In this touching episode, we center the voice of middle school student leader Karime Reyes who helped to spearhead a radical redesign of her school’s first week last August. In conversation with Peer Resource class teacher Tamar Sberlo, Karime brings insight and depth to what students really want in a classroom, what it means to belong, and how it felt to be part of a school transformation process. We also get a window into Tamar’s “low control” teaching style and the ways she strives to give learners choice and voice. Walk with us as we enter the world of MLK Jr Middle School in San Francisco and see the Street Data model come to life!

For Further Learning: 

Watch Sir Ken Robinson’s mind-blowing video (~12 minutes) on “Changing Education Paradigms” to situate the conversation with Tamar and Karime in a historical context. Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools by Glenn E Singleton For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education by Chris Emdin