In the second episode of their new Arkansas Education Podcast, Fair Assessment, hosts Gwen Faulkenberry and Ali Noland discuss several additional themes that have become prominent in education-related politics and culture in Arkansas. First, Gwen, a veteran classroom teacher who hails from a long line of proud public educators, discusses the recent movement to delegitimize and vilify the teaching profession. Ali, who is an attorney with an LL.M. degree in constitutional and civil-rights law, discusses the alarming rise in censorship of library books, school curriculum materials and ideas. Finally, both hosts reflect on the fact that, especially in red states like Arkansas, public schools have become the front lines for meeting many of the basic human needs – food, medical care, mental-health treatment, etc. – that our state government is failing to adequately address. If you haven't caught up on their first episode, in which they discuss the well-funded national push to privatize K-12 education, you can listen here.

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