The Education Gadfly Show
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 12, 2021 • 26min
#782: Whatever you do, don’t call it social and emotional learning - 08/12/21
On this week’s podcast, Adam Tyner and David Griffith discuss the Fordham report Adam just authored on parental attitudes toward and the politics of social and emotional learning. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how school-based mentoring affects academic success and post-secondary attainment.
Aug 4, 2021 • 26min
#781: The House Democrats’ attack on charter schools - 08/04/21
On this week’s podcast, Ron Rice, senior director of government relations at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the House’s recently passed spending bill.
Jul 28, 2021 • 28min
#780: The state of teacher licensure - 07/28/21
On this week’s podcast, Kate Walsh, president of the National Council on Teacher Quality, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss NCTQ’s new analysis on teacher licensure tests. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the importance of informational text, be it oral, written, or visual.
Jul 21, 2021 • 23min
#779: How districts are spending federal aid - 07/21/21
On this week’s podcast, Bree Dusseault, practitioner-in-residence at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how large school systems are spending their federal pandemic aid dollars. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how much remote learning harmed students socially, emotionally, and academically.
Jul 14, 2021 • 24min
#778: The virus isn’t done with schools - 07/14/21
On this week’s podcast, John Bailey, a nonresident senior fellow at AEI, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the Delta variant’s likely impact on school reopenings this fall. On the Research Minute, Olivia Piontek examines how stand-alone technical high schools affect students’ short- and long-term outcomes.
Jul 8, 2021 • 29min
#777: O-H-I-O: School reform victories in the Buckeye State - 07/08/21
On this week’s podcast, Chad Aldis, Fordham’s vice president for Ohio policy, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the big ed reform victories this past legislative session on private school choice, charter schools, and accountability. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how parents use education savings accounts.
Jul 1, 2021 • 26min
#776: Can curriculum reform succeed where the rest of standards-based reform failed? - 07/01/21
On this week’s podcast, Morgan Polikoff, Associate Professor of Education at USC, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new book, Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how the spread of universal free meals affects students’ perceptions of safety.
Jun 23, 2021 • 21min
#775: The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History - 06/23/21
On this week’s podcast, Jeremy Stern, coauthor of Fordham's new report, The State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History in 2021, joins Mike Petrilli, David Griffith, and Checker Finn to discuss what the analysis found.
Jun 16, 2021 • 27min
#774: Research Deep Dive: The impact of urban charter schools - 06/16/21
On this week’s podcast, Brian Gill, senior fellow at Mathematica and director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Educational Laboratory, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith for the fourth installment of our Research Deep Dive series, this one focusing on the impact of urban charter schools on student outcomes—for those in both the charter and traditional public schools.
Jun 10, 2021 • 27min
#773: Should schools offer a virtual option this fall? - 06/10/21
On this week’s podcast, Derrell Bradford, newly appointed president of 50CAN, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss whether New York City and other major districts should still offer a virtual option this fall. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how well Arkansas’s middle and high school postsecondary-readiness metrics predict college outcomes.
