Ep. 123: The Scoop on Relationship & Sex Education at Home & Abroad

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EQ:  What is the importance of Sex Education in both the US and abroad, and how can you ensure equity for all students  in the curriculum delivered?


Guest: Emily Zien, a health and physical education teacher. Please check out her website for more information.

In our third episode centering international schools, we chat with Emily about her work as a relationships and sexual education educator.  We begin by learning about the present landscape, comparing what this work looks like in the United States and in the International School scene. We also discuss the role of DEIJ in shaping these conversations, how we can ensure equity in the curriculum and how child “safe guarding” is a growing field that opens the door for revamping school policies. 

Do you Fudging HW:

Ep. 122: The Scoop on International Schools, Part II

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Note: This episode was recorded mid-February, prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

Hope and Megan continue their conversation with the amazing Yvette about the inner workings and nuances of international schools. In this episode the three of them dive into what the DEIJ landscape looks like on the international level. They discuss how over the last several years there has been movement in being open about the work, but discuss how and why the work can feel so slow on the international level. Also, how International schools have unique responsibilities, barriers, and challenges to equitably serving all students in DEIJ work. The conversation focuses on what those might be as well as how International schools as well as educators in these spaces can continue to tackle the work within this. On the flip side of the challenges, they also discuss how International Schools are uniquely positioned to tackle this work in ways that schools in the US are not.

Related Sources:

Champagne & Real Pain 

🥂International School Services (ISS) pushing the DEIJ work in international schools

🥂 Raise a glass to all past students. Especially those celebrating Black History Month or Lunar New Year

🥂All those that are having honest and challenging conversations around DEIJ work.

👎🏻Book burning, cameras in schools, and overall the laws restricting teachers

👎🏻Any school district that is making it more difficult for their staff. Also those that are sending in bomb threats for HBCUs; HBCUs are undeterred

👎🏻Another no knock warrant murder of Amir Locke in Minneapolis

Do your fudging homework: 

  • Hope: Educators, look into your options! Don’t stay where you aren’t appreciated! 

  • Yvette: Find a place where you are valued as a teacher!

  • Megan: Find the right fit as a teacher, don’t leave the profession!

Ep. 121: Identity is Not a Plotline--On Cozy Mysteries & Representation

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EQ:  How has the commitment to authenticity and intersectionality by  authors of color changed the writing landscape?

We’re so excited to announce our new author series! Joining us today is  Mia Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries series).

  • Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @MPMtheWriter  

  • Check out her website: www.miapmanansala.com 

In this episode we learn all about the cozy mystery, a subgenre of crime! As you might predict, it is often described as “hallmark movies with dead bodies in them.” Mia shares her writing journey shouting out key mentors such as Kellye Garrett and Lori Rader Day. We discuss how the publishing scene is a business rather than an art, thus is slow to change. However, the consistent effort by the “everyday” reader (and any allies who want to see more representation)  is helping put pressure on the industry to expand the stories and authors they support.  We really appreciate Mia’s openness with us about her triumphs and challenges as a newly published author transforming a genre! 

Other Writers to Check Out:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Check out Mia’s books–library or purchase!

  • Megan: Read the work and post about it!

  • Mia: Check out Crime Writers of Color

Ep. 120: The Scoop on International Schools Part I

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EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world?

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

In this episode Hope and Megan are joined by Yvette, an experienced international educator and school counselor. We discuss the historical context which led to the establishment of these schools throughout the world.  Listeners will learn a little about who attends, how they are designed, how the culture of the country impacts the school community and much much more. We also dip our toes into the DEIJ/social justice landscape in these contexts, reviewing such things as disparities in these schools, problematic hiring practices and the way they operate as predominantly White institutions often perpetuating (intentionally or unintentionally) white/colonial culture. 

Related Sources: 

Ep. 119: Manifest A Mask & Other Nonsense Educators Are Expected to Do

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EQ: If society believes that having students attend  in-person schooling is so critical, why didn’t they do anything to make it safe and sustainable?


In this episode, Megan and Hope discuss the dire conditions in which educators and students are facing upon the return to school. As per usual, they try to dig into some of the arguments for the in-person vs. remote learning debate and hold multiple truths at the same time. Namely, we all know high quality in-person instruction is ideal but in-person schooling has hella flaws & leaves kids out all the time AND remote learning has hella flaws and leaves kids out too. BOTH can be empowering. BOTH can be meaningful. BOTH can be racist, inequitable and garbage for students and the teachers. One of our biggest concerns is that districts lack plan Bs, Cs, and Ds. The needs, desires, and health of teachers matters. They are people whose lives matter. Just because they are teachers does not mean that they surrender their humanity.

Related articles:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Buy some rapid tests for your favorite school teachers

  • Write to your local school board members about going remote during a search and creating clear plans for thresholds to school closures/return to in-person learning.

Ep. 118: Combating Moral Panics At School Board Meetings

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EQ: How can School District Leaders manage and respond to moral panics of the moment, particularly around DEI/CRT? 

Guest: Wendy Smith our guest from Episode 111: Back to School, Go to School Board Meetings! 

In this episode, we catch up with Vancouver School board chair, Wendy Smith. We discuss her recent election win and related lessons. We pickup our conversation about current issues facing school districts across the nation, particularly what it’s like serving a diverse range of community needs and constant pressures from various stakeholders. Wendy shares the process for the VPS equity audit and the implications for the district. 

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework: 

  • Hope: Reach out to an educator and offer a word of encouragement or support

  • Megan: Email an educator and let them know you see them

  • Wendy: The Daily’s series “School Board Wars”


Ep. 117: Vaccines and Vacays

Essential Question:  How can you “protect your peace” during this first post-vaccine covid holiday season?

Megan and Hope meander through ideas about how to navigate the holiday season and all it’s madness. They also share listener recommendations for cookies, favorite movies, and how to maintain you peace and joy at this time of year. 

PS folks should listen to previous holiday episodes:

Ep. 116: Our Role in Upholding Anti-Blackness

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EQ: How are white supremacy and anti-blackness a result of the living legacy of colonization and what does it mean for us today?

Guest: Alysa Pererras, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Consultant and Researcher in Medellin, Colombia.

Hope and Megan return to an important conversation about the presence of anti-Blackness in our society. This time, they’re exploring its presence in relation to colonization. They’re joined by DEIJ consultant Alysa to discuss its roots, relationship with White Supremacy and everyone’s responsibility to dismantle the systems of oppression around them. You can follow Alysa on Twitter.

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging HW:

Ep. 115: Confessions of an Ed Policy Insider

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EQ: Do the Nov 2 election results give us a preview of how the campaigns against education will impact elections/politics as we move forward in the United States?

Guest: Sandy Boyd Sandy is the CEO of Seek Common Ground (SCG), an organization committed to empowering independent state and local organizations advancing equitable solutions with and for children, families and communities. 

Sandy shares with listeners the impetus for starting Seek Common Ground and some of the work they are currently engaged in. A majority of the conversation centers on the politics of education and how policies have really not changed over the years. We theorize about the impact of Covid on student learning and if the pandemic was a catalyst for the fight around CRT (note: this was recorded prior to the Mom’s for Liberty bounty nonsense in New Hampshire--white rage anyone?). 

References in the show:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Read the articles linked in the show notes & pay attention to local politics.

  • Hope: Check out the work of Seek Common Ground & if you have a chance to help partner with them, use it.

  • Sandy: Check out what’s happening locally including school board elections

Ep. 114: Facing Racialized Bias and Coded Language

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EQ: How can facing our racialized biases help fight against the stronghold of white supremacy in our personal and work life?

Inspired by a discussion with the Whiteness Accountability Group for International Educators, Hope and Megan discuss the nature of positionality and how shifting power and privileges are wrapped up in social hierarchies. For many of us we need to start with examining our positionality, then identify our implicit biases (especially the negative ones) and finally consider the implications of these elements in our personal and professional relationships. 

Resources to consider:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Megan: Go read the articles posted above

  • Hope: Inventory your life & where you stand. Make a goal for yourself to use your positionality in a way that benefits others

Ep. 113: Equipping Young People To Lead

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EQ: How are young people around the world being equipped to address important social issues of our times?

Guest: Alisara (Ally) Christensen is from Bangkok, Thailand and the Jump! Foundation

Ally shares her experiences growing up in international schools and her passion for youth development. The Jump! Foundation offers a range of hands-on, experiential workshops to empower and equip students for exploring social issues, and specifically increasing their awareness on diversity, equity and inclusion. Although surprising for some, these conversations are somewhat new in international education. However, with access to technology and social media conversations about race and justice are now coming to the forefront of the conversation. We also explore the ever-evolving language around these issues of opportunity access. We finish the episode discussing the importance of having youth be the drivers of the conversation and bringing them along for the work rather than doing the work of change for them.

Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 113: TexYikes--Advocacy Has No Borders

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EQ: What the hell is happening in Texas and why should we care?

In today’s episode, Hope and Megan discuss the anti-abortion bill in Texas and how it is impacting not only citizens in Texas, but communities around the Country. They start the episode with a new segment “Does it Venn?” where they coin the term Preventative Outrage. This conversation moves into discussing what is happening, what does this law do, and who does it disproportionately impact. They also discuss what is now happening across the country do to the inaction by the SCOTUS on this case, and predict that we might be seeing more of these laws being passed. Hope and Megan end the episode talking about how advocacy has no borders, and despite not living in Texas, there is still an obligation to advocate. There is a list of resources linked here where you can get involved and help from a distance. 

Related Resources:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 112: On Proximity To Power w/ Author Tiffany Bluhm

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EQ: What is the role of women in religious communities to call out the patriarchy and fight against injustice in 2021?  

Guest: Tiffany Bluhm, author of Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up. She is a sought after speaker, writer, and podcast co-host of the popular podcast Why Tho, a show answering the existential and nonsensical questions we ask ourselves, with author and speaker, Ashley Abercrombie. More information can be found at her website.

In this episode we discuss the role of conservatism  that dominates conversations about gender equality, especially in religious spaces. The role of women (specifically in Christian contexts) in enabling the patriarchy because of things like “niceness at the expense of being honest” but also the power they have to dismantle misogyny. We cannot wait around for someone to “give women permission.” Instead we need to examine our proximity to power and do something with it.

🥂 All those teachers that are back in the classroom, showing up and teaching their students, all through a global pandemic

👎🏻Texas for passing their law essentially banning abortions and denying women access to their Health Care

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Get a copy of Prey Tell even if you aren’t religious or check out her podcast Why Tho?

  • Tiffany: Consider our own proximity to power

Ep. 111: Back to School, Go To School Board Meetings!

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EQ: How can we better understand the anatomy of a school district in order to access levers of power & be more effective advocates in our local schools?

Hope and Megan and joined by 2 special guests, Bethany Rivard and Wendy Smith. Bethany is an award winning English Language Arts & Theater teacher at Fort Vancouver High School. Wendy is a classroom teacher and on the Vancouver Public Schools Board director. In this episode, they discuss the anatomy of a school district including who you should reach out to when you have concerns, the best way to connect with your school board members, and why you should attend and participate in school board meetings.

If you’re interested in running for local office reach out:

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 110: Back to School-- Love It Or Leave It Edition

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EQ: What did you LOVE from the 20-21 school year you’re going to keep doing this year? What are you happy to LEAVE behind?

In this episode, Hope and Megan continue the conversation that they started in Ep. 109. This time focusing on what lessons do they want to take with them from the last 18 months of pandemic teaching, and what do they want to leave behind in the past? Once again the ladies use listeners’ thoughts, ideas, and opinions to help shape the conversation in this episode. The conversation covers topics such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the classroom, creative approaches to teaching content, what the benefits were of being forced to use technology, and the relationships that are built within the walls of a school building. Throughout the episode they also discuss the idea of not wanting to “go back to normal” and rather re-define what a post pandemic education could look like.

Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: Reach out for support/help/ideas. Find the experts that are doing this well and use them to help, especially in times of stress and anxiety.

  • Megan: Make your own love it/leave it list for yourself and with your fam. Reflect and be intentional with what you don’t want to carry with you anymore, and what lessons you have learned from this that you want to take forward.

Ep. 109: Back to School, Mail Bag Edition

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EQ: What concerns, questions, ideas, or fears do you have for the upcoming school year?

Today’s episode is the start of our Back to School series. First, we’re going to discuss listeners' ideas, concerns, questions, and fears shared with us. We appreciate everyone who took the time to send us your thoughts.

Then, we’re going to  record an episode specifically targeting educators returning to the classroom--we’ll dig into creative ideas and ideally leave you with some hope & inspiration for the weeks ahead. Lastly, we’ll dive into the anatomy of a school district and levers of power with a guest who is a teacher, union activist, and school board member! We’re really excited for the episodes ahead.

This conversation is an exploration of what “normal” school years mean and what our listeners are thinking about as we head into fall. While we may not be full-blown quaranteaching, we are returning to school this fall with a pandemic hovering over our shoulders. 

Related Sources:

A special thanks to all our listeners who contributed to this conversation via Slack, Twitter, and Facebook. We appreciate your engagement!

Ep. 108: Hot Reader Summer

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EQ: What can woke-aspiring individuals do to have a hot reader summer (hint: read books)?

Megan and Hope are joined by Lincoln High School Librarian, Kristen Sierra. They sit down to discuss all of the best reads and what has been at the top of their list. From easy vacation reads, books to read as a family, and books to push your thinking and learning, they cover it all in this episode! Check out a previous conversation with Kristen about Decolonizing Your Bookshelf.

Vacay Reads/Easy Reading:

Young Adult:

Nonfiction Favs:

Something You Can’t Help But Love

Something Every Teacher Should Read:

Things to Read as a Family:

Ep. 107: Hot Teacher Summer

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EQ: What are you doing for YOUR hot teacher summer?

The 3 Interchangeable White Ladies are back together and in studio for the first time since pre-Covid times! Hope and Megan are joined by none other than the amazing Annie, who gives an update on her life and the major changes that have happened since the last time that she was on the Podcast. The ladies discuss how Covid provided time and space to reflect on your own happiness, and also learn how to honor the things that serve you and let go of the things that don’t. The back half of the episode is dedicated to celebrating the time honored tradition (can something be called a tradition if it’s the first time we are doing it?!) of Hot Teacher Summer! They talk about what they are doing to relax and unwind and have the best summer after a hellish year!

Champagne and Real Pain:

🥂Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

🥂Nurses and Doctors who are putting in all of the work 

🥂People who are fighting hard to be empathetic coming out of Covid and people who are fighting to advocate for people experiencing housing insecurity

Do your Fudging HW:

Hope

Annie

Ep. 106: On CRT with Dr. Lee-Ann Stephens, 2006 MN Teacher of the Year

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EQ: Is Critical Race Theory currently being taught in K12 schools, and if not, should CRT curriculum be adopted in k-12 education?

For part 2 of our conversation we are excited to be joined by our guest Dr. Lee-Ann Stephens, Minnesota Teacher of the Year 2006, has been an educator for 31 years with K-12 teaching and leadership experience. She currently serves as a teacher on special assignment with the St. Louis Park Schools in Minnesota, as the High Achievement Program Coordinator and the advisor for Students Organized for Anti- Racism. She is an affiliate with Pacific Educational Group: Courageous Conversations about Race, an Advisor for Integrated Schools, and she has been appointed by Governor Walz to the Education Commission of the States, a partner with education policy leaders to address issues by sharing resources and expertise. Follow Dr. Stephens on Twitter: @MNTOY2006

In this episode, Dr. Stephens defines critical race theory and delineates the five tenets of CRT:

  1. Permanence of Racism--so embedded in society it seems natural & is often invisible

  2. Counter Storytelling--sharing stories that are counter to the dominant narrative

  3. Interest Convergence--Civil Rights victories occur when White People benefit. In other words when interests converge.

  4. Critique of Liberalism--challenges the notion of neutrality, objectivity, colorblindness, & meritocracy

  5. Whiteness of Property--According to legal CRT scholar Harris, property functions on 3 levels: the right of possession, the right to use and the right to allocate. Furthermore, the right to transfer, enjoy and exclude.

We then discuss whether or not CRT is currently being taught anywhere in the US in K-12 classrooms how some folks confuse critical race theory and culturally responsive/reflective teaching and whether or not it should be. 

Check out Dr. Stephens’ Writing & Podcasting:

Champagne & Real Pain:

🥂Fight for Honesty in Education

👎🏻Shame on these people: Linda Ader, Erick Johnson, and David Weinberg who are running for Peninsula SD No. 401 on false narrative about CRT & comprehensive sex education

Do Your Fudging Homework:

Ep. 105: Critical Race Theory & Other Things White People Don’t Understand

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EQ: How is the panic around Critical Race Theory indicative of white nonsense and why has it become such an easy target for Conservative Politicians?

In this episode of IWL, Megan and Hope dig into the kerfuffle that is the recent critical race theory (CRT) debate. Built on nonsense and white fragility, CRT is now a phrase donning the lips of many a well-meaning but poorly informed person. Armed with fear and misunderstanding, some communities are demanding school boards institute bans and establish parameters for how teachers teach history (and other related topics). From “why are folks mad” to “are we actually teaching CRT in our classrooms”, these IWLs share their own understanding of the topic and where they are still learning, growing or feeling confused.

Referenced in this episode:

Do Your Fudging Homework: