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| EDUCATION 415 The Education for Social Justice Podcast series is a project of the Seminar in Comparative Education course taught in fall 2009.
We researched social movements from around the world that are engaged in collective struggles to transform unequal and exclusionary educational practices. These are the untold and silenced stories about "people power." You will hear the stories of youth who have become student activists on college campus, parents who have become community organizers, schools that are engaged in the daily struggled to become safe spaces for their gay and lesbian students, the transnational movement for disability rights, and the challenges in constructing multicultural education for social justice.
These stories tell us one thing over and over again – that while the process of changing systems is slow and complex and ridden with contradictions – inequality and injustice cannot prevail. “The revolution” as the African-American poet Gil Scott Heron puts it “will not be televised… the revolution is live.” | 
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| You can listen to each episode by simply clicking on a link below, downloading the file to your computer to listen to later, or by subscribing to the Education for Social Justice Podcast series. Here is more information about podcasting at Colgate. If you are encountering problems, our podcasting producers Rich Grant and Ray Nardelli can help. |
Episode 1: The Landless Workers Movement
Professor Nisha Thapliyal
Educational Studies
Visiting Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
Neoliberal economic globalization has weakened and privatized public education systems in poor countries around the world. This podcast looks at the educational activism of the Landless Workers Movement and their efforts to prevent the state from withdrawing from public education in Brazil.
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Episode 2: Social Movement Against Child Labor
Vera Carrington '10
This podcast describes the current global situation surrounding child labor and what activists are currently doing to refute the growing problem. My goal of this pod cast was to inform listeners about specific organizations that are active in the fight for childrens' rights. I also aimed to get listeners to take a proactive stance against child labor by providing them with first hand accounts of former child laborers and by listing possible websites that could help people become involved in the fight.
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Episode 3: Urban Schools - Who Can Fix Them?
Justin Etinger '11
This podcast highlights the efforts of the Boston Parents Organizing Network and describes how they utilized their network to empower parents to make change in schools. Across the country, community organizers involved in the social movement for urban school reform are successfully making change in some of the most complex, beaurecratic, and poorly performing districts in the United States. Parents and students in urban school districts must begin to monopolize on the potential power that they possess when they network and collaborate- this podcast is the story of one such group that played a major role in turning around the Boston public school system from failing to first.
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Episode 4: Differences Between Student Activism in the 1960s and Today
Jessica Gaeta '10
In using Colgate University as my main focal point, I seek to explore why students today are often times seen as politically uninvolved and apathetic.
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Episode 5: Multicultural Education: Finding Yourself in the Curriculum
Carrie Glass '10
The following podcast discusses the foundations of multicultural education and focuses on children’s multicultural literature and how it can be incorporated into the curriculum. Multicultural education is an important topic when discussing the present day demographic make up of our students and how these numbers are dramatically changing. Such an implication of change requires that as educators we focus on ensuring that the curriculum mirrors the existing student population.
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Episode 6: Culturally Responsive Education: Bridging the Gap Between the Urban Community and the Classroom
Janay Jones '10
The urban education system is impacted by the many issues plaguing African American youth today, especially within their communities. Fortunately, the education system can also impact these students and their communities in a positive way through culturally responsive education.
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Episode 7: LGBTQ Movements in Education
Laura McDonald '10
This podcast provides an introduction to the gay rights movement since the 1960s with a specific emphasis on problems faced by LGBTQ youth today. The silence that surrounds gay issues has led to the bullying, violence, and more commonly the negative humor that affects gay youth on a daily basis. My podcast addresses these concerns as well as touching on how youth violence is connected to the debate surrounding same sex marriages on a national level. From these two main issues I address ways teachers, schools, and community members have tried to change their institutions and the cultures around their schools to teach issues of homosexuality in a safe and open way. Last, I explain how heterosexual people can become allies and help to fight heterosexual privilege on a daily basis. In the end, the most important lesson we can learn is that diversity comes in many forms and sexuality is just one of them. When we open up discussion and create safe spaces in schools, we provide a learning environment for people of all backgrounds, as well as a community of understanding for all. For information on school support groups and introducing LGBTQ discussions in schools please visit www.GLSEN.org. Thank you.
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Episode 8: Who's Fighting for your Rights?
Alexandra Snell '10
This podcast is about the disability rights movement and the status of the rights of people with disabilities in the United States today. Although many legal battles have been won, ensuring certain rights in the public and private sector, including school and the classroom, the campaign is not over. The full inclusion of people with disabilities into our society requires a shift in our paradigms about disability -- a change in the way we view disability and those individuals with disabilities.
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Episode 9: Aboriginal and Native American Movements
Christine Walker '10
This podcast compares the history and the social movements of the aboriginals in Australia and the Native Americans in the United States. By sharing a personal experience of mine in Australia, I illustrate how the aboriginal people can lose their sense of identity from oppression. Throughout this podcast I explain how the politic of assimilation and racism towards indigenous people have helped form the education systems in these nations and how an international alliance of indigenous groups would help in the fight against oppression.
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Episode 10: The Life of the LGBTQ Community
Wayne Moten '10
This podcast is a portal into the lives of the LGBTQ community. I provide heart-wrenching stories of discrimination and hate crimes along with moments of hope and inspiration. The goal of the podcast is to allow listeners to begin understanding what really goes on in the lives of the LGBTQ community and that it is not acceptable.
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Episode 11: Urban School Reform
Kyle Poinsett '10
This podcast talks about urban education reform. It concentrates on Oakland Community Organization located out of Oakland California. This community based organization realized that the health and the stability for the community requires successful schools. By working together and in conjunction with the school boards, politicians, community and students they were able to open small target schools. This is one way to improve urban education and system reform.
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Episode 12: Multicultural Education
Juliues Barlay '10
This podcast focuses on defining a clear cut definition of multicultural education and dispelling misconceptions that have formed. This podcast also analyzes the efforts of NAME (National Association for Multicultural Education) as they push for freedom, equity, justice, and equality that prepares students for the independent world. This podcast concludes by recognizing the state of America's educational structures and gives advice for those who also seek change.
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