more than a dozen of Durnin’s students in two different periods, a chorus emerged: The sixth graders liked working in random groups because they liked \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62436/how-listening-to-students-stories-can-improve-math-class\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">learning about each other\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and helping each other learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s no surprise to Liljedahl. “In thinking classrooms one of the things that we started to see emerge very naturally was empathy appearing among students,” he said. “What we noticed was that real collaboration doesn’t actually begin until students care as much about their partners’ learning as their own learning. And when empathy is unlocked, so many things work better in a classroom.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Vertical whiteboards\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the thinking classrooms model, when students work in small groups, they don’t write in notebooks or on worksheets. Instead, they tackle math tasks on whiteboards or other \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ri1vNQBk6I\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">vertical learning\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> surfaces. This means they’re \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58051/how-movement-and-gestures-can-improve-student-learning\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">up out of their seats\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> – another thing kids tend to like – and that their work is visible to each other and their teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64545 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-768x615.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-2048x1639.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students from two small groups discuss their problem solving strategies during math class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This also makes it easier to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/60104/how-to-structure-academic-math-conversations-to-support-english-learners\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">differentiate instruction\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. McMellan, the Texas teacher, said that while students are at the whiteboards, she moves around the room, listening to how students explain their problem-solving strategies and watching for students who are hanging back from their group. “That right there tells me that they’re not confident in what the group is doing,” she said. “So I’ll try to get in there and ask questions, and try to get them involved a little more like, you know, hey, why don’t you write while (the others are) talking?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When groups are already connecting and collaborating, it’s powerful. “They get excited when they figure stuff out, and they literally celebrate,” McMellan said. “I’m more energized as a teacher because they’re energized.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Thin slicing\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last March, Durnin started class with a quick launch question: “You have 75% battery life on your phone or your iPad, and somebody else has one half of their battery life left. Who has more battery life? And how do you know?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students scribbled individually on their erasable table tops. After a few minutes discussing the solution as a whole class, they split into their random groups.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This was their first time working with percentages in math class, but there was no big lecture at the start. Liljedahl recommends that teachers only pre-teach a topic for three to five minutes, max. In his research, he found that students do a lot more thinking when they get started on math problems quickly. When students start the lesson in a passive mode, it’s hard to switch into a more active mental state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64542\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64542\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-800x1040.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-800x1040.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1020x1326.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-160x208.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-768x998.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1181x1536.jpg 1181w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1575x2048.jpg 1575w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1920x2496.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-scaled.jpg 1969w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sixth grader Tyler converts fractions and decimals into percents at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Durnin’s class, each group copied a table with three columns onto the whiteboard. They needed to convert fractions and decimals into percentages, and vice versa. Some rows in the chart were already filled out, giving them examples. They worked row-by-row, with one student using the marker to write their peers’ ideas before switching roles. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The task was what Liljedahl calls a “thin slicing” task. Thin slicing is when students move through a series of problems that get slightly harder each time. Students start with something they know how to do, and the next problem has a very small variation. Instead of getting all the information up front, students \u003ca href=\"https://www.hmhco.com/blog/just-in-time-vs-just-in-case-scaffolding-how-to-foster-productive-perseverance\">build their knowledge as they go\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Using the rows that were already completed as guides, students noticed patterns – like how changing a fraction’s denominator can help with conversions. “Now I understand that any number – if you turn the denominator into 100, it’s easy to get a percent,” said Jena as her group finished their chart. “Because then it’s just the top number basically. It’s out of 100.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Consolidation\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61581/how-a-debate-over-the-science-of-math-could-reignite-the-math-wars\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">math wars\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> possibly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61712/do-math-drills-help-children-learn\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">making a resurgence\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, some educators who favor explicit instruction have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://educationhq.com/news/dont-buy-into-building-thinking-classrooms-in-maths-its-a-fad-school-leader-166705/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">criticized\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the thinking classrooms model as new packaging on old ideas of inquiry-based learning. But while the practices may \u003ca href=\"https://bhcommunitywatch.com/2022/11/01/thinking-classroom-or-sinking-classroom/\">not always be \u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">implemented with fidelity\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, explicit instruction does play a role in a thinking classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64544 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Staci Durnin discusses one group’s problem solving strategies during the “consolidation” portion of class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While students work at the boards, Durnin and her co-teacher — Heather Hazen, a special education teacher — visited the groups. They asked questions and gave students vocabulary or other information to extend their learning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then the whole class gathered together for what’s called “consolidation.” This is when Durnin helps everyone bring together the pieces of what they discovered into a bigger picture understanding. Durnin picked one group’s board to use as a model and highlighted the things they got right and mistakes that everyone could learn from. Instead of front loading concepts and vocabulary, she used this conversation to connect the key ideas to what students had discovered themselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64543\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One group’s board work after being marked up by teacher Staci Durnin during the “consolidation” portion of class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Liljedahl said consolidation matters because “meaning making is messy,” but “meaning made can be really neat.” In other words, when students are at the whiteboards they’re in the thick of figuring out how math works. That’s really valuable. But it’s also disorganized. Consolidation helps students organize and formalize the chaos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After consolidation, or for homework, students do something called “check your understanding” – individual practice with options to choose between difficulty levels of “mild,” “medium” or “spicy.” Liljedahl’s book also includes recommendations for how to approach assessments and grading in a thinking classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Resetting the culture\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Liljedahl’s research, when teachers tried to apply the thinking classrooms routines by starting with the regular curriculum, students resisted. Even if students don’t like math class, they have certain expectations for it. Liljedahl found that it helps to learn the new norms through what he calls non-curricular highly engaging tasks. These are math problems and puzzles that are not linked to a learning objective. They can introduce a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63556/high-school-math-can-be-playful-too\">playful energy\u003c/a> to the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What that does is it makes math fun, and it makes math feel achievable and enjoyable. And it can be very disarming for students,” Liljedahl said. He recommends that teachers spend three to five lessons on non-curricular highly engaging tasks at the start of the year to prime students’ brains for active learning. Durnin said she also found them useful coming back from holiday breaks.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/staci_durnin/status/1785740630758510593\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a great way to enculture [students] into a new way of being,” Liljedahl said. “They might perceive that mathematics is different. They might perceive that you as a teacher is different, and that this is a safe space to engage in thought and collaboration. So we’ve just created sort of an aside — a safe space where students can be different and become different.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the usual culture of math class, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62436/how-listening-to-students-stories-can-improve-math-class\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">where hierarchy is pervasive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, it’s common to hear kids say they’re “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54389/3-ways-to-shape-math-into-a-positive-experience\">not a math person\u003c/a>.” But seven months into their thinking classrooms experience, Durnin’s students had no problem identifying their strengths in math. Here’s what a few of them said:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I’m good at factor puzzles and proportions and dividing fractions because I feel like I worked on those the most. So I’m really confident with those.” – Alexis\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think I’m good at math ’cause I can teach people like this certain strategy, or if they’re having trouble with the question. But sometimes I do struggle, like everybody else.” – Thayla\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just love problem solving. If I really want to do something, I’ll just focus my mind on only that and then block out everything else I’m working on.” – Chloe\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the school year wrapped up in June, Durnin said that her classes showed a deeper understanding of sixth grade math than students did in her many years teaching with more traditional methods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Durnin also said it took a lot of work to for her to adapt her lesson plans but that the change in student engagement was worth it. Along the way, she sought help from a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildingthinkingclassrooms\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Facebook group\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where educators ask questions and share stories about thinking classroom practices every day. The group has over 66,000 members.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I don’t think this is one of those teacher trends or a fad,” said McMellan, the Texas teacher. “It’s just good practices. And I think that’s what we’re all trying to find.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8519622712\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: What does percent mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Welcome to MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It would be an understatement to say that teachers have a lot on their plates right now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> From book bans to chronic absenteeism to phone distractions, the list of challenges is long. And a lot of teachers are feeling the burnout.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Which is why I was surprised when I started hearing a different refrain from math teachers. They were telling me that they’re more excited to go to work than ever – because their students are more excited than ever.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s just a lot of up out of the seats talking, collaborating. The kids are walking around the room, they’re working and they’re having fun. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Amber McMellan:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s really powerful to, to, to be able to walk around and, and just hear the conversations that the students have. It’s it it’s like food for the teacher heart, you know. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These teachers are talking about a new approach to math called “thinking classrooms.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In this model, students work standing up at whiteboards in different small groups every day.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s centered around a core idea: getting kids to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">think\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> instead of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">mimic\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in math class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What teaching math so often has become is let me show you how to do it, and then you do it. Right. It’s sort of this ‘I do, we do, you do.’ And you’re going to learn to mimic these sorts of routines and practices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Peter Liljedahl, the researcher who created the thinking classrooms model. Peter says that problem solving is “what we do when we don’t know what to do.” And we don’t usually let kids hang out in that space.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s been an agenda around teaching math through problem solving and teaching problem solving for 35 years now. But in order to do that, to really embrace that, to, if we really want to have students learning through problem solving, then they have to get stuck, and they have to think, and they have to get unstuck. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter’s book, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, was published in 2020. It couldn’t have come at a better time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Getting kids excited about math has never been easy. And COVID didn’t help. Even now, a few years after distance learning, teachers of all subjects are struggling to get students engaged.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So what makes thinking classrooms different? In this episode, we’ll visit a Long Island school where you’ll hear some of the key practices in action. And we’ll examine how these practices get kids thinking instead of mimicking in math. That’s all after the break. Stay with us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK. If you could take out a marker.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Staci Durnin’s grade six math classroom at Mineola Middle School in New York. Today students are learning about percentages. They start with a question that puts percentages in a familiar context.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay, so you have 75% battery life on your phone or your iPad, and somebody else has one half of their battery life left. Who has more battery life? And how do you know? Can you show the work on your tabletop?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Staci and her co-teacher read \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">over the summer. They decided to try out the practices from the book in the new school year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Um, half of 100 is 50, making 75% more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why did you choose to use this percent?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, because, for your phone, the max percent is 100%.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So half of 100% is 50%? And clearly, this is greater than this. Good. Anybody want to explain it differently? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This opening problem only takes a few minutes. There’s no big lecture. Instead, students are going to try working with percentages right away. In his research, Peter Liljedahl has found that students do a lot more thinking when they get started on math problems quickly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s because when students start the lesson in a passive mode, it’s very hard to switch into a more active mental state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter recommends that teachers only pre-teach a topic for three to five minutes, max. Then students work on math problems standing up at whiteboards, in groups of 3. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right. So we’re going to hear our groups right now. Go find your board space and get working.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In Staci Durnin’s classroom, groups are selected using popsicle sticks with students’ names written on them. A student draws the names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jack. Vanessa. Nick. … \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luke, Aleena and Akira.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This way of picking groups is called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">visibly random groups\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s one of the key practices of thinking classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Kara, let’s break that phrase down. Random groups means that students don’t pick their best friends to work with. It also means teachers don’t group students based on perceived ability.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Peter’s research, he found that when teachers pick the groups or allow students to choose who to work with, the majority of students go into the groups expecting to play a certain role. And that role is usually passive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when groups are randomly assigned and change every day, students don’t get locked into roles. Different perspectives get shared, and more students offer their ideas for problem solving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the “visibly” part of visibly random groups – that means that students actually \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">see\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the groups being selected. It turns out that unless it happens in front of them, students don’t believe the groups are truly random.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right, everyone hear their groups? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got the marker. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Get some calculators. One marker per group. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In their groups, the students copy a chart with 3 columns onto the whiteboards. They’re working to convert fractions and decimals into percentages, and vice versa.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, first, it’s 30 over 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 30.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Because it’s a percent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then you do — \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nicole: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three over —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Equals, there should be —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three tenths?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nicole:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Three tenths.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, three tenths.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Remember, this is the first time these students are seeing percentages in math class. The way they’re learning is what Peter Liljedahl calls “thin slicing.” Thin slicing is when students move through a series of problems that get slightly harder each time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So they start with something they know how to do, and the next problem has a very small variation. Instead of getting all the information up front, students build their knowledge as they go.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Here’s one student, Roel, explaining how his group converted a fraction into a percentage.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s 6/8, right? That’s six quarters out of eight quarters. That means it’s actually like at 100%, but it’s just a different type of fraction which can get you there. And if you do six divided by eight, which it will get, it will get, it will give you 75%.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You can hear that he’s starting to make sense of the different types of conversions, even if he doesn’t have all the vocabulary nailed down yet.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So now this is your basic ratio.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thin slicing allows students to notice patterns and make meaning from math instead of memorizing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And by working in small groups, students can easily share what they’re noticing to help each other learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I spoke with Jena – who was in the same group as Roel – she felt she had a good grasp on the lesson.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Had you learned anything about percents before today? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well yeah —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like I got a gist, but now I really understand it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What do you understand now that you didn’t before? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, now I understand that, like any number, if you turn the, uh, the denominator into 100, it’s easy to get a percent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why does that help? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because it, because then it’s just the top number basically. It’s out of 100. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students are encouraged to share ideas between groups. That’s easy to do because their work is visible on the whiteboards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Seeing the whiteboards also helps the teacher. Peter Liljedahl points out that when students are working in notebooks at their desks, it’s pretty hard to see their thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But if all of a sudden all the groups are vertical working on whiteboards, me as a teacher, standing in the middle of the room, I can see exactly where I need to be. And so it’s easier for me to differentiate now, because I can see that that group needs an extension, and that group needs a hint, and that those two groups actually just need to talk to each other, because one group has the knowledge and the other group needs it. And so differentiation becomes easier because everything is made visible.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, just because students are immersed in problem solving in a thinking classroom, it doesn’t mean there’s no teacher talk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While students work at the boards, Staci Durnin and her co-teacher visit the groups. They ask questions and give students vocabulary or other information to extend their learning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So what was that divisible by?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, after board work, the whole class gathers together for what’s called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">consolidation\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Why is this an easy way to get to a hundred? I like your thinking. Go ahead, finish it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is when Staci helps everyone bring together the pieces of what they discovered into a bigger picture understanding.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Staci picks one group’s board to use as a model – for both the things they got right and mistakes that everyone can learn from.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So let’s talk about some patterns that you noticed here. Let’s look at this board work. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Who wants to start? Tell me about these two fractions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> They’re multiplied by ten so they’re equivalent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Good.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> When I asked Peter Liljedahl why consolidation matters, he said that meaning making is messy, but meaning made is neat.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In other words, when students are at the whiteboards they’re in the thick of figuring out how math works. That’s really valuable. But it’s also disorganized.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Consolidation\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> helps students organize the chaos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, you want to see a common mistake? If this wasn’t here, and this was the fraction 5/20, I often see this: oh, it’s 5%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Percent has “cent” in and cent means 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Ooh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After consolidation, and for homework, students do something called Check Your Understanding, or CYUs. Instead of everyone doing the same worksheet, students choose between easy, medium and extreme challenges. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s another way to differentiate their learning. And it develops student agency.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> All of these things we heard – students standing up at whiteboards, visibly random groups, thin slicing and consolidation – they’re totally different from how Staci Durnin used to teach.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if I taught this lesson two years ago, it would have been me up at the front of the room, showing the kids how to set up the proportion. How do you change this fraction into a percent? Let’s get the denominator into 100. Now, with the thin slicing, they’ve discovered all of that, right? They discovered that ‘Oh the denominator has to be 100 because percent is out of 100.’ And ‘Oh this fraction is equivalent to this. So this must also equal the same percent.’ So it’s getting them to discover, then you consolidate and talk about the important pieces to the lesson. And then they practice on their own.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not only has Staci’s teaching method changed, but the way her students are showing up has changed. In most math classes I remember taking, my classmates and I were just … silent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Crickets sound effect\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Part of the engagement comes from being up out of their seats. Movement can help generate problem-solving ideas and improve memory consolidation. And kids just like it more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s your favorite thing about this class? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The stand up activities you get to do every single day. Because I don’t like classrooms where all we do is sit down and look up at the board. I like classrooms where we’re involved in something and we get to do something. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Staci’s students also told me they really like working in small groups at the whiteboards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I think it helps me more, actually, because there’s other people who might explain it better for me and I can understand it better.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hafsa: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also you’re working with different people, so then they might have different methods that you didn’t already learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working in small, random groups feeds students’ social needs, which we know is really important for the adolescent brain. But Kara, in season eight, we talked about the needs of introverted students. How does the thinking classrooms model work for them? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I talked to one student who said the noise at the whiteboards can be a lot. And depending on who’s in her group, sometimes she feels less comfortable sharing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lucia: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I don’t like working up at the boards because, like, it shows everybody what you’re doing. But like, you sometimes want to keep in your own answers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of her classmates had a different take, though. She said that asking a question in front of the whole class can be scary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alexis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I like small groups because at the boards, because it’s not like, as, not really embarrassing, but kind of, like when you get something wrong and like, your other partners can help you.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Small, random groups can lower the social risk for making mistakes. That’s something that Staci’s co-teacher, Heather Hazen, noticed, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So actually, when we started this the first few weeks of school, I said to Staci, like, this is so weird, but the kids are doing better.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heather is a special education teacher. She’s in the classroom with Staci to help out with students who need extra support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what I find for most of the kids – most, not all of them, but most of them – it gives them a chance to sit back and look, and in the small group, they ask questions to their peers more often than they would, I guess, in class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heather also said the thinking classrooms model allows different mathematical strengths to be seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If we’re asking how many squares you see in this larger grid of squares, sometimes our struggling students are the ones that are doing best with that task. Or they may notice the pattern differently, or see it differently, or come up with another method that somebody else wasn’t thinking about. So they have chances to shine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I visited Staci and Heather’s classroom in March. By then, students were very accustomed to random groups and working at the whiteboards. But learning those norms takes work at the start of the year. That’s done through what Peter Liljedahl calls \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">non-curricular highly engaging tasks.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are math problems and puzzles that are not linked to a learning objective. They can introduce a playful energy to the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what that does is it makes math fun, and it makes math feel achievable and enjoyable. And it can be very disarming for students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In Peter’s research, when teachers tried to apply the thinking classrooms practices by starting with the regular curriculum…the students weren’t having it. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, students come into the, into a math classroom already sort of believing what math is and who they are in relation to mathematics. And then they enact those, those, those beliefs in the way they engage with a new teacher and new content.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Highly engaging non-curricular tasks essentially jolt students out of their expectations for math class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a great way to enculture them into a new way of being. They’ve re-constructed an identity for themselves. They have maybe re- rebuilt a relationship with mathematics. They might perceive that mathematics is different. They might perceive that you as a teacher is different, and that this is a safe space to, to engage in, in thought and collaboration. So we’ve just created sort of an aside – a safe space where students can be different and become different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This investment ends up paying off for the rest of the year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> When they’re not actively engaged in the learning in that way, everything is difficult. But when they are thinking anything is possible, like we’re tearing through Pythagoras in 55 minutes. Solving one- and two-step equations has never taken more than 45 minutes. Right. Factoring quadratics, which is a unit that can take anywhere from three to five days, we do it in 60 minutes.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Staci Durnin, the evidence that thinking classrooms works is not how quickly her students get through the math, but that her students don’t want to stop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of times I hear kids say, that was two periods of math already? And you know, when I hear that, it just makes me so happy. So I know, you know, in the past, the double period, even for me, it’s like I have another period of this, you know, this is tough. Now I’m almost running out of time because, when the bell rings, they don’t want to leave the boards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nimah, I’ve never heard as many kids talking about the real substance of math as I did in just a few periods at Mineola Middle School. Not even when I was in the math club at my own middle school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s pretty remarkable. But you know what we DO hear a lot? Kids and grownups who say, “I’m not a math person.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The idea of people being inherently good or bad at math is often baked into the culture of school. But when I asked Staci’s students about their strengths in math, they answered easily.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alexis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, I’m good at, like, factor puzzles and, like, proportions and dividing fractions because I feel like I worked on those the most. So I’m really confident with those. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Thayla: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I’m good at math ’cause, like, I can teach people like this certain strategy, or like, if they’re having trouble with with the question. But sometimes I do struggle with, like everybody else. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Chloe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just, like, love problem solving. It’s just like if I really want to, like, do something, I’ll just like focus my mind on only that and then block out everything else I’m working on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I checked in with Staci again as her school year wrapped up. She told me that her students this year showed a deeper understanding of grade six math than students did in her many years teaching with more traditional methods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When math class focuses on getting students to think instead of mimic, their confidence and their problem solving skills grow.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what that adds up to is a very bright future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Big thanks to Staci Durnin and Heather Hazen at Mineola Middle School in New York. The students you heard in this episode were:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Roel, Jena, Nicole, Luke, Sami, Lucia, Alexis, Olivia, Hafsa, Thayla and Chloe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter Liljedahl’s book is called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Amber McMellan and Julie Frizzell.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña , Maha Sanad and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks for listening!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"A new teaching model is shaking up the norms of math class to create a different culture around problem-solving.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1726872236,"stats":{"hasAudio":true,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":197,"wordCount":6411},"headData":{"title":"How to Get Kids Thinking Instead of Mimicking in Math Class | KQED","description":"A new teaching model is shaking up the norms of math class to create a different culture around problem-solving.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"mindshift_64549","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"mindshift_64549","socialDescription":"A new teaching model is shaking up the norms of math class to create a different culture around problem-solving.","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"How to Get Kids Thinking Instead of Mimicking in Math Class","datePublished":"2024-08-27T03:00:23-07:00","dateModified":"2024-09-20T15:43:56-07:00","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"audioUrl":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/chrt.fm/track/G6C7C3/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC8519622712.mp3?updated=1724702192","sticky":false,"nprStoryId":"kqed-64539","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/mindshift/64539/how-to-get-kids-thinking-instead-of-mimicking-in-math-class","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many math classes, students are ready to bolt as soon as the bell rings. Not in \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/staci_durnin\">Staci Durnin\u003c/a>’s room. “A lot of times I hear kids say, ‘that was two periods of math already?’ And you know, when I hear that, it just makes me so happy,” said Durnin, who teaches sixth grade math at Mineola Middle School in New York. “Now I’m almost running out of time because, when the bell rings, they don’t want to leave the boards.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It wasn’t always that way. After 29 years of teaching, Durnin last year adopted a new instructional approach called “thinking classrooms.” The model was developed by \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfu.ca/education/faculty-profiles/pliljedahl.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Simon Fraser University professor\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and researcher \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/pgliljedahl\">Peter Liljedahl\u003c/a> and laid out in his book, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://us.corwin.com/books/building-thinking-classrooms-268862\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Liljedahl said that his work is “a reaction to an observed and documented reality that the majority of students spend the majority of their time in math classrooms not thinking.” What are they doing instead? Mimicking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://ascd.org/el/articles/you-do-we-do-i-do-a-strategy-for-productive-struggle\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I do, we do, you do”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> approach is a common teaching strategy in math classrooms. In it, a teacher demonstrates how to solve a certain type of problem, the class practices as a whole, and students practice independently. But Liljedahl said, “There’s nothing about that environment that prepares students for all of a sudden me saying, ‘Well, here, let me show you this property. Now figure out what this is,’ because all of their habits are around mimicking. And this is a problem because if students are not thinking, they’re not learning.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The thinking classrooms model shakes up the norms of math class to create \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.edutopia.org/article/independent-critical-thinking-math/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a different culture\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> around problem-solving. It draws on 15 years of Liljedahl’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275953429_Building_Thinking_Classrooms_Conditions_for_Problem_Solving\">research\u003c/a> about how teaching practices affect different outcomes, such as, how quickly students start a math task, their eagerness to try a problem, how much they persist in a task, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and other behaviors related to engagement\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The model involves students working in small, randomly chosen groups; solving problems standing up at whiteboards; building on small bits of knowledge as they go; and consolidating their discoveries as a class after working through problems. As teachers of all subjects have struggled to get students engaged in the years after pandemic shutdowns, many in math have turned to these routines as a solution.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1793378687976636754"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Durnin, it’s been transformative. “I’ve always looked forward to going to work, but even more so now because I know that there’s so much going on,” she said. “It’s just a lot of up out of the seats talking, collaborating. The kids are walking around the room, they’re working and they’re having fun.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Visibly random groups\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Education leaders often tout collaboration as a “21st century skill.” But in the daily reality of classrooms, group work doesn’t always go well. Liljedahl has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Liljedahl/publication/275953522_The_Affordances_of_Using_Visibly_Random_Groups_in_a_Mathematics_Classroom/links/554abf040cf29752ee7c332b/The-Affordances-of-Using-Visibly-Random-Groups-in-a-Mathematics-Classroom.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">studied how to improve it\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, starting with a basic question: How are groups formed?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He describes two common approaches to creating student groups: teacher-assigned groups or student-selected groups. Teachers might prefer to choose groups based on academic or social goals, while students often like getting to work with their friends. It turns out, however, that neither approach is great for math engagement. Liljedahl found through interviews and surveys that regardless of who picks the groups, students go into their groups expecting to play a passive role. What works better for engagement are random groups, which break students’ expectations for how the group will act.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64546\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64546\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc5-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sixth graders convert fractions and decimals into percents with support from teacher Heather Hazen at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But there’s a catch – students have to witness the groups being randomly assigned. They’ve had too many years of experience trying to decipher the logic behind teacher-assigned groups. They need to see the random assignment to believe it. Liljedahl calls this approach “visibly random grouping.” He suggests creating visibly random groups by having students pull from a deck of playing cards, but teachers who follow this approach have created their own methods, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Melissa, Texas, ninth–grade math teacher Amber McMellan chose UNO cards to serve the purpose. She fans out the cards, and students pick one as they enter her room. Desks are clustered in threes with a jumbo UNO card at each to signal where each group will sit. McMellan said that the first year she tried visibly random groups, she wasn’t consistent with it, and students pushed back. The second year, she made it a daily routine, and students got on board. “Now my kids don’t even think twice about getting a card from me on the way into my classroom,” she said. “If I’m not standing over by the entryway with the cards out, they’ll walk up to me and just stand waiting for me to put the cards out. It’s pretty awesome.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Durnin’s classroom in New York, students pick groups via popsicle sticks with names written on them. According to Jena, one of Durnin’s students, at first it was disappointing not getting to team up with friends every day. “But now we know it’s a lot more helpful to be with other people,” she said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asked why it’s more helpful, Jena’s peers chimed in:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Becoming friends with other people,” said Suraj.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Probably you can communicate with others better,” said Sami.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Different ways to help you learn,” said Roel.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Maybe some people are better at the skill than you, so they can help you find strategies,” added Isabella.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Across more than a dozen of Durnin’s students in two different periods, a chorus emerged: The sixth graders liked working in random groups because they liked \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62436/how-listening-to-students-stories-can-improve-math-class\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">learning about each other\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and helping each other learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s no surprise to Liljedahl. “In thinking classrooms one of the things that we started to see emerge very naturally was empathy appearing among students,” he said. “What we noticed was that real collaboration doesn’t actually begin until students care as much about their partners’ learning as their own learning. And when empathy is unlocked, so many things work better in a classroom.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Vertical whiteboards\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the thinking classrooms model, when students work in small groups, they don’t write in notebooks or on worksheets. Instead, they tackle math tasks on whiteboards or other \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ri1vNQBk6I\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">vertical learning\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> surfaces. This means they’re \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/58051/how-movement-and-gestures-can-improve-student-learning\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">up out of their seats\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> – another thing kids tend to like – and that their work is visible to each other and their teachers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64545\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64545 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-768x615.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-2048x1639.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc4-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students from two small groups discuss their problem solving strategies during math class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This also makes it easier to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/60104/how-to-structure-academic-math-conversations-to-support-english-learners\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">differentiate instruction\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. McMellan, the Texas teacher, said that while students are at the whiteboards, she moves around the room, listening to how students explain their problem-solving strategies and watching for students who are hanging back from their group. “That right there tells me that they’re not confident in what the group is doing,” she said. “So I’ll try to get in there and ask questions, and try to get them involved a little more like, you know, hey, why don’t you write while (the others are) talking?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When groups are already connecting and collaborating, it’s powerful. “They get excited when they figure stuff out, and they literally celebrate,” McMellan said. “I’m more energized as a teacher because they’re energized.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Thin slicing\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last March, Durnin started class with a quick launch question: “You have 75% battery life on your phone or your iPad, and somebody else has one half of their battery life left. Who has more battery life? And how do you know?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students scribbled individually on their erasable table tops. After a few minutes discussing the solution as a whole class, they split into their random groups.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This was their first time working with percentages in math class, but there was no big lecture at the start. Liljedahl recommends that teachers only pre-teach a topic for three to five minutes, max. In his research, he found that students do a lot more thinking when they get started on math problems quickly. When students start the lesson in a passive mode, it’s hard to switch into a more active mental state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64542\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64542\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-800x1040.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-800x1040.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1020x1326.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-160x208.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-768x998.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1181x1536.jpg 1181w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1575x2048.jpg 1575w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-1920x2496.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc1-scaled.jpg 1969w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sixth grader Tyler converts fractions and decimals into percents at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Durnin’s class, each group copied a table with three columns onto the whiteboard. They needed to convert fractions and decimals into percentages, and vice versa. Some rows in the chart were already filled out, giving them examples. They worked row-by-row, with one student using the marker to write their peers’ ideas before switching roles. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The task was what Liljedahl calls a “thin slicing” task. Thin slicing is when students move through a series of problems that get slightly harder each time. Students start with something they know how to do, and the next problem has a very small variation. Instead of getting all the information up front, students \u003ca href=\"https://www.hmhco.com/blog/just-in-time-vs-just-in-case-scaffolding-how-to-foster-productive-perseverance\">build their knowledge as they go\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Using the rows that were already completed as guides, students noticed patterns – like how changing a fraction’s denominator can help with conversions. “Now I understand that any number – if you turn the denominator into 100, it’s easy to get a percent,” said Jena as her group finished their chart. “Because then it’s just the top number basically. It’s out of 100.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Consolidation\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61581/how-a-debate-over-the-science-of-math-could-reignite-the-math-wars\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">math wars\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> possibly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61712/do-math-drills-help-children-learn\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">making a resurgence\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, some educators who favor explicit instruction have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://educationhq.com/news/dont-buy-into-building-thinking-classrooms-in-maths-its-a-fad-school-leader-166705/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">criticized\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the thinking classrooms model as new packaging on old ideas of inquiry-based learning. But while the practices may \u003ca href=\"https://bhcommunitywatch.com/2022/11/01/thinking-classroom-or-sinking-classroom/\">not always be \u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">implemented with fidelity\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, explicit instruction does play a role in a thinking classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64544 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc3-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Math teacher Staci Durnin discusses one group’s problem solving strategies during the “consolidation” portion of class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While students work at the boards, Durnin and her co-teacher — Heather Hazen, a special education teacher — visited the groups. They asked questions and gave students vocabulary or other information to extend their learning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then the whole class gathered together for what’s called “consolidation.” This is when Durnin helps everyone bring together the pieces of what they discovered into a bigger picture understanding. Durnin picked one group’s board to use as a model and highlighted the things they got right and mistakes that everyone could learn from. Instead of front loading concepts and vocabulary, she used this conversation to connect the key ideas to what students had discovered themselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_64543\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-64543\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/2024/08/btc2-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One group’s board work after being marked up by teacher Staci Durnin during the “consolidation” portion of class at Mineola Middle School in New York on March 25, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kara Newhouse/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Liljedahl said consolidation matters because “meaning making is messy,” but “meaning made can be really neat.” In other words, when students are at the whiteboards they’re in the thick of figuring out how math works. That’s really valuable. But it’s also disorganized. Consolidation helps students organize and formalize the chaos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After consolidation, or for homework, students do something called “check your understanding” – individual practice with options to choose between difficulty levels of “mild,” “medium” or “spicy.” Liljedahl’s book also includes recommendations for how to approach assessments and grading in a thinking classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Resetting the culture\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Liljedahl’s research, when teachers tried to apply the thinking classrooms routines by starting with the regular curriculum, students resisted. Even if students don’t like math class, they have certain expectations for it. Liljedahl found that it helps to learn the new norms through what he calls non-curricular highly engaging tasks. These are math problems and puzzles that are not linked to a learning objective. They can introduce a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/63556/high-school-math-can-be-playful-too\">playful energy\u003c/a> to the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“What that does is it makes math fun, and it makes math feel achievable and enjoyable. And it can be very disarming for students,” Liljedahl said. He recommends that teachers spend three to five lessons on non-curricular highly engaging tasks at the start of the year to prime students’ brains for active learning. Durnin said she also found them useful coming back from holiday breaks.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1785740630758510593"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s a great way to enculture [students] into a new way of being,” Liljedahl said. “They might perceive that mathematics is different. They might perceive that you as a teacher is different, and that this is a safe space to engage in thought and collaboration. So we’ve just created sort of an aside — a safe space where students can be different and become different.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the usual culture of math class, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/62436/how-listening-to-students-stories-can-improve-math-class\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">where hierarchy is pervasive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, it’s common to hear kids say they’re “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/54389/3-ways-to-shape-math-into-a-positive-experience\">not a math person\u003c/a>.” But seven months into their thinking classrooms experience, Durnin’s students had no problem identifying their strengths in math. Here’s what a few of them said:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I’m good at factor puzzles and proportions and dividing fractions because I feel like I worked on those the most. So I’m really confident with those.” – Alexis\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I think I’m good at math ’cause I can teach people like this certain strategy, or if they’re having trouble with the question. But sometimes I do struggle, like everybody else.” – Thayla\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I just love problem solving. If I really want to do something, I’ll just focus my mind on only that and then block out everything else I’m working on.” – Chloe\u003c/span>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the school year wrapped up in June, Durnin said that her classes showed a deeper understanding of sixth grade math than students did in her many years teaching with more traditional methods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Durnin also said it took a lot of work to for her to adapt her lesson plans but that the change in student engagement was worth it. Along the way, she sought help from a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildingthinkingclassrooms\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Facebook group\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where educators ask questions and share stories about thinking classroom practices every day. The group has over 66,000 members.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I don’t think this is one of those teacher trends or a fad,” said McMellan, the Texas teacher. “It’s just good practices. And I think that’s what we’re all trying to find.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC8519622712\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: What does percent mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Welcome to MindShift, where we explore the future of learning and how we raise our kids. I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It would be an understatement to say that teachers have a lot on their plates right now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> From book bans to chronic absenteeism to phone distractions, the list of challenges is long. And a lot of teachers are feeling the burnout.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Which is why I was surprised when I started hearing a different refrain from math teachers. They were telling me that they’re more excited to go to work than ever – because their students are more excited than ever.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s just a lot of up out of the seats talking, collaborating. The kids are walking around the room, they’re working and they’re having fun. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Amber McMellan:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s really powerful to, to, to be able to walk around and, and just hear the conversations that the students have. It’s it it’s like food for the teacher heart, you know. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These teachers are talking about a new approach to math called “thinking classrooms.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In this model, students work standing up at whiteboards in different small groups every day.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s centered around a core idea: getting kids to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">think\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> instead of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">mimic\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in math class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What teaching math so often has become is let me show you how to do it, and then you do it. Right. It’s sort of this ‘I do, we do, you do.’ And you’re going to learn to mimic these sorts of routines and practices.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Peter Liljedahl, the researcher who created the thinking classrooms model. Peter says that problem solving is “what we do when we don’t know what to do.” And we don’t usually let kids hang out in that space.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s been an agenda around teaching math through problem solving and teaching problem solving for 35 years now. But in order to do that, to really embrace that, to, if we really want to have students learning through problem solving, then they have to get stuck, and they have to think, and they have to get unstuck. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter’s book, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, was published in 2020. It couldn’t have come at a better time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Getting kids excited about math has never been easy. And COVID didn’t help. Even now, a few years after distance learning, teachers of all subjects are struggling to get students engaged.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So what makes thinking classrooms different? In this episode, we’ll visit a Long Island school where you’ll hear some of the key practices in action. And we’ll examine how these practices get kids thinking instead of mimicking in math. That’s all after the break. Stay with us.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK. If you could take out a marker.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Staci Durnin’s grade six math classroom at Mineola Middle School in New York. Today students are learning about percentages. They start with a question that puts percentages in a familiar context.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay, so you have 75% battery life on your phone or your iPad, and somebody else has one half of their battery life left. Who has more battery life? And how do you know? Can you show the work on your tabletop?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Staci and her co-teacher read \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">over the summer. They decided to try out the practices from the book in the new school year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Um, half of 100 is 50, making 75% more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why did you choose to use this percent?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, because, for your phone, the max percent is 100%.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So half of 100% is 50%? And clearly, this is greater than this. Good. Anybody want to explain it differently? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This opening problem only takes a few minutes. There’s no big lecture. Instead, students are going to try working with percentages right away. In his research, Peter Liljedahl has found that students do a lot more thinking when they get started on math problems quickly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s because when students start the lesson in a passive mode, it’s very hard to switch into a more active mental state.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter recommends that teachers only pre-teach a topic for three to five minutes, max. Then students work on math problems standing up at whiteboards, in groups of 3. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right. So we’re going to hear our groups right now. Go find your board space and get working.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In Staci Durnin’s classroom, groups are selected using popsicle sticks with students’ names written on them. A student draws the names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jack. Vanessa. Nick. … \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luke, Aleena and Akira.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This way of picking groups is called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">visibly random groups\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s one of the key practices of thinking classrooms.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Kara, let’s break that phrase down. Random groups means that students don’t pick their best friends to work with. It also means teachers don’t group students based on perceived ability.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Peter’s research, he found that when teachers pick the groups or allow students to choose who to work with, the majority of students go into the groups expecting to play a certain role. And that role is usually passive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when groups are randomly assigned and change every day, students don’t get locked into roles. Different perspectives get shared, and more students offer their ideas for problem solving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As for the “visibly” part of visibly random groups – that means that students actually \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">see\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the groups being selected. It turns out that unless it happens in front of them, students don’t believe the groups are truly random.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All right, everyone hear their groups? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got the marker. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Get some calculators. One marker per group. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In their groups, the students copy a chart with 3 columns onto the whiteboards. They’re working to convert fractions and decimals into percentages, and vice versa.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, first, it’s 30 over 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 30.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Because it’s a percent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then you do — \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nicole: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three over —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Equals, there should be —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Three tenths?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nicole:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Three tenths.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, three tenths.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Remember, this is the first time these students are seeing percentages in math class. The way they’re learning is what Peter Liljedahl calls “thin slicing.” Thin slicing is when students move through a series of problems that get slightly harder each time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So they start with something they know how to do, and the next problem has a very small variation. Instead of getting all the information up front, students build their knowledge as they go.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Here’s one student, Roel, explaining how his group converted a fraction into a percentage.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So it’s 6/8, right? That’s six quarters out of eight quarters. That means it’s actually like at 100%, but it’s just a different type of fraction which can get you there. And if you do six divided by eight, which it will get, it will get, it will give you 75%.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You can hear that he’s starting to make sense of the different types of conversions, even if he doesn’t have all the vocabulary nailed down yet.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So now this is your basic ratio.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thin slicing allows students to notice patterns and make meaning from math instead of memorizing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And by working in small groups, students can easily share what they’re noticing to help each other learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I spoke with Jena – who was in the same group as Roel – she felt she had a good grasp on the lesson.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Had you learned anything about percents before today? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Roel: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well yeah —\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like I got a gist, but now I really understand it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What do you understand now that you didn’t before? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, now I understand that, like any number, if you turn the, uh, the denominator into 100, it’s easy to get a percent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why does that help? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jena: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Because it, because then it’s just the top number basically. It’s out of 100. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Students are encouraged to share ideas between groups. That’s easy to do because their work is visible on the whiteboards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Seeing the whiteboards also helps the teacher. Peter Liljedahl points out that when students are working in notebooks at their desks, it’s pretty hard to see their thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But if all of a sudden all the groups are vertical working on whiteboards, me as a teacher, standing in the middle of the room, I can see exactly where I need to be. And so it’s easier for me to differentiate now, because I can see that that group needs an extension, and that group needs a hint, and that those two groups actually just need to talk to each other, because one group has the knowledge and the other group needs it. And so differentiation becomes easier because everything is made visible.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, just because students are immersed in problem solving in a thinking classroom, it doesn’t mean there’s no teacher talk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While students work at the boards, Staci Durnin and her co-teacher visit the groups. They ask questions and give students vocabulary or other information to extend their learning.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So what was that divisible by?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, after board work, the whole class gathers together for what’s called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">consolidation\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Why is this an easy way to get to a hundred? I like your thinking. Go ahead, finish it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is when Staci helps everyone bring together the pieces of what they discovered into a bigger picture understanding.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Staci picks one group’s board to use as a model – for both the things they got right and mistakes that everyone can learn from.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So let’s talk about some patterns that you noticed here. Let’s look at this board work. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Who wants to start? Tell me about these two fractions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> They’re multiplied by ten so they’re equivalent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Good.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> When I asked Peter Liljedahl why consolidation matters, he said that meaning making is messy, but meaning made is neat.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In other words, when students are at the whiteboards they’re in the thick of figuring out how math works. That’s really valuable. But it’s also disorganized.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Consolidation\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> helps students organize the chaos.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, you want to see a common mistake? If this wasn’t here, and this was the fraction 5/20, I often see this: oh, it’s 5%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Unidentified student: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Percent has “cent” in and cent means 100.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Ooh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After consolidation, and for homework, students do something called Check Your Understanding, or CYUs. Instead of everyone doing the same worksheet, students choose between easy, medium and extreme challenges. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s another way to differentiate their learning. And it develops student agency.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> All of these things we heard – students standing up at whiteboards, visibly random groups, thin slicing and consolidation – they’re totally different from how Staci Durnin used to teach.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if I taught this lesson two years ago, it would have been me up at the front of the room, showing the kids how to set up the proportion. How do you change this fraction into a percent? Let’s get the denominator into 100. Now, with the thin slicing, they’ve discovered all of that, right? They discovered that ‘Oh the denominator has to be 100 because percent is out of 100.’ And ‘Oh this fraction is equivalent to this. So this must also equal the same percent.’ So it’s getting them to discover, then you consolidate and talk about the important pieces to the lesson. And then they practice on their own.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not only has Staci’s teaching method changed, but the way her students are showing up has changed. In most math classes I remember taking, my classmates and I were just … silent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Crickets sound effect\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Part of the engagement comes from being up out of their seats. Movement can help generate problem-solving ideas and improve memory consolidation. And kids just like it more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s your favorite thing about this class? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The stand up activities you get to do every single day. Because I don’t like classrooms where all we do is sit down and look up at the board. I like classrooms where we’re involved in something and we get to do something. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Staci’s students also told me they really like working in small groups at the whiteboards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I think it helps me more, actually, because there’s other people who might explain it better for me and I can understand it better.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Hafsa: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also you’re working with different people, so then they might have different methods that you didn’t already learn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Working in small, random groups feeds students’ social needs, which we know is really important for the adolescent brain. But Kara, in season eight, we talked about the needs of introverted students. How does the thinking classrooms model work for them? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I talked to one student who said the noise at the whiteboards can be a lot. And depending on who’s in her group, sometimes she feels less comfortable sharing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Lucia: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes I don’t like working up at the boards because, like, it shows everybody what you’re doing. But like, you sometimes want to keep in your own answers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of her classmates had a different take, though. She said that asking a question in front of the whole class can be scary.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alexis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I like small groups because at the boards, because it’s not like, as, not really embarrassing, but kind of, like when you get something wrong and like, your other partners can help you.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Small, random groups can lower the social risk for making mistakes. That’s something that Staci’s co-teacher, Heather Hazen, noticed, too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So actually, when we started this the first few weeks of school, I said to Staci, like, this is so weird, but the kids are doing better.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heather is a special education teacher. She’s in the classroom with Staci to help out with students who need extra support.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what I find for most of the kids – most, not all of them, but most of them – it gives them a chance to sit back and look, and in the small group, they ask questions to their peers more often than they would, I guess, in class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heather also said the thinking classrooms model allows different mathematical strengths to be seen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Heather Hazen: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If we’re asking how many squares you see in this larger grid of squares, sometimes our struggling students are the ones that are doing best with that task. Or they may notice the pattern differently, or see it differently, or come up with another method that somebody else wasn’t thinking about. So they have chances to shine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I visited Staci and Heather’s classroom in March. By then, students were very accustomed to random groups and working at the whiteboards. But learning those norms takes work at the start of the year. That’s done through what Peter Liljedahl calls \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">non-curricular highly engaging tasks.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are math problems and puzzles that are not linked to a learning objective. They can introduce a playful energy to the classroom.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what that does is it makes math fun, and it makes math feel achievable and enjoyable. And it can be very disarming for students.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In Peter’s research, when teachers tried to apply the thinking classrooms practices by starting with the regular curriculum…the students weren’t having it. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know, students come into the, into a math classroom already sort of believing what math is and who they are in relation to mathematics. And then they enact those, those, those beliefs in the way they engage with a new teacher and new content.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Highly engaging non-curricular tasks essentially jolt students out of their expectations for math class.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a great way to enculture them into a new way of being. They’ve re-constructed an identity for themselves. They have maybe re- rebuilt a relationship with mathematics. They might perceive that mathematics is different. They might perceive that you as a teacher is different, and that this is a safe space to, to engage in, in thought and collaboration. So we’ve just created sort of an aside – a safe space where students can be different and become different. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This investment ends up paying off for the rest of the year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Peter Liljedahl:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> When they’re not actively engaged in the learning in that way, everything is difficult. But when they are thinking anything is possible, like we’re tearing through Pythagoras in 55 minutes. Solving one- and two-step equations has never taken more than 45 minutes. Right. Factoring quadratics, which is a unit that can take anywhere from three to five days, we do it in 60 minutes.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Staci Durnin, the evidence that thinking classrooms works is not how quickly her students get through the math, but that her students don’t want to stop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Staci Durnin: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of times I hear kids say, that was two periods of math already? And you know, when I hear that, it just makes me so happy. So I know, you know, in the past, the double period, even for me, it’s like I have another period of this, you know, this is tough. Now I’m almost running out of time because, when the bell rings, they don’t want to leave the boards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nimah, I’ve never heard as many kids talking about the real substance of math as I did in just a few periods at Mineola Middle School. Not even when I was in the math club at my own middle school.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s pretty remarkable. But you know what we DO hear a lot? Kids and grownups who say, “I’m not a math person.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The idea of people being inherently good or bad at math is often baked into the culture of school. But when I asked Staci’s students about their strengths in math, they answered easily.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Alexis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Well, I’m good at, like, factor puzzles and, like, proportions and dividing fractions because I feel like I worked on those the most. So I’m really confident with those. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Thayla: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think I’m good at math ’cause, like, I can teach people like this certain strategy, or like, if they’re having trouble with with the question. But sometimes I do struggle with, like everybody else. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Chloe: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I just, like, love problem solving. It’s just like if I really want to, like, do something, I’ll just like focus my mind on only that and then block out everything else I’m working on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I checked in with Staci again as her school year wrapped up. She told me that her students this year showed a deeper understanding of grade six math than students did in her many years teaching with more traditional methods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When math class focuses on getting students to think instead of mimic, their confidence and their problem solving skills grow.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And what that adds up to is a very bright future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Big thanks to Staci Durnin and Heather Hazen at Mineola Middle School in New York. The students you heard in this episode were:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Roel, Jena, Nicole, Luke, Sami, Lucia, Alexis, Olivia, Hafsa, Thayla and Chloe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Peter Liljedahl’s book is called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks also to Amber McMellan and Julie Frizzell.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Kara Newhouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’m Nimah Gobir.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The rest of the MindShift team includes Ki Sung, Marlena Jackson-Retondo and Jennifer Ng.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Seth Samuel is our sound designer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña , Maha Sanad and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Nimah Gobir:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> MindShift is supported in part by the generosity of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and members of KQED.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Kara Newhouse:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you love MindShift, and enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. We really appreciate it. You can also read more or subscribe to our newsletter at K-Q-E-D-dot-org-slash-MindShift.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks for listening!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/mindshift/64539/how-to-get-kids-thinking-instead-of-mimicking-in-math-class","authors":["11487"],"programs":["mindshift_21942"],"categories":["mindshift_194","mindshift_21130","mindshift_21848"],"tags":["mindshift_1028","mindshift_392"],"featImg":"mindshift_64549","label":"mindshift_21942"}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.","airtime":"SUN 2pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.possible.fm/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Possible"},"link":"/radio/program/possible","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"}},"1a":{"id":"1a","title":"1A","info":"1A is home to the national conversation. 1A brings on great guests and frames the best debate in ways that make you think, share and engage.","airtime":"MON-THU 11pm-12am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/1a.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://the1a.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/1a","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=1188724250&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/1A-p947376/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510316/podcast.xml"}},"all-things-considered":{"id":"all-things-considered","title":"All Things Considered","info":"Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/all-things-considered"},"american-suburb-podcast":{"id":"american-suburb-podcast","title":"American Suburb: The Podcast","tagline":"The flip side of gentrification, told through one town","info":"Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":17},"link":"/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"}},"baycurious":{"id":"baycurious","title":"Bay Curious","tagline":"Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time","info":"KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"\"KQED Bay Curious","officialWebsiteLink":"/news/series/baycurious","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":2},"link":"/podcasts/baycurious","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS9iYXktY3VyaW91cy1wb2RjYXN0L2ZlZWQvcG9kY2FzdA","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"}},"bbc-world-service":{"id":"bbc-world-service","title":"BBC World Service","info":"The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service","meta":{"site":"news","source":"BBC World Service"},"link":"/radio/program/bbc-world-service","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/","rss":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"}},"code-switch-life-kit":{"id":"code-switch-life-kit","title":"Code Switch / Life Kit","info":"\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />","airtime":"SUN 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"}},"commonwealth-club":{"id":"commonwealth-club","title":"Commonwealth Club of California Podcast","info":"The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.","airtime":"THU 10pm, FRI 1am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Commonwealth Club of California"},"link":"/radio/program/commonwealth-club","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"}},"forum":{"id":"forum","title":"Forum","tagline":"The conversation starts here","info":"KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.","airtime":"MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal","officialWebsiteLink":"/forum","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":8},"link":"/forum","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"}},"freakonomics-radio":{"id":"freakonomics-radio","title":"Freakonomics Radio","info":"Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png","officialWebsiteLink":"http://freakonomics.com/","airtime":"SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"WNYC"},"link":"/radio/program/freakonomics-radio","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/","rss":"https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"}},"fresh-air":{"id":"fresh-air","title":"Fresh Air","info":"Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.","airtime":"MON-FRI 7pm-8pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/fresh-air","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"}},"here-and-now":{"id":"here-and-now","title":"Here & Now","info":"A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.","airtime":"MON-THU 11am-12pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/here-and-now","subsdcribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"}},"how-i-built-this":{"id":"how-i-built-this","title":"How I Built This with Guy Raz","info":"Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this","airtime":"SUN 7:30pm-8pm","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/how-i-built-this","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"}},"inside-europe":{"id":"inside-europe","title":"Inside Europe","info":"Inside Europe, a one-hour weekly news magazine hosted by Helen Seeney and Keith Walker, explores the topical issues shaping the continent. No other part of the globe has experienced such dynamic political and social change in recent years.","airtime":"SAT 3am-4am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Inside-Europe-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg","meta":{"site":"news","source":"Deutsche Welle"},"link":"/radio/program/inside-europe","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-europe/id80106806?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Inside-Europe-p731/","rss":"https://partner.dw.com/xml/podcast_inside-europe"}},"latino-usa":{"id":"latino-usa","title":"Latino USA","airtime":"MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm","info":"Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://latinousa.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/latino-usa","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"}},"live-from-here-highlights":{"id":"live-from-here-highlights","title":"Live from Here Highlights","info":"Chris Thile steps to the mic as the host of Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion), a live public radio variety show. Download Chris’s Song of the Week plus other highlights from the broadcast. Produced by American Public Media.","airtime":"SAT 6pm-8pm, SUN 11am-1pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Live-From-Here-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.livefromhere.org/","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"american public media"},"link":"/radio/program/live-from-here-highlights","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1167173941","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Live-from-Here-Highlights-p921744/","rss":"https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/a-prairie-home-companion-highlights/rss/rss"}},"marketplace":{"id":"marketplace","title":"Marketplace","info":"Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.","airtime":"MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.marketplace.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"American Public Media"},"link":"/radio/program/marketplace","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/","rss":"https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"}},"mindshift":{"id":"mindshift","title":"MindShift","tagline":"A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids","info":"The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn","officialWebsiteLink":"/mindshift/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":11},"link":"/podcasts/mindshift","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"}},"morning-edition":{"id":"morning-edition","title":"Morning Edition","info":"\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.","airtime":"MON-FRI 3am-9am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/morning-edition"},"onourwatch":{"id":"onourwatch","title":"On Our Watch","tagline":"Police secrets, unsealed","info":"For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"On Our Watch from NPR and KQED","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/onourwatch","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":10},"link":"/podcasts/onourwatch","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw","npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"}},"on-the-media":{"id":"on-the-media","title":"On The Media","info":"Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us","airtime":"SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm","meta":{"site":"news","source":"wnyc"},"link":"/radio/program/on-the-media","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/","rss":"http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"}},"our-body-politic":{"id":"our-body-politic","title":"Our Body Politic","info":"Presented by KQED, KCRW and KPCC, and created and hosted by award-winning journalist Farai Chideya, Our Body Politic is unapologetically centered on reporting on not just how women of color experience the major political events of today, but how they’re impacting those very issues.","airtime":"SAT 6pm-7pm, SUN 1am-2am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Our-Body-Politic-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://our-body-politic.simplecast.com/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kcrw"},"link":"/radio/program/our-body-politic","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-body-politic/id1533069868","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9feGFQaHMxcw","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4ApAiLT1kV153TttWAmqmc","rss":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/_xaPhs1s","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Our-Body-Politic-p1369211/"}},"pbs-newshour":{"id":"pbs-newshour","title":"PBS NewsHour","info":"Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.","airtime":"MON-FRI 3pm-4pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"pbs"},"link":"/radio/program/pbs-newshour","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/","rss":"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"}},"perspectives":{"id":"perspectives","title":"Perspectives","tagline":"KQED's series of of daily listener commentaries since 1991","info":"KQED's series of of daily listener commentaries since 1991.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Perspectives-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/perspectives/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"kqed","order":13},"link":"/perspectives","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"}},"planet-money":{"id":"planet-money","title":"Planet Money","info":"The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.","airtime":"SUN 3pm-4pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/sections/money/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/planet-money","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"}},"politicalbreakdown":{"id":"politicalbreakdown","title":"Political Breakdown","tagline":"Politics from a personal perspective","info":"Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.","airtime":"THU 6:30pm-7pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Political Breakdown","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/politicalbreakdown","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"kqed","order":6},"link":"/podcasts/politicalbreakdown","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5Nzk2MzI2MTEx","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"}},"pri-the-world":{"id":"pri-the-world","title":"PRI's The World: Latest Edition","info":"Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.","airtime":"MON-FRI 2pm-3pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world","meta":{"site":"news","source":"PRI"},"link":"/radio/program/pri-the-world","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/","rss":"http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"}},"radiolab":{"id":"radiolab","title":"Radiolab","info":"A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.","airtime":"SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/","meta":{"site":"science","source":"WNYC"},"link":"/radio/program/radiolab","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/","rss":"https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"}},"reveal":{"id":"reveal","title":"Reveal","info":"Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.","airtime":"SAT 4pm-5pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/reveal","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/","rss":"http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"}},"says-you":{"id":"says-you","title":"Says You!","info":"Public radio's game show of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy. The warmest, wittiest cocktail party - it's spirited and civil, brainy and boisterous, peppered with musical interludes. Fast paced and playful, it's the most fun you can have with language without getting your mouth washed out with soap. Our motto: It's not important to know the answers, it's important to like the answers!","airtime":"SUN 4pm-5pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Says-You-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://www.saysyouradio.com/","meta":{"site":"comedy","source":"Pipit and Finch"},"link":"/radio/program/says-you","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/says-you!/id1050199826","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Says-You-p480/","rss":"https://saysyou.libsyn.com/rss"}},"science-friday":{"id":"science-friday","title":"Science Friday","info":"Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.","airtime":"FRI 11am-1pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/science-friday","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/","rss":"http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"}},"selected-shorts":{"id":"selected-shorts","title":"Selected Shorts","info":"Spellbinding short stories by established and emerging writers take on a new life when they are performed by stars of the stage and screen.","airtime":"SAT 8pm-9pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Selected-Shorts-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.pri.org/programs/selected-shorts","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"pri"},"link":"/radio/program/selected-shorts","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=253191824&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Selected-Shorts-p31792/","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/selectedshorts"}},"snap-judgment":{"id":"snap-judgment","title":"Snap Judgment","tagline":"Real stories with killer beats","info":"The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.","airtime":"SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://snapjudgment.org","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"kqed","order":3},"link":"https://snapjudgment.org","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment","stitcher":"https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v","rss":"https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"}},"soldout":{"id":"soldout","title":"SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America","tagline":"A new future for housing","info":"Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/soldout","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":12},"link":"/podcasts/soldout","subscribe":{"npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing","apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america","tunein":"https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vc29sZG91dA"}},"spooked":{"id":"spooked","title":"Spooked","tagline":"True-life supernatural stories","info":"","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Spooked_8_Logo_PRX_KQED-900x900-1.png","imageAlt":"","officialWebsiteLink":"https://spookedpodcast.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":4},"link":"https://spookedpodcast.org/","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT","rss":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"}},"ted-radio-hour":{"id":"ted-radio-hour","title":"TED Radio Hour","info":"The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.","airtime":"SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/ted-radio-hour","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"}},"tech-nation":{"id":"tech-nation","title":"Tech Nation Radio Podcast","info":"Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.","airtime":"FRI 10pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://technation.podomatic.com/","meta":{"site":"science","source":"Tech Nation Media"},"link":"/radio/program/tech-nation","subscribe":{"rss":"https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"}},"thebay":{"id":"thebay","title":"The Bay","tagline":"Local news to keep you rooted","info":"Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED The Bay","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/thebay","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"kqed","order":1},"link":"/podcasts/thebay","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM4MjU5Nzg2MzI3","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"}},"californiareport":{"id":"californiareport","title":"The California Report","tagline":"California, day by day","info":"KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED The California Report","officialWebsiteLink":"/californiareport","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":7},"link":"/californiareport","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1MDAyODE4NTgz","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"}},"californiareportmagazine":{"id":"californiareportmagazine","title":"The California Report Magazine","tagline":"Your state, your stories","info":"Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.","airtime":"FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"/californiareportmagazine","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":9},"link":"/californiareportmagazine","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"}},"thelatest":{"id":"thelatest","title":"The Latest","tagline":"Trusted local news in real time","info":"","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/The-Latest-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED The Latest","officialWebsiteLink":"/thelatest","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":5},"link":"/thelatest","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba","rss":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"}},"theleap":{"id":"theleap","title":"The Leap","tagline":"What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?","info":"Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED The Leap","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/theleap","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":15},"link":"/podcasts/theleap","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM0NTcwODQ2MjY2","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"}},"masters-of-scale":{"id":"masters-of-scale","title":"Masters of Scale","info":"Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.","airtime":"Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://mastersofscale.com/","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"WaitWhat"},"link":"/radio/program/masters-of-scale","subscribe":{"apple":"http://mastersofscale.app.link/","rss":"https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"}},"the-moth-radio-hour":{"id":"the-moth-radio-hour","title":"The Moth Radio Hour","info":"Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.","airtime":"SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://themoth.org/","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"prx"},"link":"/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/","rss":"http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"}},"the-new-yorker-radio-hour":{"id":"the-new-yorker-radio-hour","title":"The New Yorker Radio Hour","info":"The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.","airtime":"SAT 10am-11am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"WNYC"},"link":"/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/","rss":"https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"}},"the-takeaway":{"id":"the-takeaway","title":"The Takeaway","info":"The Takeaway is produced in partnership with its national audience. It delivers perspective and analysis to help us better understand the day’s news. Be a part of the American conversation on-air and online.","airtime":"MON-THU 12pm-1pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Takeaway-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/takeaway","meta":{"site":"news","source":"WNYC"},"link":"/radio/program/the-takeaway","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-takeaway/id363143310?mt=2","tuneIn":"http://tunein.com/radio/The-Takeaway-p150731/","rss":"https://feeds.feedburner.com/takeawaypodcast"}},"this-american-life":{"id":"this-american-life","title":"This American Life","info":"This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.","airtime":"SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.thisamericanlife.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"wbez"},"link":"/radio/program/this-american-life","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","rss":"https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"}},"truthbetold":{"id":"truthbetold","title":"Truth Be Told","tagline":"Advice by and for people of color","info":"We’re the friend you call after a long day, the one who gets it. Through wisdom from some of the greatest thinkers of our time, host Tonya Mosley explores what it means to grow and thrive as a Black person in America, while discovering new ways of being that serve as a portal to more love, more healing, and more joy.","airtime":"","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Truth-Be-Told-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Truth Be Told with Tonya Mosley","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.kqed.ord/podcasts/truthbetold","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/podcasts/truthbetold","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/truth-be-told/id1462216572","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9jYXRlZ29yeS90cnV0aC1iZS10b2xkLXBvZGNhc3QvZmVlZA","npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/719210818/truth-be-told","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=398170&refid=stpr","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/587DhwTBxke6uvfwDfaV5N"}},"wait-wait-dont-tell-me":{"id":"wait-wait-dont-tell-me","title":"Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!","info":"Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.","airtime":"SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"}},"washington-week":{"id":"washington-week","title":"Washington Week","info":"For 50 years, Washington Week has been the most intelligent and up to date conversation about the most important news stories of the week. Washington Week is the longest-running news and public affairs program on PBS and features journalists -- not pundits -- lending insight and perspective to the week's important news stories.","airtime":"SAT 1:30am-2am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/washington-week.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"http://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"pbs"},"link":"/radio/program/washington-week","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/washington-week-audio-pbs/id83324702?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Current-Affairs/Washington-Week-p693/","rss":"http://feeds.pbs.org/pbs/weta/washingtonweek-audio"}},"weekend-edition-saturday":{"id":"weekend-edition-saturday","title":"Weekend Edition Saturday","info":"Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.","airtime":"SAT 5am-10am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"},"weekend-edition-sunday":{"id":"weekend-edition-sunday","title":"Weekend Edition Sunday","info":"Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.","airtime":"SUN 5am-10am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"},"world-affairs":{"id":"world-affairs","title":"World Affairs","info":"The world as we knew it is undergoing a rapid transformation…so what's next? Welcome to WorldAffairs, your guide to a changing world. We give you the context you need to navigate across borders and ideologies. Through sound-rich stories and in-depth interviews, we break down what it means to be a global citizen on a hot, crowded planet. Our hosts, Ray Suarez, Teresa Cotsirilos and Philip Yun help you make sense of an uncertain world, one story at a time.","airtime":"MON 10pm, TUE 1am, SAT 3am","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/World-Affairs-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg ","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.worldaffairs.org/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"World Affairs"},"link":"/radio/program/world-affairs","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-affairs/id101215657?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/WorldAffairs-p1665/","rss":"https://worldaffairs.libsyn.com/rss"}},"on-shifting-ground":{"id":"on-shifting-ground","title":"On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez","info":"Geopolitical turmoil. A warming planet. Authoritarians on the rise. We live in a chaotic world that’s rapidly shifting around us. “On Shifting Ground with Ray Suarez” explores international fault lines and how they impact us all. Each week, NPR veteran Ray Suarez hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts to help us read between the headlines – and give us hope for human resilience.","airtime":"MON 10pm, TUE 1am, SAT 3am","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2022/12/onshiftingground-600x600-1.png","officialWebsiteLink":"https://worldaffairs.org/radio-podcast/","meta":{"site":"news","source":"On Shifting Ground"},"link":"/radio/program/on-shifting-ground","subscribe":{"apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/on-shifting-ground/id101215657","rss":"https://feeds.libsyn.com/36668/rss"}},"hidden-brain":{"id":"hidden-brain","title":"Hidden Brain","info":"Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain","airtime":"SUN 7pm-8pm","meta":{"site":"news","source":"NPR"},"link":"/radio/program/hidden-brain","subscribe":{"apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2","tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"}},"city-arts":{"id":"city-arts","title":"City Arts & Lectures","info":"A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available","imageSrc":"https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.cityarts.net/","airtime":"SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am","meta":{"site":"news","source":"City Arts & Lectures"},"link":"https://www.cityarts.net","subscribe":{"tuneIn":"https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/","rss":"https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"}},"white-lies":{"id":"white-lies","title":"White Lies","info":"In 1965, Rev. James Reeb was murdered in Selma, Alabama. Three men were tried and acquitted, but no one was ever held to account. Fifty years later, two journalists from Alabama return to the city where it happened, expose the lies that kept the murder from being solved and uncover a story about guilt and memory that says as much about America today as it does about the past.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/White-Lies-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510343/white-lies","meta":{"site":"news","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/white-lies","subscribe":{"npr":"https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/whitelies","apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1462650519?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM0My9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbA","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/12yZ2j8vxqhc0QZyRES3ft?si=LfWYEK6URA63hueKVxRLAw","rss":"https://feeds.npr.org/510343/podcast.xml"}},"rightnowish":{"id":"rightnowish","title":"Rightnowish","tagline":"Art is where you find it","info":"Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/rightnowish","meta":{"site":"arts","source":"kqed","order":14},"link":"/podcasts/rightnowish","subscribe":{"npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast","apple":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"}},"jerrybrown":{"id":"jerrybrown","title":"The Political Mind of Jerry Brown","tagline":"Lessons from a lifetime in politics","info":"The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg","imageAlt":"KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown","officialWebsiteLink":"/podcasts/jerrybrown","meta":{"site":"news","source":"kqed","order":16},"link":"/podcasts/jerrybrown","subscribe":{"npr":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown","apple":"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549","rss":"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/","tuneIn":"http://tun.in/pjGcK","stitcher":"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown","spotify":"https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w","google":"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvbmV3cy9zZXJpZXMvamVycnlicm93bi9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qv"}},"the-splendid-table":{"id":"the-splendid-table","title":"The Splendid Table","info":"\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.","imageSrc":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg","officialWebsiteLink":"https://www.splendidtable.org/","airtime":"SUN 10-11 pm","meta":{"site":"radio","source":"npr"},"link":"/radio/program/the-splendid-table"}},"racesReducer":{"5921":{"id":"5921","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 7","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":158422,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Doris Matsui","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":89456,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Tom Silva","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":48920,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"David Mandel","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":20046,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-09T01:00:38.194Z"},"5922":{"id":"5922","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 8","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Rudy Recile","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"John Garamendi","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"5924":{"id":"5924","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 10","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":185034,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mark DeSaulnier","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":121265,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Katherine Piccinini","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":34883,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Nolan Chen","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":19459,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Joe Sweeney","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":7606,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Mohamed Elsherbini","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":1821,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-09T01:02:32.415Z"},"5926":{"id":"5926","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 12","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":153801,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.85,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Lateefah Simon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":85905,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Jennifer Tran","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":22964,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Tony Daysog","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":17197,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Stephen Slauson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":9699,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Glenn Kaplan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":6785,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Eric Wilson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":4243,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Abdur Sikder","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2847,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ned Nuerge","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":2532,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Andre Todd","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":1629,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-16T00:22:36.062Z"},"5928":{"id":"5928","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 14","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":125831,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.89,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Eric Swalwell","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":83989,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Vin Kruttiventi","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":22106,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Alison Hayden","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":11928,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Luis Reynoso","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":7808,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:51:36.366Z"},"5930":{"id":"5930","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 16","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":182188,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Sam Liccardo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":38492,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Evan Low","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":30261,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Joe Simitian","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":30256,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Peter Ohtaki","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":23283,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Peter Dixon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":14677,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Rishi Kumar","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":12383,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Karl Ryan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":11563,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Julie Lythcott-Haims","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":11386,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ahmed Mostafa","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":5814,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Greg Tanaka","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2421,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Joby Bernstein","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":1652,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-05-02T14:15:13.232Z"},"5931":{"id":"5931","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 17","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":117534,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.9,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Ro Khanna","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":73941,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Anita Chen","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":31539,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Ritesh Tandon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":5728,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Mario Ramirez","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":4491,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Joe Dehn","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"Lib","voteCount":1835,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-08T01:50:53.956Z"},"5932":{"id":"5932","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 18","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":96302,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Zoe Lofgren","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":49323,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Peter Hernandez","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":31622,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Charlene Nijmeh","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":10614,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Lawrence Milan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2712,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Luele Kifle","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2031,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:26:02.706Z"},"5963":{"id":"5963","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 2","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":139085,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Michael Greer","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":38079,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Chris Rogers","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":27126,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Rusty Hicks","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":25615,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ariel Kelley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":19483,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Frankie Myers","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":17694,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ted Williams","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":9550,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Cynthia Click","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":1538,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-22T21:38:36.711Z"},"5972":{"id":"5972","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 11","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":99775,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Lori Wilson","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":50085,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Dave Ennis","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":26074,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Wanda Wallis","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":14638,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jeffrey Flack","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":8978,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-08T02:01:24.524Z"},"5973":{"id":"5973","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 12","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":143532,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Damon Connolly","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":111275,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Andy Podshadley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":17240,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Eryn Cervantes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":15017,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-21T00:25:32.262Z"},"5975":{"id":"5975","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 14","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":106997,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Buffy Wicks","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":78678,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Margot Smith","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":18251,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Utkarsh Jain","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":10068,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-15T01:30:34.539Z"},"5976":{"id":"5976","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 15","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":97144,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Sonia Ledo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":30946,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Anamarie Farias","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":29512,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Monica Wilson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":24775,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Karen Mitchoff","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":11911,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-14T00:19:38.858Z"},"5977":{"id":"5977","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 16","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Joseph Rubay","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Rebecca Bauer-Kahan","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"5978":{"id":"5978","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 17","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":111003,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Matt Haney","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":90915,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Manuel Noris-Barrera","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":13843,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Otto Duke","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":6245,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:36:19.697Z"},"5979":{"id":"5979","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 18","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":86008,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mia Bonta","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":73040,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Andre Sandford","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"AIP","voteCount":4575,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Mindy Pechenuk","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":4389,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Cheyenne Kenney","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":4004,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-05-02T14:13:20.724Z"},"5980":{"id":"5980","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 19","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":113959,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Catherine Stefani","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":64960,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"David Lee","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":33035,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Nadia Flamenco","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":8335,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Arjun Sodhani","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":7629,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-11T23:50:23.109Z"},"5981":{"id":"5981","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 20","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Liz Ortega","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"5982":{"id":"5982","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 21","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mark Gilham","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Diane Papan","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"5984":{"id":"5984","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 23","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":116963,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Marc Berman","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":67106,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Lydia Kou","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":23699,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Gus Mattammal","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":13277,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Allan Marson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":12881,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T01:13:06.280Z"},"5987":{"id":"5987","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 26","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":72753,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Patrick Ahrens","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":25036,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Tara Sreekrishnan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":19600,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Sophie Song","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":15954,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Omar Din","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":8772,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Bob Goodwyn","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"Lib","voteCount":2170,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ashish Garg","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":1221,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-13T21:06:29.070Z"},"5989":{"id":"5989","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 28","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Gail Pellerin","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Liz Lawler","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6010":{"id":"6010","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 49","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mike Fong","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Long Liu","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6018":{"id":"6018","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 2","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":229348,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":98.93,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jared Huffman","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":169005,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Chris Coulombe","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":37372,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Tief Gibbs","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":18437,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jolian Kangas","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":3166,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jason Brisendine","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":1368,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:46:10.103Z"},"6020":{"id":"6020","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 4","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":187640,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":97.16,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mike Thompson","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":118147,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"John Munn","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":56232,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Andrew Engdahl","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":11202,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Niket Patwardhan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":2059,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-07T00:30:57.980Z"},"6025":{"id":"6025","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 9","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":121271,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":98.93,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Josh Harder","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":60396,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Kevin Lincoln","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":36346,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"John McBride","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":15525,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Khalid Jafri","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":9004,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:49:44.113Z"},"6031":{"id":"6031","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 15","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Anna Kramer","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Kevin Mullin","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6035":{"id":"6035","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 19","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":203670,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jimmy Panetta","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":132540,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Jason Anderson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":58120,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Sean Dougherty","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"Grn","voteCount":13010,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-07T00:23:46.779Z"},"6066":{"id":"6066","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 3","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jamie Gallagher","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Aaron Draper","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6067":{"id":"6067","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 4","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Cecilia Aguiar-Curry","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6087":{"id":"6087","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 24","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":66643,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Alex Lee","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":45544,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Bob Brunton","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":14951,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Marti Souza","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":6148,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-14T23:23:49.770Z"},"6088":{"id":"6088","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 25","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":69560,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Ash Kalra","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":35821,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Ted Stroll","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":18255,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Lan Ngo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":15484,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-14T02:40:57.200Z"},"6092":{"id":"6092","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State House, District 29","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Robert Rivas","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"J.W. Paine","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6223":{"id":"6223","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 46","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Lou Correa","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"David Pan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6530":{"id":"6530","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 3","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":222193,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Thom Bogue","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":61776,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Christopher Cabaldon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":59041,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Rozzana Verder-Aliga","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":45546,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jackie Elward","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":41127,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jimih Jones","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":14703,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-15T01:24:31.539Z"},"6531":{"id":"6531","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 5","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":171623,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jim Shoemaker","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":74935,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Jerry McNerney","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":57040,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Carlos Villapudua","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":39648,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-13T20:07:46.382Z"},"6532":{"id":"6532","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 7","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":192446,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jesse Arreguín","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":61837,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Jovanka Beckles","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":34025,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Dan Kalb","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":28842,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Kathryn Lybarger","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":28041,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Sandre Swanson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":22862,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jeanne Solnordal","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":16839,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-16T00:58:11.533Z"},"6533":{"id":"6533","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 9","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Tim Grayson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Marisol Rubio","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6534":{"id":"6534","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 11","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":228260,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Scott Wiener","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":166592,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Yvette Corkrean","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":34438,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Cynthia Cravens","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":18513,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jing Xiong","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":8717,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T02:01:51.597Z"},"6535":{"id":"6535","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 13","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":227191,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Josh Becker","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":167127,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Alexander Glew","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":42788,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Christina Laskowski","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":17276,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T01:56:24.964Z"},"6536":{"id":"6536","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 15","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":180231,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Dave Cortese","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":124440,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Robert Howell","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":34173,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Tony Loaiza","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":21618,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-13T01:15:45.365Z"},"6548":{"id":"6548","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"State Senate, District 39","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":0,"uncontested":true,"precinctsReportPercentage":0,"eevp":0,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Akilah Weber","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Bob Divine","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":0,"isWinner":true}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:00:30.000Z"},"6611":{"id":"6611","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 11","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":188732,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Nancy Pelosi","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":138285,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Bruce Lou","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":16285,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Marjorie Mikels","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":9363,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Bianca Von Krieg","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":7634,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jason Zeng","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":6607,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jason Boyce","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":4325,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Larry Nichelson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":3482,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Eve Del Castello","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":2751,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-12T00:31:55.445Z"},"8589":{"id":"8589","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. Senate, Class I","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":7276537,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.66,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Adam Schiff","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2299507,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Steve Garvey","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":2292414,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Katie Porter","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":1115606,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Barbara Lee","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":714408,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Eric Early","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":240723,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"James Bradley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":98180,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Christina Pascucci","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":61755,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Sharleta Bassett","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":54422,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Sarah Liew","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":38483,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Laura Garza ","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":34320,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Jonathan Reiss","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":34283,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Sepi Gilani","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":34056,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Gail Lightfoot","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"Lib","voteCount":33046,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Denice Gary-Pandol","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":25494,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"James Macauley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":23168,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Harmesh Kumar","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":21522,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"David Peterson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":21076,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Douglas Pierce","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":19371,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Major Singh","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":16965,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"John Rose","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":14577,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Perry Pound","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":14134,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Raji Rab","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":13558,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Mark Ruzon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":13429,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Forrest Jones","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"AIP","voteCount":13027,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Stefan Simchowitz","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":12717,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Martin Veprauskas","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":9714,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Don Grundmann","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"NPP","voteCount":6582,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T05:01:46.589Z"},"8686":{"id":"8686","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"President,","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top1","totalVotes":3589127,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.75,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Joe Biden","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":3200188,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Marianne Williamson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":145690,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Dean Phillips","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":99981,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Armando Perez-Serrato","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":42925,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Gabriel Cornejo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":41261,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"President Boddie","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":25373,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Stephen Lyons","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":21008,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Eban Cambridge","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":12701,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:12:27.559Z"},"8688":{"id":"8688","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"President,","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top1","totalVotes":2466569,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.58,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Donald Trump","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":1953947,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Nikki Haley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":430792,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ron DeSantis","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":35581,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Chris Christie","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":20164,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Vivek Ramaswamy","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":11069,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Rachel Swift","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":4231,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"David Stuckenberg","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":3895,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Ryan Binkley","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":3563,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Asa Hutchinson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":3327,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:13:19.766Z"},"81993":{"id":"81993","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"U.S. Senate, Class I Unexpired Term","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top2","totalVotes":7358837,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":99.66,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Steve Garvey","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":2444940,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Adam Schiff","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":2155146,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"Katie Porter","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":1269194,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Barbara Lee","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":863278,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Eric Early","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"R","voteCount":448788,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Christina Pascucci","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":109421,"isWinner":false},{"candidateName":"Sepi Gilani","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"D","voteCount":68070,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-06T04:31:08.186Z"},"82014":{"id":"82014","type":"apRace","location":"State of California","raceName":"Proposition, 1 - Behavioral Health Services Program","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceType":"top1","totalVotes":7221972,"precinctsReportPercentage":100,"eevp":100,"tabulationStatus":"End of AP Tabulation","dateUpdated":"May 9, 2024","timeUpdated":"2:18 PM","source":"AP","candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":null,"voteCount":3624998,"isWinner":true},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":null,"voteCount":3596974,"isWinner":false}],"winnerDateTime":"2024-03-21T00:11:06.265Z"},"timeLoaded":"October 15, 2024 3:53 PM","nationalRacesLoaded":true,"localRacesLoaded":true,"overrides":[{"id":"5921","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 7","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5922","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 8","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5924","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 10","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5926","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 12","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/congress-12th-district"},{"id":"5928","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 14","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5930","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 16","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/congress-16th-district"},{"id":"5931","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 17","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5932","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 18","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5963","raceName":"State Assembly, District 2","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5972","raceName":"State Assembly, District 11","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5973","raceName":"State Assembly, District 12","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5975","raceName":"State Assembly, District 14","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5976","raceName":"State Assembly, District 15","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/contracosta/state-assembly"},{"id":"5977","raceName":"State Assembly, District 16","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5978","raceName":"State Assembly, District 17","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5979","raceName":"State Assembly, District 18","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5980","raceName":"State Assembly, District 19","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5981","raceName":"State Assembly, District 20","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5982","raceName":"State Assembly, District 21","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"5984","raceName":"State Assembly, District 23","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/state-assembly-23rd-district"},{"id":"5987","raceName":"State Assembly, District 26","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/santaclara/state-assembly-26th-district"},{"id":"5989","raceName":"State Assembly, District 28","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6010","raceName":"State Assembly, District 4","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6018","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 2","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6020","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 4","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6025","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 9","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6031","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 15","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6035","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 19","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6067","raceName":"State Assembly, District 4","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6087","raceName":"State Assembly, District 24","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6088","raceName":"State Assembly, District 25","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6092","raceName":"State Assembly, District 29","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6223","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 4","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6530","raceName":"State Senate, District 3","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/state-senate-3rd-district"},{"id":"6531","raceName":"State Senate, District 5","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6532","raceName":"State Senate, District 7","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/state-senate-7th-district"},{"id":"6533","raceName":"State Senate, District 9","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6534","raceName":"State Senate, District 11","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6535","raceName":"State Senate, District 13","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6536","raceName":"State Senate, District 15","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"6611","raceName":"U.S. House of Representatives, District 11","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":""},{"id":"8589","raceName":"U.S. Senate (Full Term)","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/senator"},{"id":"8686","raceName":"California Democratic Presidential Primary","raceDescription":"Candidates are competing for 496 delegates.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/president/democrat"},{"id":"8688","raceName":"California Republican Presidential Primary","raceDescription":"Candidates are competing for 169 delegates.","raceReadTheStory":"https://kqed.org/elections/results/president/republican"},{"id":"81993","raceName":"U.S. Senate (Partial/Unexpired Term)","raceDescription":"Top two candidates advance to general election."},{"id":"82014","raceName":"Proposition 1","raceDescription":"Bond and mental health reforms. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/california/proposition-1"}],"AlamedaJudge5":{"id":"AlamedaJudge5","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 5","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":200601,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Terry Wiley","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":200601}]},"AlamedaJudge12":{"id":"AlamedaJudge12","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 12","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":240853,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mark Fickes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":133009},{"candidateName":"Michael P. Johnson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":107844}]},"AlamedaBoard2":{"id":"AlamedaBoard2","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Education, Trustee Area 2","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":33580,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"John Lewis","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6943},{"candidateName":"Angela Normand","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":26637}]},"AlamedaBoard5":{"id":"AlamedaBoard5","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Education, Trustee Area 5","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":26072,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Guadalupe \"Lupe\" Angulo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7521},{"candidateName":"Janevette Cole","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":13338},{"candidateName":"Joe Orlando Ramos","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5213}]},"AlamedaBoard6":{"id":"AlamedaBoard6","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Education, Trustee Area 6","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":30864,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"John Guerrero","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":9989},{"candidateName":"Eileen McDonald","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":20875}]},"AlamedaSup1":{"id":"AlamedaSup1","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 1","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":41038,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"David Haubert","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":41038}]},"AlamedaSup2":{"id":"AlamedaSup2","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":31034,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Elisa Márquez","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":31034}]},"AlamedaSup4":{"id":"AlamedaSup4","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/supervisor-4th-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":57007,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jennifer Esteen","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":22400},{"candidateName":"Nate Miley","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":34607}]},"AlamedaSup5":{"id":"AlamedaSup5","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/supervisor-5th-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":81059,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Ben Bartlett","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":13518},{"candidateName":"Nikki Fortunato Bas","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":27597},{"candidateName":"John J. Bauters","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":16783},{"candidateName":"Ken Berrick","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7520},{"candidateName":"Omar Farmer","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1240},{"candidateName":"Gregory Hodge","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3419},{"candidateName":"Chris Moore","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7428},{"candidateName":"Gerald Pechenuk","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":305},{"candidateName":"Lorrel Plimier","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3249}]},"AlamedaBoard7":{"id":"AlamedaBoard7","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Flood Control & Water Conservation District Director, Zone 7, Full Term","raceDescription":"Top three candidates win seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top3","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":134340,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Alan Burnham","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":15723},{"candidateName":"Sandy Figuers","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":22454},{"candidateName":"Laurene K. Green","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":30343},{"candidateName":"Kathy Narum","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":23833},{"candidateName":"Seema Badar","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7468},{"candidateName":"Catherine Brown","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":34519}]},"AlamedaAuditor":{"id":"AlamedaAuditor","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Oakland Auditor","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":59227,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Michael Houston","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":59227}]},"AlamedaMeasureA":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Alameda County. Civil service. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":282335,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":167903},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":114432}]},"AlamedaMeasureB":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Alameda County. Recall rules. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/alameda/measure-b","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":282683,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":182200},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":100483}]},"AlamedaMeasureD":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureD","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure D","raceDescription":"Oakland. Appropriations limit. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":79797,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":59852},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":19945}]},"AlamedaMeasureE":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureE","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure E","raceDescription":"Alameda Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":22692,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":17280},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5412}]},"AlamedaMeasureF":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureF","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure F","raceDescription":"Piedmont. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":4855,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3673},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1182}]},"AlamedaMeasureG":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureG","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure G","raceDescription":"Albany Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote. ","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":5898,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4651},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1247}]},"AlamedaMeasureH":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureH","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure H","raceDescription":"Berkeley Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":33331,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":29418},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3913}]},"AlamedaMeasureI":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureI","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure I","raceDescription":"Hayward Unified School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":21929,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":14151},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7778}]},"AlamedaMeasureJ":{"id":"AlamedaMeasureJ","type":"localRace","location":"Alameda","raceName":"Measure J","raceDescription":"San Leandro Unified School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:02 PM","dateUpdated":"April 1, 2024","totalVotes":12338,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7784},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4554}]},"CCD2":{"id":"CCD2","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":45776,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Candace Andersen","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":45776}]},"CCD3":{"id":"CCD3","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 3","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":25120,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Diane Burgis","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":25120}]},"CCD5":{"id":"CCD5","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/contracosta/supervisor-5th-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":37045,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mike Barbanica","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":14338},{"candidateName":"Jelani Killings","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5683},{"candidateName":"Shanelle Scales-Preston","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":12993},{"candidateName":"Iztaccuauhtli Hector Gonzalez","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4031}]},"CCMeasureA":{"id":"CCMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Martinez. Appoint City Clerk. Passes with a majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":11513,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7554},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3959}]},"CCMeasureB":{"id":"CCMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Antioch Unified School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":17971,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10397},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7574}]},"CCMeasureC":{"id":"CCMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Martinez Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":9230,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6917},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2313}]},"CCMeasureD":{"id":"CCMeasureD","type":"localRace","location":"Contra Costa","raceName":"Measure D","raceDescription":"Moraga School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:45 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":6007,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4052},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1955}]},"MarinD2":{"id":"MarinD2","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/marin/supervisor-2nd-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":18466,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Brian Colbert","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7971},{"candidateName":"Heather McPhail Sridharan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4851},{"candidateName":"Ryan O'Neil","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2647},{"candidateName":"Gabe Paulson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2997}]},"MarinD3":{"id":"MarinD3","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 3","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":13274,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Stephanie Moulton-Peters","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":13274}]},"MarinD4":{"id":"MarinD4","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":12986,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Dennis Rodoni","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10086},{"candidateName":"Francis Drouillard","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2900}]},"MarinLarkspurCC":{"id":"MarinLarkspurCC","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Larkspur City Council (Short Term)","raceDescription":"Top candidate wins seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":4176,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Stephanie Andre","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2514},{"candidateName":"Claire Paquette","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1008},{"candidateName":"Lana Scott","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":654}]},"MarinRossCouncil":{"id":"MarinRossCouncil","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Ross Town Council","raceDescription":"Top three candidates win seat.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top3","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":1740,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Charles William \"Bill\" Kircher, Jr.","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":536},{"candidateName":"Mathew Salter","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":502},{"candidateName":"Shadi Aboukhater","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":187},{"candidateName":"Teri Dowling","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":515}]},"MarinMeasureA":{"id":"MarinMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Tamalpais Union High School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":45345,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":24376},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":20969}]},"MarinMeasureB":{"id":"MarinMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Petaluma Joint Union High School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":132,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":62},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":70}]},"MarinMeasureC":{"id":"MarinMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Belvedere. Appropriation limit. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":870,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":679},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":191}]},"MarinMeasureD":{"id":"MarinMeasureD","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure D","raceDescription":"Larkspur. Rent stabilization. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/marin/measure-d","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":4955,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2573},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2382}]},"MarinMeasureE":{"id":"MarinMeasureE","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure E","raceDescription":"Ross. Special tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/marin/measure-e","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":874,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":683},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":191}]},"MarinMeasureF":{"id":"MarinMeasureF","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure F","raceDescription":"San Anselmo. Flood Control and Water Conservation District. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":5193,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3083},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2110}]},"MarinMeasureG":{"id":"MarinMeasureG","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure G","raceDescription":"Bel Marin Keys Community Services District. Special tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":830,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":661},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":169}]},"MarinMeasureH":{"id":"MarinMeasureH","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure H","raceDescription":"Marinwood Community Services District. Appropriations limit, fire protection. Passes with a majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":1738,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1369},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":369}]},"MarinMeasureI":{"id":"MarinMeasureI","type":"localRace","location":"Marin","raceName":"Measure I","raceDescription":"Marinwood Community Services District. Appropriations limit, parks. Passes with a majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:54 PM","dateUpdated":"March 27, 2024","totalVotes":1735,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1336},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":399}]},"NapaD2":{"id":"NapaD2","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":8351,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Liz Alessio","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6340},{"candidateName":"Doris Gentry","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2011}]},"NapaD4":{"id":"NapaD4","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/napa/supervisor-4th-district","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":7306,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Amber Manfree","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3913},{"candidateName":"Pete Mott","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3393}]},"NapaD5":{"id":"NapaD5","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/napa/supervisor-5th-district","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":5356,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mariam Aboudamous","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2379},{"candidateName":"Belia Ramos","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2977}]},"NapaMeasureD":{"id":"NapaMeasureD","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Measure D","raceDescription":"Howell Mountain Elementary School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":741,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":367},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":374}]},"NapaMeasureU":{"id":"NapaMeasureU","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Measure U","raceDescription":"Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District. Appropriations limit. Passes with majority vote. ","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":86,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":63},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":23}]},"NapaMeasureU1":{"id":"NapaMeasureU1","type":"localRace","location":"Napa","raceName":"Measure U","raceDescription":"Yountville. Appropriations limit. Passes with majority vote. ","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"April 3, 2024","totalVotes":925,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":793},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":132}]},"SFJudge1":{"id":"SFJudge1","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Seat 1","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/superior-court-seat-1","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":202960,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Michael Begert","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":124943},{"candidateName":"Chip Zecher","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":78017}]},"SFJudge13":{"id":"SFJudge13","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Seat 13","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/superior-court-seat-13","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":202386,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jean Myungjin Roland","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":90012},{"candidateName":"Patrick S. Thompson","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":112374}]},"SFPropA":{"id":"SFPropA","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition A","raceDescription":"Housing bond. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/proposition-a","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":225187,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":158497},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":66690}]},"SFPropB":{"id":"SFPropB","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition B","raceDescription":"Police staffing. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":222954,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":61580},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":161374}]},"SFPropC":{"id":"SFPropC","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition C","raceDescription":"Transfer tax exemption. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":220349,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":116311},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":104038}]},"SFPropD":{"id":"SFPropD","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition D","raceDescription":"Ethics laws. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":222615,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":198584},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":24031}]},"SFPropE":{"id":"SFPropE","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition E","raceDescription":"Police policies. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/proposition-e","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":222817,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":120529},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":102288}]},"SFPropF":{"id":"SFPropF","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition F","raceDescription":"Drug screening. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanfrancisco/proposition-f","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":224004,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":130214},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":93790}]},"SFPropG":{"id":"SFPropG","type":"localRace","location":"San Francisco","raceName":"Proposition G","raceDescription":"Eighth-grade algebra. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:50 PM","dateUpdated":"March 21, 2024","totalVotes":222704,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":182066},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":40638}]},"SMJudge4":{"id":"SMJudge4","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":108919,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Sarah Burdick","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":108919}]},"SMD1":{"id":"SMD1","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 1","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/supervisor-1st-district","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":29650,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jackie Speier","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":20353},{"candidateName":"Ann Schneider","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":9297}]},"SMD4":{"id":"SMD4","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sanmateo/supervisor-4th-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":22725,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Antonio Lopez","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5730},{"candidateName":"Lisa Gauthier","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10358},{"candidateName":"Celeste Brevard","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1268},{"candidateName":"Paul Bocanegra","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1909},{"candidateName":"Maggie Cornejo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3460}]},"SMD5":{"id":"SMD5","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":19937,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"David Canepa","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":19937}]},"SMMeasureB":{"id":"SMMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"County Service Area #1 (Highlands). Special tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":1549,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1360},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":189}]},"SMMeasureC":{"id":"SMMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Jefferson Elementary School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":12234,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8543},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3691}]},"SMMeasureE":{"id":"SMMeasureE","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Measure E","raceDescription":"Woodside Elementary School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":1392,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":910},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":482}]},"SMMeasureG":{"id":"SMMeasureG","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Measure G","raceDescription":"Pacifica School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":11548,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7067},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4481}]},"SMMeasureH":{"id":"SMMeasureH","type":"localRace","location":"San Mateo","raceName":"Measure H","raceDescription":"San Carlos School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:56 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":9938,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6283},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3655}]},"SCJudge5":{"id":"SCJudge5","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":301953,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Jay Boyarsky","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":142549},{"candidateName":"Nicole M. Ford","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":52147},{"candidateName":"Johnene Linda Stebbins","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":107257}]},"SCD2":{"id":"SCD2","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/santaclara/supervisor-2nd-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":44059,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Corina Herrera-Loera","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10519},{"candidateName":"Jennifer Margaret Celaya","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2394},{"candidateName":"Madison Nguyen","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":12794},{"candidateName":"Betty Duong","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":14031},{"candidateName":"Nelson McElmurry","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4321}]},"SCD3":{"id":"SCD3","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 3","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":42549,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Otto Lee","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":42549}]},"SCD5":{"id":"SCD5","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/santaclara/supervisor-5th-district","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":88712,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Margaret Abe-Koga","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":37172},{"candidateName":"Sally J. Lieber","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":21962},{"candidateName":"Barry Chang","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6164},{"candidateName":"Peter C. Fung","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":17892},{"candidateName":"Sandy Sans","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5522}]},"SCSJMayor":{"id":"SCSJMayor","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José Mayor","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":167064,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Matt Mahan","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":144701},{"candidateName":"Tyrone Wade","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":22363}]},"SCSJD2":{"id":"SCSJD2","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José City Council, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":14131,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Joe Lopez","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4950},{"candidateName":"Pamela Campos","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3436},{"candidateName":"Vanessa Sandoval","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2719},{"candidateName":"Babu Prasad","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3026}]},"SCSJD4":{"id":"SCSJD4","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José City Council, District 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":14322,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Kansen Chu","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5931},{"candidateName":"David Cohen","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8391}]},"SCSJD6":{"id":"SCSJD6","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José City Council, District 6","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":22146,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Olivia Navarro","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6913},{"candidateName":"Alex Shoor","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3850},{"candidateName":"Angelo \"A.J.\" Pasciuti","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2688},{"candidateName":"Michael Mulcahy","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8695}]},"SCSJD8":{"id":"SCSJD8","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José City Council, District 8","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":21462,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Tam Truong","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6982},{"candidateName":"Domingo Candelas","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8466},{"candidateName":"Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5513},{"candidateName":"Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":501}]},"SCSJD10":{"id":"SCSJD10","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"San José City Council, District 10","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top2","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":22799,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"George Casey","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8805},{"candidateName":"Arjun Batra","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8354},{"candidateName":"Lenka Wright","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5640}]},"SCMeasureA":{"id":"SCMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Santa Clara. Appointed city clerk. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":20315,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6580},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":13735}]},"SCMeasureB":{"id":"SCMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Santa Clara. Appointed police chief. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":20567,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5680},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":14887}]},"SCMeasureC":{"id":"SCMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"Santa Clara","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Sunnyvale School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:05 PM","dateUpdated":"April 4, 2024","totalVotes":14656,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10261},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4395}]},"SolanoD15":{"id":"SolanoD15","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Department 15","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":81709,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mike Thompson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":36844},{"candidateName":"Bryan J. Kim","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":44865}]},"SolanoD1":{"id":"SolanoD1","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 1","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/solano/supervisor-1st-district","raceType":"","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":13786,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Michael Wilson","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6401},{"candidateName":"Cassandra James","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7385}]},"SolanoD2":{"id":"SolanoD2","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 2","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":19903,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Monica Brown","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10951},{"candidateName":"Nora Dizon","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3135},{"candidateName":"Rochelle Sherlock","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5817}]},"SolanoD5":{"id":"SolanoD5","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":17888,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Mitch Mashburn","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":11210},{"candidateName":"Chadwick J. Ledoux","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6678}]},"SolanoEducation":{"id":"SolanoEducation","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Sacramento County Board of Education","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":3650,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Heather Davis","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2960},{"candidateName":"Shazleen Khan","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":690}]},"SolanoMeasureA":{"id":"SolanoMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Benicia. Hotel tax. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/solano/measure-a","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":10136,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7869},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2267}]},"SolanoMeasureB":{"id":"SolanoMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Benicia. Sales tax. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/solano/measure-b","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":10164,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7335},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":2829}]},"SolanoMeasureC":{"id":"SolanoMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Benicia Unified School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":10112,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6316},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3796}]},"SolanoMeasureN":{"id":"SolanoMeasureN","type":"localRace","location":"Solano","raceName":"Measure N","raceDescription":"Davis Joint Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"7:08 PM","dateUpdated":"March 28, 2024","totalVotes":15,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10}]},"SonomaJudge3":{"id":"SonomaJudge3","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 3","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":115405,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Kristine M. Burk","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":79498},{"candidateName":"Beki Berrey","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":35907}]},"SonomaJudge4":{"id":"SonomaJudge4","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 4","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":86789,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Paul J. Lozada","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":86789}]},"SonomaJudge6":{"id":"SonomaJudge6","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Superior Court Judge, Office 6","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":117990,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Omar Figueroa","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":42236},{"candidateName":"Kenneth English","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":75754}]},"SonomaD1":{"id":"SonomaD1","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 1","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":30348,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Rebecca Hermosillo","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":23958},{"candidateName":"Jonathan Mathieu","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":6390}]},"SonomaD3":{"id":"SonomaD3","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 3","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sonoma/supervisor-3rd-district","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":16312,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Chris Coursey","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":11346},{"candidateName":"Omar Medina","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":4966}]},"SonomaD5":{"id":"SonomaD5","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Board of Supervisors, District 5","raceDescription":"Candidate with majority vote wins seat. If no candidate reaches majority, top two candidates advance to runoff in general election.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"top1","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":23356,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Lynda Hopkins","candidateIncumbent":true,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":23356}]},"SonomaMeasureA":{"id":"SonomaMeasureA","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure A","raceDescription":"Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":13756,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":10320},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3436}]},"SonomaMeasureB":{"id":"SonomaMeasureB","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure B","raceDescription":"Petaluma Joint Union High School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":24877,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":15795},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":9082}]},"SonomaMeasureC":{"id":"SonomaMeasureC","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure C","raceDescription":"Fort Ross School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":286,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":159},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":127}]},"SonomaMeasureD":{"id":"SonomaMeasureD","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure D","raceDescription":"Harmony Union School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":1925,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":1089},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":836}]},"SonomaMeasureE":{"id":"SonomaMeasureE","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure E","raceDescription":"Petaluma City (Elementary) School District. Parcel tax. Passes with 2/3 vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":11133,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":7622},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":3511}]},"SonomaMeasureG":{"id":"SonomaMeasureG","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure G","raceDescription":"Rincon Valley Union School District. School bond. Passes with 55% vote.","raceReadTheStory":"","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":14577,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":8668},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":5909}]},"SonomaMeasureH":{"id":"SonomaMeasureH","type":"localRace","location":"Sonoma","raceName":"Measure H","raceDescription":"Sonoma County. Sales tax. Passes with majority vote.","raceReadTheStory":"https://www.kqed.org/elections/results/sonoma/measure-h","raceType":"yesNo","timeUpdated":"6:51 PM","dateUpdated":"March 29, 2024","totalVotes":145261,"candidates":[{"candidateName":"Yes","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":89646},{"candidateName":"No","candidateIncumbent":false,"candidateParty":"","voteCount":55615}]}},"radioSchedulesReducer":{},"listsReducer":{"posts?category=mindshiftpodcast&queryId=6760532009":{"isFetching":false,"latestQuery":{"from":0,"postsToRender":3},"tag":null,"vitalsOnly":true,"totalRequested":3,"isLoading":false,"isLoadingMore":true,"total":{"value":78,"relation":"eq"},"items":["mindshift_64621","mindshift_64572","mindshift_64539"]}},"recallGuideReducer":{"intros":{},"policy":{},"candidates":{}},"savedArticleReducer":{"articles":[],"status":{}},"pfsSessionReducer":{},"siteSettingsReducer":{},"subscriptionsReducer":{},"termsReducer":{"about":{"name":"About","type":"terms","id":"about","slug":"about","link":"/about","taxonomy":"site"},"arts":{"name":"Arts & Culture","grouping":["arts","pop","trulyca"],"description":"KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.","type":"terms","id":"arts","slug":"arts","link":"/arts","taxonomy":"site"},"artschool":{"name":"Art School","parent":"arts","type":"terms","id":"artschool","slug":"artschool","link":"/artschool","taxonomy":"site"},"bayareabites":{"name":"KQED food","grouping":["food","bayareabites","checkplease"],"parent":"food","type":"terms","id":"bayareabites","slug":"bayareabites","link":"/food","taxonomy":"site"},"bayareahiphop":{"name":"Bay Area Hiphop","type":"terms","id":"bayareahiphop","slug":"bayareahiphop","link":"/bayareahiphop","taxonomy":"site"},"campaign21":{"name":"Campaign 21","type":"terms","id":"campaign21","slug":"campaign21","link":"/campaign21","taxonomy":"site"},"checkplease":{"name":"KQED food","grouping":["food","bayareabites","checkplease"],"parent":"food","type":"terms","id":"checkplease","slug":"checkplease","link":"/food","taxonomy":"site"},"education":{"name":"Education","grouping":["education"],"type":"terms","id":"education","slug":"education","link":"/education","taxonomy":"site"},"elections":{"name":"Elections","type":"terms","id":"elections","slug":"elections","link":"/elections","taxonomy":"site"},"events":{"name":"Events","type":"terms","id":"events","slug":"events","link":"/events","taxonomy":"site"},"event":{"name":"Event","alias":"events","type":"terms","id":"event","slug":"event","link":"/event","taxonomy":"site"},"filmschoolshorts":{"name":"Film School Shorts","type":"terms","id":"filmschoolshorts","slug":"filmschoolshorts","link":"/filmschoolshorts","taxonomy":"site"},"food":{"name":"KQED food","grouping":["food","bayareabites","checkplease"],"type":"terms","id":"food","slug":"food","link":"/food","taxonomy":"site"},"forum":{"name":"Forum","relatedContentQuery":"posts/forum?","parent":"news","type":"terms","id":"forum","slug":"forum","link":"/forum","taxonomy":"site"},"futureofyou":{"name":"Future of You","grouping":["science","futureofyou"],"parent":"science","type":"terms","id":"futureofyou","slug":"futureofyou","link":"/futureofyou","taxonomy":"site"},"jpepinheart":{"name":"KQED food","relatedContentQuery":"posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease","parent":"food","type":"terms","id":"jpepinheart","slug":"jpepinheart","link":"/food","taxonomy":"site"},"liveblog":{"name":"Live Blog","type":"terms","id":"liveblog","slug":"liveblog","link":"/liveblog","taxonomy":"site"},"livetv":{"name":"Live TV","parent":"tv","type":"terms","id":"livetv","slug":"livetv","link":"/livetv","taxonomy":"site"},"lowdown":{"name":"The Lowdown","relatedContentQuery":"posts/lowdown?","parent":"news","type":"terms","id":"lowdown","slug":"lowdown","link":"/lowdown","taxonomy":"site"},"mindshift":{"name":"Mindshift","parent":"news","description":"MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.","type":"terms","id":"mindshift","slug":"mindshift","link":"/mindshift","taxonomy":"site"},"news":{"name":"News","grouping":["news","forum"],"type":"terms","id":"news","slug":"news","link":"/news","taxonomy":"site"},"perspectives":{"name":"Perspectives","parent":"radio","type":"terms","id":"perspectives","slug":"perspectives","link":"/perspectives","taxonomy":"site"},"podcasts":{"name":"Podcasts","type":"terms","id":"podcasts","slug":"podcasts","link":"/podcasts","taxonomy":"site"},"pop":{"name":"Pop","parent":"arts","type":"terms","id":"pop","slug":"pop","link":"/pop","taxonomy":"site"},"pressroom":{"name":"Pressroom","type":"terms","id":"pressroom","slug":"pressroom","link":"/pressroom","taxonomy":"site"},"quest":{"name":"Quest","parent":"science","type":"terms","id":"quest","slug":"quest","link":"/quest","taxonomy":"site"},"radio":{"name":"Radio","grouping":["forum","perspectives"],"description":"Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.","type":"terms","id":"radio","slug":"radio","link":"/radio","taxonomy":"site"},"root":{"name":"KQED","image":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png","imageWidth":1200,"imageHeight":630,"headData":{"title":"KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California","description":"KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."},"type":"terms","id":"root","slug":"root","link":"/root","taxonomy":"site"},"science":{"name":"Science","grouping":["science","futureofyou"],"description":"KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.","type":"terms","id":"science","slug":"science","link":"/science","taxonomy":"site"},"stateofhealth":{"name":"State of Health","parent":"science","type":"terms","id":"stateofhealth","slug":"stateofhealth","link":"/stateofhealth","taxonomy":"site"},"support":{"name":"Support","type":"terms","id":"support","slug":"support","link":"/support","taxonomy":"site"},"thedolist":{"name":"The Do List","parent":"arts","type":"terms","id":"thedolist","slug":"thedolist","link":"/thedolist","taxonomy":"site"},"trulyca":{"name":"Truly CA","grouping":["arts","pop","trulyca"],"parent":"arts","type":"terms","id":"trulyca","slug":"trulyca","link":"/trulyca","taxonomy":"site"},"tv":{"name":"TV","type":"terms","id":"tv","slug":"tv","link":"/tv","taxonomy":"site"},"voterguide":{"name":"Voter Guide","parent":"elections","alias":"elections","type":"terms","id":"voterguide","slug":"voterguide","link":"/voterguide","taxonomy":"site"},"guiaelectoral":{"name":"Guia Electoral","parent":"elections","alias":"elections","type":"terms","id":"guiaelectoral","slug":"guiaelectoral","link":"/guiaelectoral","taxonomy":"site"},"mindshift_21942":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21942","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21942","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"name":"Mindshift Podcast","slug":"mindshiftpodcast","taxonomy":"program","description":null,"featImg":null,"headData":{"title":"Mindshift Podcast - KQED Mindshift","description":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogDescription":null,"ogImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"twDescription":null,"twImgId":null},"ttid":21214,"isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/program/mindshiftpodcast"},"mindshift_21130":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21130","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21130","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/23/2017/08/Mindshift_KQEDorg_1440x1103_02-1.jpg","name":"MindShift Podcast","description":"It’s easy to see a child’s education as a path determined by grades, test scores and extra curricular activities. But genuine learning is about so much more than the points schools tally. MindShift explores the future of education by investigating innovations and issues that are shaping how kids learn.\r\nEmotional safety, trust, and relationships: this season, we investigate the intangible, and often overlooked, elements of academic success. You’ll hear how teacher home visits can help parents see themselves as a valued a partner in their child’s education; how far a public high school goes to develop an inclusive experience for the crucial transition to ninth grade; how parents and schools can address childhood trauma so it doesn’t become an obstacle to learning, and what parents and communities can do to help kids grow.\r\nThis podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us @MindShiftKQED or visit us at MindShift.KQED.org.","taxonomy":"category","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":"It’s easy to see a child’s education as a path determined by grades, test scores and extra curricular activities. But genuine learning is about so much more than the points schools tally. MindShift explores the future of education by investigating innovations and issues that are shaping how kids learn. Emotional safety, trust, and relationships: this season, we investigate the intangible, and often overlooked, elements of academic success. You’ll hear how teacher home visits can help parents see themselves as a valued a partner in their child’s education; how far a public high school goes to develop an inclusive experience for the crucial transition to ninth grade; how parents and schools can address childhood trauma so it doesn’t become an obstacle to learning, and what parents and communities can do to help kids grow. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us @MindShiftKQED or visit us at MindShift.KQED.org.","title":"MindShift Podcast Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":20402,"slug":"mindshiftpodcast","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/category/mindshiftpodcast"},"mindshift_193":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_193","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"193","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"Teaching Strategies","description":"Innovative ideas - projects, processes, curricula, and more - that are transforming how we teach and learn.","taxonomy":"category","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":"Innovative ideas - projects, processes, curricula, and more - that are transforming how we teach and learn.","title":"Teaching Strategies Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":193,"slug":"teaching-strategies","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/category/teaching-strategies"},"mindshift_21016":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21016","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21016","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"poetry","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"poetry Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":20288,"slug":"poetry","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/poetry"},"mindshift_21892":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21892","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21892","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"Education","description":null,"taxonomy":"interest","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"Education Archives - MindShift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":21164,"slug":"education","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/interest/education"},"mindshift_21848":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21848","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21848","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"Podcast","description":null,"taxonomy":"category","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"Podcast Archives - KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":21120,"slug":"podcast","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/category/podcast"},"mindshift_648":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_648","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"648","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"Civil Rights Movement","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"Civil Rights Movement Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":651,"slug":"civil-rights-movement","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/civil-rights-movement"},"mindshift_1013":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_1013","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"1013","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"history","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"history Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":1018,"slug":"history","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/history"},"mindshift_21281":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_21281","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"21281","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"school segregation","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"school segregation Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":20553,"slug":"school-segregation","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/school-segregation"},"mindshift_20615":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_20615","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"20615","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"social studies","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"social studies Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":19892,"slug":"social-studies","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/social-studies"},"mindshift_194":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_194","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"194","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"Culture","description":"How trends in technology – social networks, Internet privacy, cyberbullying – influence education.","taxonomy":"category","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":"How trends in technology – social networks, Internet privacy, cyberbullying – influence education.","title":"Culture Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":194,"slug":"culture","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/category/culture"},"mindshift_1028":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_1028","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"1028","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"collaboration","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"collaboration Archives | KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":1033,"slug":"collaboration","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/collaboration"},"mindshift_392":{"type":"terms","id":"mindshift_392","meta":{"index":"terms_1716263798","site":"mindshift","id":"392","found":true},"relationships":{},"included":{},"featImg":null,"name":"math","description":null,"taxonomy":"tag","headData":{"twImgId":null,"twTitle":null,"ogTitle":null,"ogImgId":null,"twDescription":null,"description":null,"title":"math Archives - KQED Mindshift","ogDescription":null},"ttid":393,"slug":"math","isLoading":false,"link":"/mindshift/tag/math"}},"userAgentReducer":{"userAgent":"CCBot/2.0 (https://commoncrawl.org/faq/)","isBot":true},"userPermissionsReducer":{"wpLoggedIn":false},"localStorageReducer":{},"browserHistoryReducer":[],"eventsReducer":{},"fssReducer":{},"tvDailyScheduleReducer":{},"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer":{},"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer":{},"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer":{},"userAccountReducer":{"user":{"email":null,"emailStatus":"EMAIL_UNVALIDATED","loggedStatus":"LOGGED_OUT","articles":[]},"authModal":{"isOpen":false,"view":"LANDING_VIEW"},"error":null},"youthMediaReducer":{},"checkPleaseReducer":{"filterData":{},"restaurantData":[]},"reframeReducer":{"attendee":null},"location":{"pathname":"/podcasts/mindshift","previousPathname":"/"}}