In an effort to explore a wide-variety of issues that affect the lives young children, the students in Education 265:Social and Cultural Processes in the Early Childhood Years have created and produced podcast presentations. Each presentation examines a specific issue of interest to educators of young children and is based upon topics addressed within texts that the students selected and reviewed. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the effects of media culture, issues of gender and ethnic identity, roles and functions of parents and families, and issues of socioeconomic disparity.
| Student | Book |
Author
|
Description | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Bartha | Savage Inequalities-Children in America’s Schools |
Jonathan Kozol
|
Based on Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities- Children in America’s Schools, this commentary explores the realities that our children are experiencing in the American public school system. | |
| Melissa Bay | Ordinary Resurrections |
Jonathan Kozol
|
This interview with two future teachers from the College of Wooster was inspired by Jonathan Kozol’s book Ordinary Resurrections. It explores the notion of the disappearence of childhood and what can be done to put an end to this travesty. | |
| Marta Best | The Children are Watching: How Media Teaches us About Diversity |
Carlos Cortes
|
This pod cast is a fictional enactment of three mothers discussing the influence of the media on their children. The ideas it is based on are from the book The Children are Watching by Carlos Cortes. They talk about the good effects and the negative ones of children watching TV. |
|
| Emily Bowditch | A Hope in the Unseen |
Ron Suskind
|
Based on Ron Suskind’s book A Hope in the Unseen, this talk show clip showcases two interviews from characters in the book. The clip will give the audience a better idea of the issues and obstacles that the main character, Cedric Jennings, faced while at Ballou Senior High and Brown University. |
|
| Courtney Cooke | Lives on Edge: Single Mothers and Their Children in the Other America |
Valerie Polakow
|
Through quotes from Polakow’s book, this podcast explores issues of single mothers, poverty, welfare, and children in the Head Start education system. |
|
| Kathleen Day | The Skin That We Speak |
Lisa Delpit and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy
|
The Skin that We Speak, edited by Lisa Delpit and Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, is a book containing a collection of different pieces of literature all of which focus on attitudes towards language. This book and podcast specifically focuses on African American people and their use of Ebonics. |
|
| Molly Gaffney | Keeping Women and Children Last |
Ruth Sidel
|
This fictional narrative of a parent-teacher conference attempts to relay the main messages in Ruth Sidel’s book, Keeping Women and Children Last. Sidel explains the harsh judgments single mothers on welfare receive everyday. The podcast presents a situation portraying the negative effects teachers can have on students and their families when not empathetic towards their personal situations. |
|
| Anne Hargleroad | The Bitch Who has Everything |
Shirley R. Steinberg
|
Based on Shirley R. Steiberg’s The Bitch Who has Everything, this story examines Barbie’s influence on young girls. |
|
| Jacqueline Lucas | Uncertain Lives Children of Promise, Teacher’s of Hope |
Robert V. Bullough
|
These real life stories and beliefs are based from Robert V. Bullough’s book, Uncertain Lives Children of Promise, Teacher’s of Hope. |
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| Mark Miller | ||||
| Hilary Ober | ||||
| Grant Simmons | It Takes a Family |
Rick Santorum
|
Based on Senator Rick Santorum’s book It Takes a Family, this radio broadcast discusses the conservative vision of the family, and provides ideals for the family’s role in education and society. |
|
| Angela Starkey | Gender Play |
Barrie Thorne
|
This fictional interview is based on Barrie Thorne’s book, Gender Play. Thorne discusses her opinions on recent educational policy change related to gender and co-ed classrooms. |
|
| Sarah Stimson | Savage Inequalities- Children in America’s Schools |
Jonathan Kozol
|
A review of Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities, this podcast investigates the injustices in several school districts throughout America. |
|
| Scott Voytko | Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don’t |
This podcast is based on the Hedgehog Concept from the book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don’t. Proven successful in business, The Hedgehog Concept was created for all types of organizations, including schools, about how to acheive the goal of disciplined thought and disciplined action. You will hear background information about the Hedgehog Concept as well as a teacher interview about how the Hedgehog Concept could be applied to a classroom. |
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| Sara Warden | Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair |
Susan Sheehan
|
The following podcast discusses the pros and cons about the welfare system. It was inspired from the story told by Susan Sheehan. |
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| Sibyl Williams | Lives on Edge: Single Mothers and Their Children in the Other America |
Valerie Polakow
|
Not all Americans are fortunate enough to live the “American Dream.” On the contrary, many live on the margins of society and struggle to make ends meet from day to day. Valerie Polakow, author of Lives on Edge: Single Mothers and Their Children in the Other America details accounts and facts of the experiences single, American women who battle with the ADC or Aid to Dependent Children and other types of welfare. The book further explains the issues that some of their children face in schools because of their status as “Outsiders” as Polakow explains. This brief pod-cast attempts to simulate a story of a child growing up with a single, hard working mother on welfare and later leading a life as a mother on welfare. Some excerpts are adopted from the text. |