Shows
Courageous Conversations About Our SchoolsBruce Wasser Helped Students Stand Up For Principle. Do We Want More Teachers Like That? (Ep. 43)In this episode, host Ken Futernick sits down with Bruce Wasser, a former history teacher whose life story is as inspiring as his teaching career. Bruce shares his poignant journey from being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War to becoming a beloved educator who had a profound impact on his students. Listen as Bruce recounts the pivotal moments that shaped his life, including the influence of his high school basketball coach and the challenges he faced in standing up for his beliefs. The episode also features Julia Damer, a former student of Bruce's, who shares her experiences in...2025-07-0856 min
Teacher StoriesBending the Moral Arc: How One Teacher's Conscience Changed LivesIn this episode, host Ken Futernick sits down with Bruce Wasser, a former history teacher whose life story is as inspiring as his teaching career. Bruce shares his poignant journey from being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War to becoming a beloved educator who had a profound impact on his students. Listen as Bruce recounts the pivotal moments that shaped his life, including the influence of his high school basketball coach and the challenges he faced in standing up for his beliefs. The episode also features Julia Damer, a former student of Bruce's, who shares her experiences in his...2025-07-0856 min
Teacher StoriesControlled Chaos: How One Award-Winning Teacher Connects With Students Before Teaching the CurriculumEric Hall, an award-winning elementary school teacher from Northern Michigan, shares a touching story about a fishing trip he took in the dark of night with one of his students.
“That night,” he writes, “we didn't catch a single smelt, but we caught something better, a connection. And honestly, I'd wear that ridiculous headlamp again in a heartbeat, just maybe not next weekend."
“Jerky, Headlamps, and One Loyal Teacher” is a story that reminds us of the importance of building connections with students and being present for them, even in unconventional or unexpected situations.
In his conversation with host Ken Futernick...2025-06-1325 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsThe Shoe Club: Walking Towards Empathy and Connection in a Michigan School (Ep. 42)This story starts with a bag of shoes that helped a school community heal after the tragic deaths of two students. That story blossomed into a unique project called the “Shoe Club” that fosters empathy and breaks barriers in a Michigan middle school. The founder of the club and guest on this episode is Matt Hamilton, a 2025 Horace Mann and NEA Award-winning teacher from East Jordan Public Schools in Michigan.The Club has gotten national attention with inscribed shoe donations from the likes of Jane Goodall, Michael Jordan, moon-walking astronaut Chalie Duke, Dolly Parton, and a Nobel Peac...2025-04-1841 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsFrom Hate to Dialogue: A Conversation with Daryl Davis, “Klan Whisperer” (Ep. 41)How many of us would have the courage to have a conversation with someone who hates us? My guest, Daryl Davis, has done just that, not once, but for decades, with members of the Ku Kluz Klan and other hate groups, and many have renounced their ideology after getting to know him. A Black musician, Davis shares his unbelievable story driven by one powerful question: "How can you hate me when you don't even know me?" Prepare to be challenged to rethink how we and our students engage with those who seem the furthest from us. Here a...2025-04-0756 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsCharacter Education is Essential (and Unavoidable). How To Do It Well (Ep. 39)This episode is part of our series on our sister podcast, Teacher Stories, on what schools can do to help save our democracy. Guests include Dr. Marvin W. Berkowitz, McDonnell Professor of Character Education at the Center for Character Education and Citizenship at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and Dr. Kashina Bell, Deputy Superintendent for the School District of University City in St. Louis, Missouri. Both talk about character education - what it looks like, how it's done, and why it's vital to our democracy."I think the concept of the common good...2025-03-2043 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsDemocracies Cannot Survive Without Quality Education. A Conversation with Author Brook Manville (Ep. 40)American democracy cannot survive without well-functioning schools that enable students to become good citizens and that teach them to appreciate what it means to live under a system whose only boss are the people themselves. That’s the claim my guest Brook Manville makes in his new book, The Civic Bargain – How Democracies Survive. In this wide-ranging conversation about civic education, Manville says schools must cultivate “civic friendship,” one of seven conditions that have been present in all democratic societies going back to ancient Greece. “[Civic friendship] does not mean that you agree with everybody or that you necessar...2025-03-2048 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsThe Transformative Power of Curiosity - A Conversation with Scott Shigeoka (Ep. 38)Curiosity has been a common theme in this podcast. Conflict experts like my guests Amanda Ripley, Monica Guzman, and Peter Coleman say being curious and less judgmental is often a better way out of toxic conflict than making stronger arguments or presenting more facts. And, as we heard from our recent guest, Tim Shriver, it’s a much better alternative than treating one’s adversaries with contempt, which often makes matters worse. “Contempt only makes an enemy for your cause,” he says. But how does curiosity work? How can we be curious about people whose perspectives we reject? W...2025-02-0843 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsWhy These Students Are Rejecting Contempt and Embracing Dignity (Ep. 37)In our previous episode (Ep. 36), Tim Shriver America’s widening political and social divides are, surprisingly, not due to our differences. “We’ve always had differences,” he says, “Contempt is the problem.” Shriver explains why treating others with dignity is more likely to produce the results we want and why contempt usually does the opposite. He and his colleagues created the Dignity Index to help us recognize the various ways we can regard our adversaries—either with contempt or with dignity. In the current episode, Futernick interviews four college students who are ambassadors for Students for Dignity, an organization...2025-01-1550 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsGetting Students (and Adults) to Respect One Another’s Dignity - A Conversation with Tim Shriver (Ep. 36)Tim Shriver is a member of the Kennedy family, Chairman of Special Olympics International, co-founder of UNITE, and a former teacher. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Ken Futernick, Shriver describes a tool he co-created called the Dignity Index, and he describes how educators are using it to address our widening political and social divides. “We built it because there's an issue in our culture, in our families, in our homes, and in our schools that we haven't paid that much attention to. And the issue is how we treat each other when we disagree.” The Index is a fram...2025-01-0454 min
EDC's Week in ReviewDecember 20 Edition of EDC's Week in ReviewWelcome to EDC’s Week in Review, your December 20 edition, here are the top stories:1. **Fatal Fire in Pollock Pines** http://inedc.com/24/news/early-morning-blaze-destroys-travel-trailer-leaving-one-dead/ 2. **Off-Duty Heroes Save Woman in Fire** https://www.facebook.com/EDHFIRE/posts/pfbid02y2v7gYGwvaC8Tt9f4gxznjMF7cYeNDt4mFvRG52sbjWi4sgrGT6v154GrGLj9nGKl 3. **Casino Manager Admits to Embezzlement** https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/former-casino-cage-manager-admits-to-nearly-10k-theft/ 4. **Storm Wreaks Havoc Across the County** https://www.mtdemocrat.com/news/hi...2024-12-2005 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsSchools Are Abandoning DEI. How a Different Approach Can Preserve It (Ep. 35)School mission statements across the county commonly included language about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI training for educators was also common. But that’s changed in recent years as school culture wars erupted around the books students have access to: how students learn about history, race, and gender identity, and anything that smacks of “woke” ideology. DEI, as perceived by its advocates, is a unifying concept, but because a growing segment of the population perceives it as a divisive, alienating, and controversial, school officials in many districts have stricken DEI language from their mission statements. Many have eliminated DEI personn...2024-12-1258 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsTeachers Are Afraid to Talk About the 2024 Election (Ep. 34)One would think that schools are the perfect place for students to learn about elections. What better opportunity to use the critical thinking skills they’ve learned in making sense of what the candidates are saying and to distinguish credible information from what they often encounter on social and mainstream media? These skills would certainly serve them well after the election when there are sure to be protests, claims, and counterclaims about election fraud and tampering.However, many teachers said they wouldn’t be discussing the 2024 election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, acco...2024-10-2741 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsBold, Effective Leadership in Polarized Times - An Illuminating Conversation with Katy Anthes (Ep. 33)This episode will interest anyone interested in what it takes to successfully lead a politically diverse school board (or any such organization) in these highly polarized times. My guest, Dr. Katy Anthes, did just that as Colorado’s Commissioner of Education from 2016 to 2023 by building trust, getting leaders to agree on norms about how they would disagree, and developing a common vision of education that members of her state board could embrace. Rather than avoiding sharp disagreements over questions about standardized testing, state standards, and how history should be taught, she leaned into “healthy conflict”— the kind that is p...2024-10-2434 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsMeet Aaron Stark - Almost a School Shooter (Ep. 32)Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a school shooter? Or, why someone chooses to kill innocent people? My guest, Aaron Stark, was ready to commit mass murder but decided, at the last minute, not to follow through with his plan. He also chose not to kill himself. In this episode, you’ll hear Aaron’s harrowing story of abuse, neglect, and trauma, and you’ll find out what it took to prevent yet another tragedy that would have contributed to America’s epidemic of gun violence. There’s no doubt that mental health services are a vital part...2024-10-1740 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsBetter Mental Health Can Reduce Gun Violence in Schools. Do We Have the Will to Promote It? Part 2 (Ep. 31)One day after interviewing clinical psychologist Hayley Watson for Part 1 of this two-part series about the need for better mental health support in schools, Colt Gray, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia walked onto campus with a military-style rifle and killed two other students and two math teachers. He also injured at least 8 others before he was taken into custody. According to the shooter’s aunt Annie Brown, had been “begging for help from everyone around him.” Colt’s father, who has now been charged with several serious crimes, said that his son was “gett...2024-09-1126 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsBetter Mental Health Can Reduce Gun Violence in Schools. Do We Have the Will to Promote It? Part 1 (Ep. 30)Immediately following the fatal shooting of two students and two math teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia, the predictable debate over gun laws ensued. Less prominent were calls for another remedy for school gun violence that can have an immediate impact and, surprisingly, is not politically polarizing: mental health support. Colt Gray, the 14-year-old shooter had been “begging for help from everyone around him,” according to his aunt Annie Brown. It appears he was unable to find it. Unfortunately, students like Gray are not alone. As the need for students’ mental health support has grown...2024-09-1141 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsRich Harwood Rocks My World! (Ep. 29)Rich Harwood knows a thing or two about depolarizing communities. He’s been doing it—successfully—for over 30 years, which is why I wanted to probe his thinking about the widening divides and the worrisome rise of culture wars that are threatening our public schools.Let me simply say, Rich rocked my world! Despite the extensive reading I’ve done on the subject and the interviews I’ve conducted with several conflict experts, I learned something new about the dynamics of conflict. And, more importantly, I learned some practical strategies one could use to help build stronger, healthier...2024-07-3051 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsMiddie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 3 of 3)In the final episode of this series, several people reflect on the lessons learned from Middletown’s successful efforts to avoid a costly culture war and to unify around an inclusive vision of education that all of its students. In addition to Middletown’s community leaders who share their takeaways from this story, Amanda Ripley, an internationally recognized expert on conflict, provides powerful insights into the less visible dynamics at play. Trudy Palmer, the Christian Science Monitor’s cover story editor, explains why this story offers “credible hope" for communities looking for tangible ways to unify and discover common ground...2024-07-2041 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsMiddie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 2 of 3)In this second of three episodes about a culture war simmering in Middletown, Ohio, we learn how Superintendent Styles responds to allegations of racism and violations of students’ rights because of health mandates. Hint: He didn’t fight back. Instead, he listened to his critics. He then asked for help from the community’s “quiet majority,” a group he called “the Positive Gossipers,” and members of the Middletown Area Ministerial Alliance These counterintuitive steps helped to defuse the conflict and ultimately enabled the district to focus on serious challenges affecting student learning. The current administration, the Board recentl...2024-07-2026 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsMiddie Rising - A City Unites and Defuses a School Culture War (Ep. 1 of 3)This is the first of three episodes about the unusual steps school leaders in Middletown, Ohio took to defuse tensions over race issues and health policies. These tensions could have led to a full-blown culture war - the kind of knock-down, drag out clashes that have pitted educators, parents, and even students against one another in a growing number of school districts across the country. In this episode you will hear why police had been called in to maintain order at a pivotal school board meeting in 2021. You’ll hear the voices of angry parents accusing Marlon Sty...2024-07-2021 min
Coaching In Session | Mastering Mindset and Personal GrowthBridging Educational Gaps: Transforming Schools and Education with Ken Futernick | Coaching In Session Ep.441In this episode of Coaching In Session, host Michael Rearden sits down with Ken Futernick, an expert in education and schools, to explore the challenges and opportunities in today’s educational landscape. Ken shares his insights on bridging the educational divides and ensuring equitable access to quality education. From innovative teaching methods to systemic changes, discover strategies that are transforming schools and empowering educators. Whether you're an educator, parent, or policy maker, this conversation provides valuable perspectives on how to create a more inclusive and effective educational system. Ken Futern...2024-05-2452 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsBridging Youth Divides Through Morning Classroom Conversations (Ep. 25)This podcast usually focuses on how adults can have less contentious, more fruitful conversations about schools, but my two guests on this episode have plenty to say about the need to strengthen communication and relationships among young people. In fact, Nina Murphy and Kellie Dromboski (along with Maurice Elias) have written a book on the subject called, Morning Classroom Conversations. They show how devoting just 15 minutes each day for genuine conversation can have significant social, emotional, and academic benefits. By creating “brave spaces” for student conversation, students learn how limiting, even damaging, modern day interactions can be. “Without that perspe...2024-04-0533 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsPolitics in the Classroom in these Divided Times? Now More Than Ever, says Educator Diana Hess (Ep. 24)It’s April 2024. Polarization in America is at an all-time high, and another highly contentious election season is fast approaching. Fears about teacher bias and the undue influence they might have over their students has raised suspicions among parents and has led several states to restrict what teachers can discuss with their students — like “divisive concepts” or subject matter that might cause students to feel anguish or discomfort because of their race. In response, many teachers now avoid controversial topics for fear they might be fired or lose their teaching licenses. Some have even quit because the restrictions and the susp...2024-04-0332 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsA Conversation with Daniel Buck-Defender of the Education Culture Wars (Ep. 23)When Daniel Buck’s article, “In Defense of the Education Culture Wars,” appeared in my news feed, I thought, Is this guy kidding? Is he seriously arguing that the culture wars are a good thing for schools? Turns out he was, which made me think, I have to get this guy on my show.Buck agreed to join me, and what you’ll hear in this conversation is him explaining his thesis, my making sure I understood his argument, and then me offering my reasons for believing the opposite - that culture wars, like most wars, usually do far mo...2024-03-2342 minCourageous Conversations About Our SchoolsDo Discomfort, Anguish, and Divisive Concepts Belong in the Classroom? A Conversation about Free Speech in Public Schools (Ep. 22)Since 2020, nearly 20 states have passed legislation prohibiting public school educators from teaching “divisive concepts” or any content that might cause students to feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race or sex. Florida and several other states have also adopted new policies that ban instruction about gender and sexual identity, and teachers who violate these policies can be sued, fired and, in some cases, have their licenses to teach revoked. Critics say these laws violate free speech protections, and participants in this episode say they limit opportunities for students to have civi...2024-03-0651 min
Outrage Overload: Staying grounded through science and balanced perspectives32. We just dig our heels in and make assumptions that are often wrong - Ken FuternickHow Real-Life Communities Are Tackling Tough Topics in EducationIn this episode, we meet Ken Futernick, the host of the podcast "Courageous Conversations About Our Schools." We discuss the importance of dialogue over debate in addressing the culture wars and divisive issues in education. Ken shares his concerns about claims of indoctrination in schools and the banning of books. He emphasizes the need for healthy conflict and listening to different perspectives to find common ground. The conversation explores the role of trust, relationships, and empathy in fostering understanding and depolarization. Through examples and personal experiences...2024-02-1426 min