WBTV-LP

Welcome to Back to Freedom Schools, ongoing conversations about education equity in the State of Vermont with your host, Infinite.

There is nothing like a global pandemic to peel back some of the layers that cover up the racial and social inequities in our state and country. As our public schools face this dilemma head on, the situation on the ground remains way more complicated than the policy and political debates about getting back to “normal”.

Our friend Kathleen Kesson reminds us, “It is human nature to want to “get back to normal” following a crisis of great magnitude, to restore a sense of stability. But what if, she asks, (so-called) “normal” forms of social, economic, and ecological behaviors are themselves at the root of the crisis?”

Now that we are dominated by logistical and “safety” concerns, priorities have shifted away from addressing the inequities that existed in our public school system before COVID 19.

In this program, some of the topics we cover will fall under the broad umbrella of ‘education equity,’ including areas like school finance and curriculum, with special attention being given to racial equity, literacy, and of course, decolonizing education systems.

Thank you for listening.