The Dropout Nation Podcast

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Five New Questions Every Parent Should Ask

RiShawn Biddle — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:42 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I discuss how parents can use five new questions to spur reform of American public education and improve schools for their children step by step. By asking the right questions — including about math instruction and school discipline policies – parents can change the way their kids are taught each and every day.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, the Education Podcast Network, Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: What Education As a Civil Right Really Means

RiShawn Biddle — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:39:45 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I explain what it should mean for education to be the leading civil rights issue of this era. School reformers and others make this statement every day, but it will be meaningless jargon unless several steps are taken to walk the proverbial talk.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network and Zune Marketplace.

Rewind: The Dropout Nation Podcast: Five Questions Every Parent Should Ask

RiShawn Biddle — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 17:59:19 +0000

As you head into the weekend, listen in on this rebroadcast of this Dropout Nation Podcast on how to improve education for their children through a few simple questions. Even as school reform has provided new tools for parents, they still need ways to use them for the advantage of their children. Asking the right questions will give caring adults the ability to improve education for their child and for all children — and further sustain school reform.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network, Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

Sunday’s Dropout Nation Podcast will focus on dealing with the reading challenges for our young men.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Iron Sharpens Iron

RiShawn Biddle — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 05:01:37 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I issue a call to black men of character everywhere to stem the dropout crisis among our young black men. A look at new data — including a new report from the Council of the Great City Schools — paints a picture of despair and opportunities to rebuild Black America by reforming American public education and our communities.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network, Zune Marketplace and PodBean. And the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Rallying Voters Around School Reform

RiShawn Biddle — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 20:03:42 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I discuss why school reformers haven’t been able to translate their success in gaining attention to the problems of American public education to this year’s midterm elections. It will take more than screenings of The Lottery and talk about Waiting for Superman to turn education into a primary issue in general elections.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: The Dropout Crisis Beyond Cities

RiShawn Biddle — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:38:00 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I explain why one must stop thinking about big cities as being the only epicenters of the dropout crisis and the nation’s crisis of low educational achievement. While Detroit and other major urban areas are often associated with systemic academic failure, small cities such as Hammond, Ind., and Alexandria, Va., along with rural communities, suburbs and exurbs also struggle with dropouts.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Save Young Men

RiShawn Biddle — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:06:45 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I take a look at the Schott Foundation’s report on black males and offer reminders that the achievement gap is not just one of race. All males, especially black and white males, are failing badly, with major consequences for America’s economy and society. It will take the reform of how we teach reading to young men and Iron Men of all races to stem this aspect of the dropout crisis.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod, Zune, MP3 player or smartphone. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network, Zune Marketplace and PodBean. Also, add the podcast on Viigo, if you have a BlackBerry, iPhone or Android phone.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Steps Toward Developing Better Teachers

RiShawn Biddle — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 05:50:04 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I take a look at the effort in Florida to end teacher tenure and explain how that move, along with tying student test performance to teacher evaluations, are only two of many steps needed to improve the quality of academic instruction in America’s schools. Contrary to what some say, this isn’t a sign that public education is “under attack”. But these steps will be meaningless without addressing how teachers are trained and how districts manage human capital.

You can listen to the Podcast at RiShawn Biddle’s radio page or download directly to your iPod or MP3 player. Also, subscribe to the podcast series. It is also available on iTunes, Blubrry, Podcast Alley, the Education Podcast Network and Zune Marketplace.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: The Next Steps for Race to the Top

RiShawn Biddle — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:44:21 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I look at the efforts by the Obama administration to bring districts into Race to the Top and offer some steps that could make the reform work even more effective. This includes turning school districts pioneering school reform efforts into enterprise zones of sorts, freeing them from restrictive state laws and collective bargaining rules.

The Dropout Nation Podcast: Fostering Impromptu Leaders for School Reform

RiShawn Biddle — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:00:29 +0000

On this week’s Dropout Nation Podcast, I comb through school desegregation efforts in this past century to show how school reformers can foster new leaders from the most-unlikely of men and women. For school reformers inside the Beltway and elsewhere, fostering these “impromptu leaders” from outside education through use of technology and by getting together with them can help make reform efforts sustainable.