#82 - A Whole School Approach to Humanizing Schools w/ Michael Essien!

Despite knowing that the pre-pandemic approach to schooling wasn’t working for whole swaths of students, many school leaders are struggling to make good on all that “reimagine” talk that was swirling around prior to this school year.  Given the ongoing structural barriers that principals and their schools have to contend with, how does one build and sustain a model that meets students’ needs? This week we’re joined by Michael Essien, a school leader in San Francisco known for his work around a “whole school approach” that creates a school community that’s humanizing for young people. What does this look like, and what’s missing from many of the traditional models of school culture and discipline? But first, Jeff and Manuel discuss recent headlines in education including a stark warning from the UN about climate curriculum and a district in Nebraska that’s hiring its own students to be language interpreters. → Get your Teach the Truth T-Shirt here! → View this episode on YouTube! AGENDA 0:00 - Welcome! 5:15 - Students Hired as Language Interpreters 16:29 - Climate Crisis Missing from Global Curriculum 30:11 - School Leadership with Michael Essien 1:06:20 - PD Nixed for Day Off DO-NOW STORIES: Omaha district hires high school students as interpreters Only half of the national curricula in the world have a reference to climate change, UNESCO warns More from our guest: Michael Essien Website Michael Essien on Twitter KQED: A Whole School Approach to Behavior Issues Get MORE All of the Above: - Website - Podcast on multiple platforms via Anchor - Podcast via Apple Podcast - Podcast via Spotify - Twitter - Facebook Page Theme Music by its tajonthabeat