Courageous Conversations About Our Schools

In this episode, Ken Futernick sits down with Mike Walsh—widely known across California education circles as a master human connector—to explore how schools can build trust, strengthen relationships, and create communities where both adults and students truly belong.

Drawing on decades of experience as a school board leader, facilitator, and student advocate, Walsh shares how meaningful change doesn’t begin with answers, but with be...

When the pandemic struck Reading, Pennsylvania, its school system was already under enormous strain. The Reading School District—the poorest in the state—served 16,000 students, many of whom faced daunting barriers long before COVID arrived. Hundreds were homeless. Thousands stopped showing up to class. Teachers and principals were stretched thin. Community trust was low. And after years of missed opportunities and stalled reforms,...

In Part 1, we heard how Reading, Pennsylvania, began to turn outward—listening to families, students, and educators to rethink what their school system could be. In Part 2, we see what happened when a new mindset and civic culture shifted from data gathering and healthy conversation to concrete action.

Host Ken Futernick and Rich Harwood, founder of the Harwood Institute, return to trace three major initiatives that are reshaping li...

What would make someone leave a thirty–year career on Wall Street to help heal America’s divides? In this episode of Courageous Conversations About Our Schools, host Ken Futernick talks with Adam Mizel, former investment banker turned bridge-builder, who co-founded US United to strengthen communities and classrooms through empathy, respect, and dialogue.

When George Floyd was killed, Adam found himself shouting at the television—unt...

In a live, online discussion we co-hosted with Braver Angels on September 4th, 2025, eight panelists discussed whether Ethnic Studies should be required for high school graduation, whether such a course should even be offered at all, or whether the content is likely to do more harm than good. 

Nearly 200 audience members from across the country listened in and posed questions as panelists shared their views and personal experiences,...

Should high school students be required to take an Ethnic Studies course? Should such a course even be offered at all, or is the content likely to do more harm than good? These were the questions that a diverse group of panelists discussed in a live, online “fishbowl” discussion we co-hosted with Braver Angels on September 4th, 2025.

Nearly 200 audience members from across the country listened in and posed questions as panelists sha...

In this timely conversation, attorney Leo Tucker shares his expertise on preparing schools and communities for immigration enforcement actions that could separate children from their families. As executive director of Aid (Aiding Survivors of Trafficking and Child Abuse), Tucker has developed a comprehensive, free guide called "Preparing for ICE Raids" that helps schools create rapid response plans to protect vulnerable s...

In this episode, host Ken Futernick speaks with James Coan, founder of More Like US, along with high school students Landon and Deegan, about perception gaps in American society.

James explains how perception gaps are the exaggerated negative views we hold about people with different political beliefs. Research shows Americans across the political spectrum are actually more similar than they realize, but media, social platforms, and...

In this Courageous Conversation, host Ken Futernick and Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of History of Education at the University of Pennsylvania, delve into the heated debates surrounding American schooling. They explore the historical roots of compulsory education, analyze the recent Supreme Court ruling (Mahmoud v. Taylor) on opt-outs for LGBTQ+-friendly texts, and discuss the rise of unregulated homeschooling. Zimmerman sha...

In this episode, host Ken Futernick sits down with Bruce Wasser, a former history teacher whose life story is as inspiring as his teaching career. Bruce shares his poignant journey from being a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War to becoming a beloved educator who had a profound impact on his students. Listen as Bruce recounts the pivotal moments that shaped his life, including the influence of his high school basketball ...

This story starts with a bag of shoes that helped a school community heal after the tragic deaths of two students. That story blossomed into a unique project called the “Shoe Club” that fosters empathy and breaks barriers in a Michigan middle school. The founder of the club and guest on this episode is Matt Hamilton, a 2025 Horace Mann and NEA Award-winning teacher from East Jordan Public Schools in Michigan.

The Club has gotten nat...

How many of us would have the courage to have a conversation with someone who hates us? My guest, Daryl Davis, has done just that, not once, but for decades, with members of the Ku Kluz Klan and other hate groups, and many have renounced their ideology after getting to know him. A Black musician, Davis shares his unbelievable story driven by one powerful question: "How can you hate me when you don't even know me?" Pr...

This episode is part of our series on our sister podcast, Teacher Stories, on what schools can do to help save our democracy. Guests include Dr. Marvin W. Berkowitz, McDonnell Professor of Character Education at the Center for Character Education and Citizenship at the University of Missouri at St. Louis, and Dr. Kashina Bell, Deputy Superintendent for the School District of University City in St. Louis, Missouri. Both talk about c...

American democracy cannot survive without well-functioning schools that enable students to become good citizens and that teach them to appreciate what it means to live under a system whose only boss are the people themselves. That’s the claim my guest Brook Manville makes in his new book, The Civic Bargain – How Democracies Survive. 

 In this wide-ranging conversation about civic education, Manville says schools must cultivate “civi...

Curiosity has been a common theme in this podcast. Conflict experts like my guests Amanda Ripley, Monica Guzman, and Peter Coleman say being curious and less judgmental is often a better way out of toxic conflict than making stronger arguments or presenting more facts. And, as we heard from our recent guest, Tim Shriver, it’s a much better alternative than treating one’s adversaries with contempt, which often makes matters worse. “...

In our previous episode (Ep. 36), Tim Shriver America’s widening political and social divides are, surprisingly, not due to our differences. “We’ve always had differences,” he says, “Contempt is the problem.” Shriver explains why treating others with dignity is more likely to produce the results we want and why contempt usually does the opposite.  He and his colleagues created the Dignity Index to help us recognize the various ways...

Tim Shriver is a member of the Kennedy family, Chairman of Special Olympics International, co-founder of UNITE, and a former teacher. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Ken Futernick, Shriver describes a tool he co-created called the Dignity Index, and he describes how educators are using it to address our widening political and social divides. “We built it because there's an issue in our culture, in our families, in ...

School mission statements across the county commonly included language about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI training for educators was also common. But that’s changed in recent years as school culture wars erupted around the books students have access to: how students learn about history, race, and gender identity, and anything that smacks of “woke” ideology.  DEI, as perceived by its advocates, is a unifying concept, but be...

One would think that schools are the perfect place for students to learn about elections. What better opportunity to use the critical thinking skills they’ve learned in making sense of what the candidates are saying and to distinguish credible information from what they often encounter on social and mainstream media? These skills would certainly serve them well after the election when there are sure to be protests, claims, and coun...