Second Look Education

Episode SummaryAmy brings a real moment from home: her children come backfrom school excited about inclusion activities—adaptive sports, conversations about disability, and new perspectives. The experience is meaningful, engaging, and clearly impactful. But it raises a quieter question: why does inclusion still show up as a special event?As the conversation unfolds, Amy and Candace explore thetension between awareness and design. While schools have made significant progress—especially through legislation like IDEA—this progress has not always translated into fully inclusive classroom experiences. Inclusion exists, but often within boundaries that go unnamed.They examine how systems have expanded access without fully redesigning how schools function, and how this leads to a version of inclusion that is real, but partial. The conversation moves from history to classroom reality, naming the complexity teachers already hold and the structural limitsthat shape what’s possible.The episode closes by shifting from solutions toawareness—inviting listeners to notice who is present, who is missing, and what it would take to design spaces where inclusion isn’t something we visit, but something we live alongside.Key QuestionWhat does it mean to teach inclusion in spaces that arealready selectively inclusive?Topics Discussed:Inclusion as an event vs. inclusion as design The gap between legal access and classroom reality The concept of “bounded inclusion”Awareness without proximity Teacher capacity and system constraints The role of collaboration (gen ed, SPED, specialists) Universal design and everyday inclusion Noticing who is missing from classrooms Readings & Resources MentionedPractitioner & Teaching PerspectivesUniversal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines – CASThttps://udlguidelines.cast.orgIRIS Center: Universal Design for Learning Overview (Vanderbilt University)https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/udl/Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) – High-Leverage Practiceshttps://highleveragepractices.orgResearch Sources Referenced in the EpisodeIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – U.S. Department of Educationhttps://sites.ed.gov/idea/Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) – IDEA Guidancehttps://sites.ed.gov/idea/regs/b/b/300.114Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975) – Historical Overviewhttps://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2142/Education-All-Handicapped-Children-Act-1975.html Foundational Research & Further ReadingCAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines 2.2https://udlguidelines.cast.org/more/downloadsNational Center for Education Statistics (NCES) – Students with Disabilities Datahttps://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cggU.S. Department of Education – Annual Report to Congress on IDEAhttps://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/osep/index.htmlTry This After ListeningParents:Notice how you talk about difference in everyday moments—at parks, sidewalks,or public spaces—and name design features (like ramps or adaptive equipment) aspart of how the world works.Teachers:Look at one lesson this week and ask: Who can access this easily—and who has toadapt? What small shift could make it more flexible?Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducationListen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube @secondlookeducation

Episode SummaryCandace shares a moment that stopped her in her tracks: her 7-year-old niece, in the middle of learning to read, said, “I don’t like school.” There was no frustration or struggle, just a quiet certainty.In this episode, Candace and Amy take a second look at what it means when a child at one of the most critical stages of learning already feels disconnected from school. They explore the difference between learning a skill and wanting to keep learning, and how systems built around pacing, measurement, and outcomes may unintentionally disrupt children’s natural curiosity.Drawing on research in motivation, development, and literacy, the conversation examines how early experiences shape a child’s relationship with learning, and what it means if students can perform but no longer feel connected to the process.Because the question isn’t just whether children can learn.It’s what they’re learning about learning itself.Key QuestionIf a child can read but doesn’t want to read, did school succeed?Topics DiscussedThe difference between skill acquisition and desire to learnWhy early reading should feel meaningful, not just measurableIntrinsic motivation and the role of autonomy, competence, and connectionHow compliance-driven systems shape student experienceThe impact of pacing, benchmarking, and over-assessmentJoy as a condition for learning, not a reward after itThe growing gap between what schools measure and what students feelReadings & Resources MentionedNational Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dapEdutopia – Student Engagementhttps://www.edutopia.org/topic/student-engagementSelf-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan)https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory/Ryan & Deci (2000) Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivationhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10620381/Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow Theoryhttps://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/Peter Gray – Free to Learnhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learnGholdy Muhammad – Unearthing Joyhttps://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/unearthing-joy-9781338856606.htmlBettina Love – We Want to Do More Than Survivehttps://jethe.org/index.php/jethe/article/download/259/58/1078Try This After ListeningParents:Ask your child what part of their day at school feels most interesting or exciting, and why.Teachers:Reflect on when you last adjusted a lesson based on student engagement, not pacing.Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducationListen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube @secondlookeducation

Episode SummaryIn this episode, we start with a small moment — a child mentioning that they get to chew gum during the Illinois Assessment of Readiness — and follow it into a larger question:How did high-stakes testing become such a routine part of school that it now feels inevitable?Amy reflects on raising her own children inside a testing system she has studied, written about, and once administered as a classroom teacher. Drawing on her experience preparing third graders for their first standardized test, researching children’s experiences of testing, and later stepping away from that grade level, she examines how policy becomes classroom reality.We explore how federal accountability systems made annual testing structural, why the 95% participation rule continues to shape school responses, how Illinois moved from IGAP and ISAT to PARCC and IAR, and why teachers and parents often experience these systems differently.We close by asking what children learn when adults treat constructed systems as natural — and what it means to stay conscious inside them.When high-stakes testing feels inevitable, what are children learning about systems, authority, and participation?High-stakes testing as policy, not inevitabilityThe 95% participation rule under NCLB and ESSAIllinois testing history: IGAP, ISAT, PARCC, and IARTeacher compliance, care, and professional survivalStudent identity and the emotional experience of testingParent advocacy inside institutional systemsPractitioner & Teaching PerspectivesFairTest. National Center for Fair and Open Testing.https://fairtest.orgIllinois State Board of Education. Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR).https://www.isbe.net/iar Illinois State Board of Education. Assessment Overview.https://www.isbe.net/Pages/Assessment.aspxResearch Sources Referenced in the EpisodeU.S. Department of Education. Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).https://www.ed.gov/essa U.S. Department of Education. No Child Left Behind Act Overview.https://www.ed.gov/media/document/execsummpdf-4020.pdf Foundational Research & Further ReadingSchneider, M. K. (2015).Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools? Teachers College Press. https://www.tcpress.com/common-core-dilemma-who-owns-our-schools-9780807756492Gorlweski, A., Porfilio, B., Gorlewski, D. (2012).Using Standards and High-Stakes Testing for Students: Exploiting Power with Critical Pedagogy https://www.peterlang.com/document/1109148 Neill, M. (2016).The Testing Resistance and Reform Movement https://monthlyreview.org/articles/the-testing-resistance-and-reform-movement/ Author Background & Related ScholarshipKelly, A. L. (2019).The High Stakes of Testing: Exploring Student Voice and Standardized Assessment through Governmentality. Brill Sense.https://brill.com/display/title/61974Kelly, A. L. (2021).A Guide to High-Stakes Standardized Testing in the United States: A Historical Overview. Brill Sense.https://brill.com/display/title/54596Parents: Ask your child what they think the test is for — and what they think it says about them.Teachers: Reflect on how testing season changes the tone of your classroom. What messages are students receiving about learning, success, and compliance?Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducationListen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts| Watch on YouTube @secondlookeducation

Episode SummaryIn this episode, Candace begins with a personal moment: learning, years into her career as an educator, that many of the Dr. Seuss books she loved as a child contain racist imagery and stereotypes.Like many teachers, she grew up celebrating Read Across America with Cat in the Hat hats, green eggs and ham activities, and Dr. Seuss-themed classrooms. But once she encountered research examining racial representation in Seuss’s books, that tradition started to feel more complicated.This episode explores what happens when nostalgia collides with new information. Why did Dr. Seuss become so closely tied to Read Across America? What does the research actually say about representation in his books? And what responsibility do educators have when the materials we’ve traditionally celebrated may carry harmful messages?Candace and Amy examine the history of Read Across America, the research that sparked national conversations about Seuss’s work, and the developmental research showing how early children begin forming racial biases.This is not a conversation about banning books or erasing childhood memories. It is an invitation to take a second look at how we choose the stories we center in classrooms—and what those choices communicate to childrenWhen schools celebrate reading, whose stories are we choosing to center—and what messages do those choices send to children?The history of Read Across America and its connection to Dr. SeussResearch examining representation in Dr. Seuss’s children’s booksThe tension between nostalgia and responsibility in educationChild development research on how early racial bias formsWhy representation in children’s literature matters for identity and belongingThe National Education Association’s shift away from Dr. Seuss in Read Across America programmingWhy many schools continue Seuss-themed celebrations despite that shiftHow educators can evaluate children’s books more intentionallyDiverse authors and books that bring joy, imagination, and representation into classroomsIshizuka, K., & Stephens, R. (2019).The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss’s Children's Books. https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/rdyl/article/view/1525 This study examined 50 Dr. Seuss books and more than 2,200 characters. Researchers found that only 2% of characters were people of color—and those characters were consistently portrayed through racial stereotypes.Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons https://calisphere.org/collections/26157/ National Education Association – Read Across America https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-americaLearning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance)Reading Diversity Tool https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/Reading-Diversity-v2-Redesign-WEB-Nov2017.pdfDIG Checklist for Inclusive Children's Media https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58595220e58c62b4ba107c65/t/59e7b0b964b05fdd650ecf7a/1508356282001/KIDMAP-DIG-CHECKLIST.pdfAmy references several tools and frameworks educators can use to evaluate children’s books for representation, bias, and quality.These include materials developed through a professional learning community with preservice teachers, as well as curated research and evaluation frameworks.👉 Access the Episode Resource Hub:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NMFikM9nHMseKL9kTluh1QZHf3NiEa5B?usp=sharing Resources include:Children’s Book Evaluation Checklist• Full research list on evaluating children’s literatureTeachers: Look at the books you highlight during reading celebrations. Ask yourself: Who is represented—and who isn’t?Parents: When reading with children, explore books that show a wide range of cultures, identities, and experiences. Representation helps children see both mirrors and windows in literature.Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducationListen on Spotify & Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTube @secondlookeducation

Episode SummaryIn this episode, we start with a simple moment — a child bringing home a stack of completed workbook pages — and follow it into a larger question:How did written work become the primary way schools recognize learning?We explore how assessment systems shape classroom tasks, why teachers rely on visible artifacts, and what may become invisible when proof becomes the priority.This is not an argument against worksheets — it’s an examination of what role they are quietly being asked to play.We close with practical ways parents and teachers can look beyond completion and notice understanding.Key QuestionWhen evidence of learning becomes the goal, what kinds of learning stop counting?Topics DiscussedObservable vs. experiential learningAccountability and instructional designTask architecture in classroomsDevelopmental learning vs. documented learningParent–teacher feedback loopsPractical ways to surface student thinkingReadings & Resources MentionedPractitioner & Teaching PerspectivesElaine. 5 Reasons to Stop Using Workbooks. Hummingbird Learning Centrehttps://hummingbirdlearning.com/5-reasons-to-stop-using-workbooks/Segar, Sara. Why I Don’t Give My Students Worksheets and What I Do Instead. Experiential Learning Depothttps://www.experientiallearningdepot.com/experiential-learning-blog/why-i-dont-give-my-students-worksheets-and-what-i-do-insteadResearch Sources Referenced in the EpisodeUtami, A. R., Aminatun, D., & Fatriana, N. (2020).Student Workbook Use: Does It Still Matter to the Effectiveness of Students’ Learning? Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 1(1), 7–12.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349654476_STUDENT_WORKBOOK_USE_DOES_IT_STILL_MATTER_TO_THE_EFFECTIVENESS_OF_STUDENTS'_LEARNINGOsborn, J. (1984).Evaluating Workbooks (Reading Education Report No. 52). Center for the Study of Reading, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/17574/bitstreams/63193/data.pdfFoundational Research & Further ReadingShepard, L. A. (2000).The Role of Assessment in a Learning Culture. Educational Researcher, 29(7), 4–14.https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X029007004 Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998).Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.https://people.bath.ac.uk/edspd/Weblinks/MA_Ass/Resources/Using%20assessment%20formatively/Black%20&%20Wiliam%201998%20PDK.pdf Stein, M. K., & Smith, M. S. (1998).Mathematical Tasks as a Framework for Reflection (QUASAR Task Analysis Framework overview)https://www.nctm.org/Handlers/AttachmentHandler.ashx?attachmentID=wTjgEy0K1jw= Dewey, J. (1938).Experience and Education.https://archive.org/details/experienceeducat00deweAuthor Background & Related ScholarshipThe ideas discussed in this episode draw on research about how accountability systems influence classroom practice:Kelly, A. L. (2019).The High Stakes of Testing: Exploring Student Voice and Standardized Assessment through Governmentality. Brill Sense.https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004401365Kelly, A. L. (2021).A Guide to High-Stakes Standardized Testing in the United States: A Historical Overview. Brill Sense.https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004511736_001Try This After ListeningParents: Ask what was confusing today before asking if it was correct.Teachers: Decide whether a page is practice or documentation before collecting it — then respond accordingly.Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducationListen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts| Watch on YouTube@secondlookeducation

Welcome to Second Look Education.In this first episode, Amy and Candace introduce who we are, where we come from, and why this podcast exists.We are experienced educators, former classroom teachers, school leaders, researchers, and parents. We are not observing education from the sidelines. We are living it. We prepare future teachers while also watching our own children move through increasingly complex school systems.This show was created because we kept having the same honest conversations behind closed doors. Conversations about the growing gap between how teachers are prepared and how systems ask them to teach. Conversations about autonomy, compliance, developmentally appropriate practice, instructional scripts, technology, standardized systems, and the narrowing of professional judgment.Second Look Education is a practitioner-scholar podcast examining policy, curriculum, technology, and instructional trends through a developmental, relational, and classroom-reality lens.We are not neutral. We are thoughtful, evidence-informed, and grounded in lived practice.In this episode, we lay out:What we believe about children and learningWhat we believe about teachers and professional judgmentWhat we believe about systems and reformThe core questions that will frame every episode:Are we designing systems for compliance, or for human development? Who benefits from current structures, and who carries the cost?This episode sets the foundation for the conversations to come.Follow us on Instagram: @secondlookeducation