"Send me a Text Message!"

Grades shape futures, but do they measure what a student actually knows—or how well they play the points game? I take a hard look at why traditional grading often blends behavior, compliance, and access to resources with academic mastery, creating signals that mislead families, fuel bias, and widen gaps. Drawing on current research and classroom experience, I break down how equitable grading centers learning with proportional scales, retakes, and a focus on recent performance, making grades more accurate, bias-resistant, and motivating.

I walk through the mechanics: moving from 0–100 to 0–4 to avoid the punishing weight of zeros, separating soft skills from academic evidence, and building transparency with standards-aligned rubrics and simplified gradebooks. You’ll hear how these shifts reduce Ds and Fs, lower classroom stress, and strengthen trust between teachers and students. I also address the pushback—fears of lowered standards, confusion about change, and top-down mandates—and explain why clear communication and collaborative rollout matter more than ever.

For parents and caregivers, I offer a practical script to start a productive conversation with teachers: ask for their grade meaning statement, review how mastery is determined, and clarify how retakes and recent learning are weighed. For educators and leaders, I highlight steps to align on what a grade should mean, report mastery consistently, and coach soft skills without hiding them inside letter grades. If grades are a compass, accuracy is non-negotiable—and equity is the calibration that makes the compass point true North.

Subscribe, share with a friend who cares about fair grading, and leave a review with your take: Should grades measure learning, behavior, or both?

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Support the show

• Thanks for listening! For more information about the show, episodes, and ways to support, check out these websites: https://k12educationinsights.buzzsprout.com or https: //www.liberationthrougheducation.com/podcast
• Subscribe on Buzzsprout to receive a shout out on an upcoming episode
• You can also support me with ratings, kind words of encouragement, and by sharing this podcast with friends and family
• Contact me with any specific questions you have at: kim@liberationthrougheducation.com

"Send me a Text Message!"

Books are quietly disappearing from American classrooms, and kids are paying the price. I dig into why excerpts have replaced full-length novels and plays, how that shift affects comprehension and attention, and what it means for students who deserve a rich, inclusive literacy diet. Drawing on research and classroom realities, I unpack the tension between teaching to high-stakes tests and building the deeper reading stamina that colleges and life demand.

I also relate the quality of the texts that middle school and high school students are reading to the surge in book bans. The numbers are stark: thousands of titles challenged or pulled, most often those by or about people of color and LGBTQ+ communities. That censorship doesn’t just limit shelves; it narrows imaginations, erases "mirrors and windows," and undermines the democratic promise of education. Finally, I connect the dots between policy, politics, and practice, and I talk plainly about who gets silenced when story choices are made out of fear.

This conversation isn’t just a diagnosis; it’s a roadmap for the future. I outline a balanced approach that pairs short texts with sustained reading of entire novels, plays, and nonfiction works. I share specific steps parents and educators can take: form curriculum committees, map reading across grades, set clear targets for long-form works, and advocate for diverse authors. If you’re ready to help your child become a stronger reader and protect inclusive libraries, you’ll leave with practical tools and a sense of agency.

Subscribe for weekly episodes, share this one with a friend who cares about K-12 literacy, and leave a comment on our site to tell me what you’re seeing in your schools. Your voice matters—join me and help keep whole books and inclusive stories within every student’s reach.

Love my show? Consider being a regular subscriber! Just go to https://tinyurl.com/podcastsupport.

Support the show

• Thanks for listening! For more information about the show, episodes, and ways to support, check out these websites: https://k12educationinsights.buzzsprout.com or https: //www.liberationthrougheducation.com/podcast
• Subscribe on Buzzsprout to receive a shout out on an upcoming episode
• You can also support me with ratings, kind words of encouragement, and by sharing this podcast with friends and family
• Contact me with any specific questions you have at: kim@liberationthrougheducation.com

"Send me a Text Message!"

If middle school feels too early to think about life after high school, the data says otherwise. I explore why so many classrooms lack career-connected learning, how this fuels anxiety and disengagement, and what it takes to match a child’s natural aptitudes with real-world opportunities. From the sharp drop in four-year college plans to the rise of non-degree pathways, I trace the shifts families are navigating and share tools to turn uncertainty into momentum.

I walk through a practical roadmap: start with aptitude discovery around age 14, layer in interest exploration, and add hands-on experiences like job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, and service learning. You’ll hear why durable skills—teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, flexibility—show up in most job postings and how students build them through real projects, not worksheets. I also look at what schools, employers, and policymakers can do right now: expand access to personalized assessments, integrate career relevance into core classes, invest in work-based learning, and create flexible schedules that let students learn at job sites and in labs.

Parents remain the biggest influence, so I share candid guidance for starting early, asking better questions at school, and using Edtech to fill gaps when programs are missing. By connecting strengths to in-demand roles, students shift from passing tests to pursuing purpose. The goal is simple and urgent: help every student graduate with both a diploma and a resume—confident, informed, and ready to choose college, training, work, or service with clarity.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s planning their child’s path, and leave a quick review to help more families find these insights. Your feedback shapes future episodes.

Love my show? Consider being a regular subscriber! Just go to https://tinyurl.com/podcastsupport.

Support the show

• Thanks for listening! For more information about the show, episodes, and ways to support, check out these websites: https://k12educationinsights.buzzsprout.com or https: //www.liberationthrougheducation.com/podcast
• Subscribe on Buzzsprout to receive a shout out on an upcoming episode
• You can also support me with ratings, kind words of encouragement, and by sharing this podcast with friends and family
• Contact me with any specific questions you have at: kim@liberationthrougheducation.com