The Learning Curve Pioneer Institute
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“The Learning Curve” is where you’ll find straight talk about the nation’s hottest education stories - news and opinion from the schoolyard to the 2020 campaign trail. Co-hosts Gerard Robinson and Cara Candal serve up provocative commentary on the issues that impact parents and kids, teachers and students, political leaders, policymakers and taxpayers all across the country. “The Learning Curve” features school leaders, innovators, bestselling authors, policymakers and more on how we’ll use education to prepare the next generation of Americans. Follow The Learning Curve on Send any suggestions, tips, and fan mail to micaela@pioneerinstitute.org.
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Pulitzer Winner Joan Hedrick on Harriet Beecher Stowe & Uncle Tom’s Cabin
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts DFER-MA's Mary Tamer and Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick, educator and noted Mark Twain scholar, interview Trinity College Prof. Joan Hedrick, author of Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life. During Women’s History Month, Prof. Hedrick discusses Harriet Beecher Stowe's wide literary influence on U.S. history. From her abolitionist activism to the publication of international bestseller Uncle Tom's Cabin, they explore Stowe's New England upbringing, anti-slavery convictions, and lasting impact on American literature and social reform in the 19th century. Prof. Hedrick closes with a reading from her Harriet Beecher Stowe biography.
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The Calculus Project & STEM with Dr. Adrian Mims
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts University of Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Dr. Adrian Mims, founder of The Calculus Project. He delves into his mission to enhance math education for minority and low-income students, drawing inspiration from Bob Moses's Algebra Project and Jaime Escalante's teaching legacy. Dr. Mims navigates through the contentious "math wars" and underscores the pivotal role of Algebra I as a gateway to higher math. He also evaluates the negative impact of Common Core math standards, and proposes strategies to combat pandemic-induced learning setbacks and bridge the gap in math proficiency between American students and their international counterparts.
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J. Edgar Hoover & the FBI with Yale's Pulitzer Winner Beverly Gage
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Yale Prof. Beverly Gage, author of G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American. Gage delves into the enigmatic life and career of J. Edgar Hoover, tracing his formative years in Washington, D.C., his rise to prominence as director of the FBI, and his enduring influence on American law enforcement and politics. She discusses his early career monitoring domestic radicals to his aggressive pursuit of gangsters like John Dillinger, communists, spies, and Civil Rights-era figures. Hoover's tenure at the FBI was marked by both innovation and controversy. She closes with a reading from G-Man.
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Mexico’s Cartels & Drug Trade with UK U-Warwick’s Benjamin Smith
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson interview UK University of Warwick Prof. Benjamin Smith. Prof. Benjamin Smith, author of The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade provides insights into various aspects of the Mexican drug trade, including its historical context and the evolution of illicit drug products over time. He discusses key cartels and their methods, the impact of the drug trade on Mexico's murder rates, the immense financial scale of the trade, its effect on Mexico and the U.S., and the challenges law enforcement face in combating it. Smith explores the relationship among Mexican cartels, other foreign countries, and the illicit drug market in the U.S. He closes with a reading from his book, The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade.
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MCAS & Teacher Strikes with DFER-MA’s Mary Tamer
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Charlie Chieppo interview Mary Tamer, executive director of Democrats for Education Reform, Massachusetts. She focuses on the historic impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act on the commonwealth’s students’ high achievement on national and international measures. She explores the politics of the Massachusetts Teachers Association advocating against the MCAS test as a graduation requirement. In closing, Ms. Tamer also discusses the rise of teacher strikes and their implications for education reform in the Bay State.
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Booker T. Washington & Voc-Tech with U-TN’s Robert Norrell
This week on The Learning Curve, guest co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Alisha Searcy interview University of Tennessee Prof. Robert Norrell. He explores Booker T. Washington's early life in slavery, his transformative leadership at Tuskegee Institute amidst Jim Crow racism, and his advocacy for vocational education as a means for racial uplift. Prof. Norrell also discusses Washington’s 1901 autobiography, Up From Slavery; his controversial White House dinner with President Theodore Roosevelt; and his often overlooked legacy following the activism of the 1960s Civil Rights era. In closing, Prof. Norrell reads a passage from his book Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington.
Customer Reviews
Yet another fantastic interview!
You guys have the best guests. I wonder if I’ll live long enough to get through my Learning Curve reading list. John and Abigail Adams’ works are moving to the top of my list. Thank you all!
Tackling the Nation’s Worst Problem
The great Bob Bowden continues his long crusade on behalf of the nation’s most vulnerable children.