In this episode, we take a slightly different approach to the issues associated with education. We're going to spend some time focusing on our own proposals for educational change rather than discussing what others have done and/or proposed. In

Patrick's Proposal

Mar 10th, 2011 34m 28s

Simon's Proposal

Mar 3rd, 2011 35m 46s

Is Homeschooling the Answer?

Feb 4th, 2011 39m 51s

In this episode, the kids at the back of the class take a look at the arguments for homeschooling, and explore whether it is the answer to all of education's problems.

Grading Parents! No, Really...They Want To Grade Parents.

Jan 28th, 2011 32m 54s

In this show, the kids at the back of the class discuss the idea of having teachers grading parents on how prepared their child(ren) is/are for school each day. It won't take long to find out how the kids in the back of the class feel about th

Practical Wisdom

Jan 20th, 2011 33m 59s

In this episode, the kids at the back of the class are joined by an often-referenced person to discuss Barry Schwartz TED Talk, titled "Using Our Practical Wisdom". Simon was in the field, so Mark Salata joined us, and brought the topic.

The Thiel Conundrum

Jan 13th, 2011 33m 39s

In this show, the kids at the back of the class discuss the Thiel Foundation's Fellowship program that gives $100,000 to each of 20 recipients under the age of 20. The program is designed to reward "stopping out of school" and furthering innov

CAREing Schools

Jan 7th, 2011 35m 29s

In this episode, the kids at the back of the class discuss, some in a very grumpy way, an article about CARE, a school initiative to bring values learning to students.

Education with SOLE

Dec 24th, 2010 33m 39s

In this show, the kids at the back of the class discuss Sugata Mitra's TED talk about Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLE). For the most part, we just gush about the whole idea, but we do it in a confrontational manner.

The Pandora Classroom

Dec 9th, 2010 31m 50s

In this episode, the boys at the back of the class discuss the feasibility of classes set up like the Pandora music service in order to differentiate and individualize instruction.

Can Schools Change The World

Dec 3rd, 2010 40m 23s

This show has the kids at the back of the class discussing the relationship between schools and their communities and asking if schools can solve the problems of the world.

Technology as an Educational Distraction

Nov 23rd, 2010 38m 10s

In this episode, the kids at the back of the class discuss the role that technology should play in education and how that technology may actually be acting as a distraction for students.

Women Make the World Go 'Round

Oct 14th, 2010 32m 56s

This show focuses on research showing that the presence of women in groups is a predictor of how successful the outcomes of that group will be. In essence, the more women, the more successful the group. The kids at the back of the class tackl

What Motivates Us

Oct 6th, 2010 31m 21s

This show has the kids at the back of the class discussing the RSA Animate youtube clip entitled: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, and looking for what this video's message means for education.

Building a Better Teacher?

Oct 1st, 2010 39m 22s

This show has the three kids at the back of the class discussing how to build a better teacher.

TBOTC Tackles NCLB

Mar 11th, 2010 36m 39s

This episode sees us take on the practices associated with education in the age of NCLB.

The EduChatRoulette

Mar 4th, 2010 37m 24s

This show focuses on the possible uses of ChatRoulette technology in educational professional development...assuming the numerous issues with it could be worked out.

The Success Factory

Nov 21st, 2009 31m 21s

In this episode, we discuss whether the Thomas Jefferson High School in Northern Virginia (called the "Best High School in America") is actually a model of good education.

The Bookless Library

Nov 16th, 2009 37m 29s

This show revolves around the concept of a library without any books. This is a process that a school outside of Boston is undertaking, where the concept is to replace all of the books in a traditional library with electronic means of data col

Oppenheimer's Call

Sep 19th, 2009 35m 9s

This show, after a short discussion of which topic to cover, leads into a discussion of what types of educational settings can spark a student's desire to learn

The Rubber Room

Aug 30th, 2009 28m 50s

This show discusses the topic of the Rubber Room - used in New York City as a temporary (or permanent, depending on your view) solution to poor teachers who cannot be fired without an arbitration hearing.

The Purpose of School Episode

Aug 20th, 2009 35m 13s

This episode discusses the nature of learning and the purpose of school. The discussion focuses on a Seth Godin blog post about whether education should be scarce or abundant, free or expensive, and about schooling or learning.

Time to Think

Aug 13th, 2009 32m 44s

This episode focuses on the need for building time into the system that would allow teachers and students to think. This includes a discussion of what kinds of specific programs could be implemented to allow this time.

The Inuit School

Aug 10th, 2009 34m 11s

This show centers on the teaching of culture and how that can change the focus of education away from traditional models and towards more practical applications of knowledge.

The Teacher as a Comedian Episode

Aug 1st, 2009 32m 59s

This is the inaugural episode of the Back of the Class, a series of musing on education from the kids at the back of the class. In this episode, we discuss whether it's appropriate to train teachers on the skills that are necessary for becomin

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