Be a Better Ally: critical conversations for K12 educators

A podcast for educators reimagining what allyship looks like in classrooms, staff rooms, and communities. Host Tricia Friedman, global educator, coach, and Director at Shifting Schools, guides dynamic conversations at the intersection of education, identity, and digital humanities. Each episode brings together practitioners, authors, and thought leaders exploring how schools can cultivate belonging, through curriculum, culture, and critical reflection. With an eye toward digital culture and justice, this show asks: How might we be better listeners, advocates, and co-creators in an interconnected world?

Tami Charles on Picture Books, Fear in Creativity, and Teaching Unity Through Stories 11/20/2025

Tami Charles on Picture Books, Fear in Creativity, and Teaching Unity Through Stories What happens when a children’s book becomes a tool for unity, empathy, and allyship? In this conversation, Tami Charles—author, former teacher, and champion of diverse stories—opens up about the creative process behind her latest picture book, Together United. She shares how her writing is shaped not only by ideas, but by her collaboration with illustrators, the ever-present feeling of fear, and her commitment to creating stories that help children see themselves and each other. We talk about: How collaboration between author and illustrator can lead to unexpected, beautiful outcomes that neither could have created alone. Why fear is a constant companion in the creative process, and how Tami chooses to write anyway. What it means to center unity, understanding, and connection in children’s literature at a time when division is loud and constant. How rich, poetic language in picture books can still be accessible—and deeply engaging—for young readers. The importance of reading aloud as a ritual that nurtures a love of language, builds empathy, and creates shared moments between children and caring adults. Throughout the episode, Tami reflects on how every child has the potential to inspire others, and how stories can open doors to conversations about identity, justice, kindness, and community. We explore the idea that books can act as bridges, connecting diverse experiences and helping children see that they belong to something bigger than themselves. If you’re an educator, caregiver, librarian, school leader, or children’s literature lover, this episode offers practical and heart-centered insight into: Choosing and using picture books that promote inclusion, empathy, and allyship. Talking with young readers about unity, difference, and shared humanity in age-appropriate ways. Encouraging children to see themselves as storytellers and changemakers, not just passive readers. At its heart, this episode is a celebration of the way art and words together can create a kind of magic—the magic that happens when children feel seen, heard, and invited into stories that ask them to imagine a more united world. /episode/index/show/48394796-255a-4dc4-85d6-9e36d7d73c3e/id/39112315

Teaching Creativity: Alan Gratz on Storytelling, Curiosity, and Collaboration 11/13/2025

Narrative Justice: The Future of Climate Justice with Shilpi Chhotray 11/06/2025

Can we befriend the dark? 10/29/2025

The Creative Process of Ryan La Sala: Writing Fear, Joy, and Queer Resilience 10/23/2025

Claribel A. Ortega on Why Monsters Matter: Writing Hope and Friendship in Dark Times 10/16/2025

Claribel A. Ortega on Why Monsters Matter: Writing Hope and Friendship in Dark Times What can monsters, middle-grade fantasy, and community-centered storytelling teach us about the world we live in today? In this episode, Tricia Friedman sits down with New York Times bestselling author Claribel A. Ortega (Witchlings) to explore how fantasy fiction helps young readers navigate identity, belonging, and hope in turbulent times. Ortega shares her creative process—from plotting complex magical worlds to writing on planes during book tours—and reflects on the power of friendship, grief, and imagination as tools for resilience. This episode is perfect for educators, librarians, creative writers, and fans of middle-grade fiction who want to learn how storytelling can mirror society and spark empathy. ⏰ Timestamped Highlights 00:02 – Monster Studies & Modern Mythmaking Tricia introduces the idea of “monster studies” and how the creatures we imagine reflect the cultures that create them. 00:51 – Writing Through Chaos Claribel discusses how writing became her way to channel frustration, community care, and activism during turbulent times. 03:27 – From Pantser to Plotter How a tight outline and collaborative editing process transformed her creative flow — and how she wrote Witchlings: Scepter of Memories in just 38 days. 07:19 – Creativity in Airports and Coffee Shops Claribel explains how she trained herself to write anywhere (even mid-flight) and why she resists being “precious” about her creative rituals. 10:03 – Fandom, Feedback, and Fanfiction Balancing reader expectations while staying true to her creative North Star — and why fanfiction is a beautiful sign of connection. 13:43 – Imagination as a Muscle Advice for aspiring writers: read current books, consume youth culture, live fully, and reconnect with your playful, curious side. 17:23 – Upcoming Projects Claribel reveals her next graphic novel 30 Ways to Kill Your Avatar — an exploration of grief, gaming, and resilience. Claribel A. Ortega, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, and Pura Belpre and Eisner Award-winning author of the graphic novel Frizzy, is a former reporter who writes middle grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she's co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club and coaching authors on how to navigate publishing. Claribel has been featured on BuzzFeed, NPR, Good Morning America, and Deadline. You can find her on social media at @Claribel_Ortega and on her website at . About the Host Tricia Friedman is an educator, podcaster, and digital humanities advocate exploring how creativity, community, and technology intersect. Her shows help educators and leaders reimagine how storytelling, AI literacy, and futures thinking shape learning today. /episode/index/show/48394796-255a-4dc4-85d6-9e36d7d73c3e/id/38609665

On the future of Higher Education 10/09/2025

On the future of Higher Education Today, a college diploma is no guarantee that graduates have the competencies that businesses need, including using emerging technologies, communicating, working in teams, and other necessary skills. So, it’s fair to ask, “Do students really need a college degree”? Brandeis University President, and nationally respected higher education leader and researcher, Arthur Levine has been at the forefront of the changing role of higher education. Co-author of THE GREAT UPHEAVAL, HIGHER EDUCATIONS PAST PRESENT AND UNCERTAIN FUTURE, Levine argues that in the next 20 years, consumers of higher education will determine what higher education will be, and that every institution will have to change. Today, the United States is undergoing change of even greater magnitude and speed than it did during the Industrial Revolution as it shifts from a national, analog, industrial economy to a global, digital, knowledge economy. At the same time, public confidence in higher education has declined. Threatened by a demographic cliff in most states where fewer students will be graduating from high school over the next 20 years, the increased competition for students means that a larger number of higher education institutions will be closing or merging with other institutions. It is expected that as many as 20 to 25 percent of colleges, particularly liberal arts colleges and comprehensive regional colleges, will close in the coming years. Learn more about The Great Upheaval: New content producers and distributors will enter the higher education marketplace, driving up institutional competition and consumer choice and driving down prices. We are already seeing a proliferation of new postsecondary institutions, organizations and programs that have abandoned key elements of mainstream higher education. These emphasize digital technologies, reject time and place-based education, create low-cost degrees, adopt competency or outcome-based education, and award nontraditional credentials. Increasingly, libraries, museums, media companies and software makers have entered the marketplace, offering content, instruction and certification. Google offers 80 certificate programs and Microsoft has 77. The American Museum of Natural History has its own graduate school, which offers a Ph.D. in comparative biology, a Master of Arts degree in teaching, and short-term online courses that teachers can use for graduate study or professional development credit. The new providers are not only more accessible and convenient, offering a combination of competency- and course-based programs, they are also cheaper and more agile than traditional colleges and universities which will lead to more contraction and closings? This episode is made possible by our partner Poll Everywhere Poll Everywhere’s new version makes student engagement faster, simpler, and smarter. With AI-powered poll creation and seamless LMS integration, it’s built to transform lectures into truly interactive learning experiences. Try it out today with special promo code '25OFF' /episode/index/show/48394796-255a-4dc4-85d6-9e36d7d73c3e/id/38530440

Raghad's Second Chance Story 10/02/2025

Karam's Second Chance Story 09/24/2025

242: Abraham's Second Chance Story 09/17/2025

Step up for Second Chance this September 09/12/2025

240: Planning from hope with Ruchira Gupta 09/11/2025

239: The future and the present world of interspecies communication 09/04/2025

238: Vibe Coding for Community 08/28/2025

Why we need to talk Companion AI in schools 08/21/2025

Inventing the World: with Dylan Thuras & Jennifer Swanson 08/14/2025

The Vision Behind Brownkind With Drs. Desai 08/07/2025

Creativity can be taught with Tiffany D. Jackson 08/03/2025

Screens, Spies & Student Privacy: Gordon Korman’s Snoop for Digital Literacy 07/23/2025

Screens, Spies & Student Privacy: Gordon Korman’s Snoop for Digital Literacy If your digital‑literacy lessons feel stuck on the same old slide deck, Gordon Korman’s brand‑new novel Snoop (Scholastic Press, July 1 2025) offers a timely narrative hook. The story follows Carter, a phone‑addicted tween who—after two broken legs and zero mobility—turns police webcams into his personal feed and learns the hard way that surveillance isn’t a superpower. Teacher Take‑Aways Mirror, then Question. Use Snoop’s live‑cam plot to ask: Who controls the lens in your daily media diet? Empathy through POV. Have students rewrite a chapter from the watched classmate’s perspective to surface the ethics of surveillance. Data Literacy Mini‑Lab. Compare Carter’s police‑cam feeds to real‑world open‑data CCTV dashboards; chart what’s missing from each data set. Learn more about this week's guest: Gordon Korman is a household name in the middle grade space. With over 100 titles to his name, he’s written a book for every kind of reader in this age group—from reluctant to voracious and all the shades in between. His brand-new adventure: SNOOP is the story of a screen-obsessed boy who finds himself trapped at home—and discovers that life gets harder when screens are all you have. If Carter hadn't been checking his phone, he might have seen his brother coming down the ski slopes in his direction. And if Carter had seen his brother in time and avoided the crash, he might not have two broken legs right now. Oops. Now Carter is stuck at home for weeks, with both his legs in casts. Bored, he starts checking out the live feeds from police cams around his town. Before he knows it, he's obsessed—watching his classmates when they don't know he's looking and discovering some other very strange things going on that no one else is noticing. But what happens when Carter is found out... and the people he's watching know where he lives? SNOOP tackles finding a balance between screen-free time and being connected to the outside world. When screen-addicted Carter is forced to relate to the outside world only through screens he discovers that there’s something missing. Between being unable to stand up for himself to his classmates via Zoom to getting only part of the story through the police cameras, Carter finds that screens aren’t the perfect medium he thought they were. But he also manages to break up an illegal animal-smuggling ring and call an ambulance for a woman who unexpectedly goes into labor. The story, wisely, ends with a call for balance and moderation. As Carter says, “I took it too far. You just have to know where to draw the line.” Get your copy: Learn more about Tricia five week AI Literacy challenge: Use special promo code 'SHIFTING2025' to take $30 off by August 30th /episode/index/show/48394796-255a-4dc4-85d6-9e36d7d73c3e/id/37525180