Sonali Rajan studies gun violence and responses to it in an educational context, and she believes the persistence of gun violence is a solvable problem. In looking at how this affects children (4:53), Rajan and other researchers are looking more closely at how the impact of gun violence and its related harms are understood and defined. She shares that this issue affects some communities disproportionately (9:38); for example Black children are almost four and a half times more likely to be exposed to gun violence than white children.

We asked Dr. Rajan how she processes both the news, and the emotional content of this subject both as a parent and as a researcher (11:49), and she shares her personal practices, the pockets of success that fuel her sense of possibility, and what gives her hope. The politics around this issue tends to center around what Rajan calls “school hardening measures” (14:43) but she calls our attention to the way investing in communities and practicing restorative justice in our schools both reduce gun violence, as well as benefiting communities and children in numerous other ways.

Professor Rajan gives us an uplifting example in our collective response to drunk driving prevention (17:40). We ask what actions, investments or interventions she would like to see (21:52) and hear a layered response and broad vision that research shows would both improve our communities AND reduce gun violence.

You can find the full transcript here on the episode website, along with links to Professor Rajan’s work.

Subscribe, rate, and review: Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This series is created, hosted and produced by Joe Riina-Ferrie and Jen Lee, with audio production and original music by Billy Collins. "How's School?" is a production of The Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University.

The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.

Hey everyone, we’re here to let you know about another podcast produced here at Teachers College.

Do you know what’s going on with teaching today? Our friends at the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers, or CPET, provide customized professional development, coaching, and research studies to schools around the world. Their podcast, Teaching Today, brings educators together to break down the problems, policies and promising practices that define teaching today.

Each week’s episode brings to life the issues that real teachers are facing every day, honoring the challenges and offering some fresh perspectives for professional learning.

Check out Teaching Today wherever you get your podcasts, or visit tc.edu/cpet, that’s t-c dot e-d-u forward slash c-p-e-t for more information.

And we’ll be back tomorrow for our next episode of How’s School with Dr. Sonali Rajan on Reimagining School Safety.

Professor Sonya Douglass is leading the Black Education Research Center (BERC) in a project to create a first-of-its-kind, Pre-K through 12 interdisciplinary Black Studies curriculum for New York City public schools, the largest district in the U.S. She walks us through BERC’s research and findings about the impacts of COVID-19 and racism on Black students and families (2:14), why including Black Studies in our education is important and relevant, as well as a long time coming (5:07). We explore what’s at stake, for our students and our democracy, in the midst of current attacks on teachers and public education (8:11).

Professor Douglass takes us inside the ground-breaking work that this curriculum project is taking on (11:48), and how they are thinking ahead to reach other communities across the country (14:15). She shares how she’s doing in the midst of both these efforts and this political environment (16:20) and the vision that pulls her forward. Dr. Douglass frames Black Studies as the study of the world (19:35) and how this inclusive approach can serve as a corrective to existing schooling, which highlights the perspective of white Europeans to the exclusion of others.

There tends to be more talk about what people don’t want in schools instead of what they do, but here Professor Douglass walks us through the six tenants of this emancipatory vision of education (20:46), and addresses what actions we can take to support and advance this future (23:03).

Follow "How’s School?" for new episodes and announcements. You can find the full transcript of the episode, along with links to Professor Douglass’s work and the Black Education Research Center on the episode website.

Subscribe, rate, and review: Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

This series is created, hosted and produced by Joe Riina-Ferrie and Jen Lee, with audio production and original music by Billy Collins. "How's School?" is a production of The Digital Futures Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University.

The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the speaker to whom they are attributed. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the faculty, administration, staff or Trustees either of Teachers College or of Columbia University.