Education for Sustainable Democracy
This show explores how we can prepare the next generation for informed civic engagement, environmental stewardship, and the development of a more just and peaceful world. Host Brett Levy is a researcher of civic and environmental education and an associate professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Episodes feature interviews with leaders, innovators, and scholars in civic and environmental education. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, or listen from your computer. For information about upcoming episodes, guests, and more, please visit www.esdpodcast.org. Thank you!
- Update frequency
- every 30 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 30
- Years Active
- 2022 - 2025
Discussing Immigration in a High School Classroom, with Zorielle Rodriguez-Alcazar (Peekskill High School & University at Albany, SUNY)
In today’s environment, how should teachers help students understand immigration? How can they create a classroom culture in which students can discuss these kinds of highly sensitive and personal co…
Best of ESD: Online Technologies to Enhance Student Learning: Possibilities & Perils, with Dan Krutka (University of North Texas)
How can technology enhance students' engagement in classroom learning? When are technologies helpful, and when are they harmful?
In this episode, I talk to Dr. Dan Krutka, associate professor of soci…
Current Events Instruction in Early 2025, with Kyle Dalton (Lansingburgh High School, New York)
In classrooms around the country and beyond, teachers and students are navigating how to discuss the quick and often surprising actions of our current federal administration. How can and how should t…
Integrating Sustainability Principles into Higher Education, with Emily Affolter and Pavel Cenkl (Prescott College)
How can educators create more holistic learning experiences for students? How can higher education better prepare students to become active civic participants? In this episode, Brett speaks with two …
Best of ESD: Building a Coalition for Civic Education, with Michael Rebell (Teachers College, Columbia University & Democracy Ready New York)
We all know that we could be doing a better job preparing young people for civic participation – and government officials and the public largely agree, but few organizations focus primarily on addres…
How Did They Feel?: Teaching about Emotions in African-American History, with Brittany Jones (University at Buffalo, SUNY)
Educators around the country have been increasingly interested in expanding the teaching of African-American history, and many resources have been created to help. At the same time, scholars have beg…
Teaching Elections while Supporting Open-Minded Political Engagement
How can we teach about elections in ways that support students' political engagement and also strengthen their willingness to consider diverse perspectives? In this episode, Brett draws on his own re…
Best of ESD: Teaching Elections & Modeling Political Tolerance, with Wayne Journell (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
This is a rebroadcast of an interview with Professor Wayne Journell about teaching elections, recorded in 2020.
How should educators teach about elections? How can they maximize student learning, fos…
Straightforward Election Teaching in 2024, with Dan Hornick (Ballston Spa High School, New York)
How should secondary school teachers help their student learn about the election during this heated political moment? In this episode, Brett speaks to Dan Hornick, who teaches high school government …
Parenting for Good Citizenship, with Lindsey Cormack (Stevens Institute of Technology)
As the central adults in children’s lives, what should be the role of parents in creating well-informed and active civic participants? This episode's guest wrote a book to help answer that question. …
Bridging Political Divides Among Youth, with Mary Hunt and Brett Levy (University at Albany, SUNY)
How can young people living in vastly different communities learn to understand each others' political perspectives? The Youth Civic Connections Project aims to answer that question. This episode exp…
Best of ESD: Creating Inclusive Environments and Curricula for LGBTQ+ Youth, with Marc Lewis (R.J. Grey Junior High, Acton MA)
How can educators create inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ youth? To explore this question, Brett speaks to a veteran middle school social studies teacher in Massachusetts, Marc Lewis, who has been e…
Best of ESD: Learning about Election Integrity, with Tom Connolly and Brendan Lovullo (NYS Board of Elections) and Meghan Cook (Center for Technology in Government)
How do we ensure that elections are free and fair? For the past few years, we’ve heard more and more false claims about stolen elections, but the truth is that our election systems are very well-mana…
Best of ESD: Democracy Prep Charter Schools, with Rashid Duroseau (Civics Program Director, Democracy Prep Public Schools)
What if a school made preparation for democracy its central goal? That’s what Democracy Prep tries to do - not in just one school but in many. This charter school network includes 24 schools in five …
Best of ESD: Teaching Elections & Modeling Political Tolerance, with Wayne Journell (University of North Carolina at Greensboro)
This is a rebroadcast of an interview with Professor Wayne Journell about teaching elections, recorded in 2020.
How should educators teach about elections? How can they maximize student learning, fos…
Maximizing Youth Voter Registration, with Laura Brill (The Civics Center)
We have millions of young people in school every year who become eligible to register during their time in school, but there are few mechanisms in place to get them registered. Laura Brill is startin…
Lateral Reading & Other Media Literacy Skills, with Sarah McGrew (University of Maryland)
In today’s media environment, there’s no shortage of information and disinformation – so how do we know if we’re being misled? How can young people know? The ability to tell fact from fiction is vita…
Best of ESD: Guiding Productive Political Discussions, with Diana Hess (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
What do students learn when they discuss controversial political issues? What are the benefits and limitations? How can teachers guide these discussions and maintain a positive classroom environment?…
Civic Education during a Democratic Crisis, with Walter Parker (University of Washington, Seattle)
How should educators prepare youth for democratic participation at a moment when democracy itself seems so fragile? For ESD's third anniversary episode, Walter Parker, professor emeritus at the Unive…
Creating "Brave Spaces" for Learning, with Dr. Kewsi Burgess (Hackett Middle School, Albany, NY)
How can literacy learning support civic engagement? How can educators best support the literacy learning of young African-American males? On this episode, Brett speaks with Kewsi Burgess, a veteran m…