WonkyFolk Vol. 37 – Reed, Rahm, and Randi: The New Three R’s in Education?

Good day, CharterFolk.

After a bit of a summer hiatus, Andy and I are back with a new WonkyFolk.

And, as we looked across the education landscape, we found ourselves talking about three different figures who have each been making their own distinctive contribution to the conversation of late.

It led us, with tongue partly in cheek, to posit that they may represent the new three R’s in education.

Reed. Rahm. And Randi.

Here is a link to the podcast and a transcript of the conversation on the CharterFolk website.

You can also access the discussion here on YouTube. You can find us on Spotify here. And on Apple Podcasts here. An archive of all past recordings is available on our website.

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Now, hear me out.

It’s not pure irony.

Each of the three, in his or her own way, advances some of the most prevalent trends we are tracking these days.

Reed Hastings displays the optimism many have about the power of AI to improve educational opportunity for millions of kids.

Rahm Emanuel represents a wing of the Democratic Party attempting to reposition the party generally, including on education issues.

And Randi Weingarten shows establishment protectors continuing to resort, sadly, to cynical tactics to protect their interests – in this case, attacking a company for reasons having essentially nothing to do with education.

Along the way, Andy and I cover a lot of territory, including his and Mike’s (and my) greater skepticism about the likelihood that AI will actually improve education, the state of education in Virginia, cell-phone bans and the broader tech-lash in education, declining enrollment, charter politics heading toward 2028, and several other topics we’ve been noodling on over the summer.

It was great to be back together.

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Show Notes & Resources: