It’s our first episode of the 2021-22 season.  We’re talking about Stand and Deliver, the true story of high school teacher Jaime Escalante who finds himself teaching math in East LA. He finds a group of students who find his less-than conventional teaching methods to be inspiring and he takes them all the was to AP Calculus. When they all successfully pass the AP Exam, their scores are challenged because of their ethnic surnames and they are forced to retake the exam with only one day to prepare.  No spoiler here. but they did make a movie about it, so . . .  The Real Life Escalante once said that this movie was “90% truth and 10% drama.”  Both Edward James Olmos (Escalante) and Lou Diamond Phillips (Angel Guzman) received Academy Award Nominations for their performances. In this episode we talk about systemic racism, the dubious value of AP Courses, “Cholo” Culture, inner city schools, and the questionable role of “teacher as hero.”

We’re back!  After our pandemic hiatus, it felt great to be back in the studio to record Episode Six. Coming off of one of the craziest elections seasons in American history, we made the obvious choice.  Election was released in 1999 and starred Matthew Broderick as Jim McAllister, a high school civics teacher, and Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick, an overachieving student running unopposed for school president.  If only Mr. McAllister hadn’t despised Tracy Flick so much, things might have turned out differently. But instead we experience a high school election season like none other. If you are already missing the election of 2020, then dive into Election and then listen as we explore high school elections, morals, ethics and so much more!

You watched the movie, you listened to the podcast, and now it’s time to listen to the B-Side from Rushmore. Carla sits down with Greg Bamford for an extended interview. If you’re completely lost, go back and listen to full episode of Rushmore, and then listen to this. It’ll make more sense.

If there is one thing Max Fischer loves, it’s his prep school Rushmore.  “I guess you’ve just gotta find something you love to do and then… do it for the rest of your life. For me, it’s going to Rushmore.”Although he is the king of extracurriculars, has the ear of the administration, and befriends a wealthy industrialist parent, Herman Blume,  Max is on Sudden Death Academic Probation.  According to his headmaster, “Too many extracurriculars, Max,  and not enough studying.” When Max falls for first grade teacher, Rosemary Cross, and becomes embroiled with a love triangle with Cross and Blume, his beloved Rushmore is threatened.  Join Carla and Bill as we talk about Wes Anderson’s film, Rushmore. Special Guest, L+D Co-Founder, Greg Bamford, joins us this month.

If you ever went to school – so basically everyone –  you knew a pack of Mean Girls.  Gretchen Wieners, Karen Smith and the ultimate Queen Bee, Regina George, rule the school. They wear pink on Wednesdays and are SO Fetch.  When homeschooled Cady Heron moves from Africa to the Chicago suburbs, she becomes “mainschooled” and becomes entangled with the Plastics – both alluring and repellant all at the same time.  This 2004 film, written by Tina Fey, was an instant classic and now a Broadway Show. Join Carla and Bill as they talk about this school movie and all the mean-ness that girls can bring.  It’s about status. One day you are on top and the next day you are a social outcast.  It’s girl world and anything can happen. Listen on Wednesday.  Wear Pink. You can sit with us!

You watched the movie, you listened to the podcast, and now it’s time to listen to the B-Side from Remember the Titans. We sit down with Issac Vaughn for an extended interview. If you’re completely lost, go back and listen to full episode of Remember the Titans, and then listen to this. It’ll make more sense.

Based (oh, so very loosely) on the real events of the  T.C Williams high school football team in Alexandria, Virginia during 1971 as the school is integrated.  Black and white football players are forced to play together AND get to know each other as human beings.  This is a story about leadership  through change and also about how school is often a place where students experience huge social change.  Denzel Washington stars as the hard-ass Coach Boone.  Ryan Gosling, in his early, awkward days, can’t be missed.  If you ever had a coach who taught you about much more than just “the game” then take a couple of hours to watch this movie (free now on Disney +) and then join us as we talk about it.  Because that is what we do; we talk about movies that talk about schools. Our guest this month is our friend Issac Vaughn, the Senior VP of business operations at Zenefits, Trustee emeritus at Hillbrook School, and a terrific storyteller.  Issac shares his stories of playing football at Lincoln High School in San Francisco before he became the first (and last) African American QB at Santa Clara University.  You’ll want to hear the full B-sides interview later this month! Side note: Lots of people talk about the soundtrack of this movie.  You can listen to it here on Spotify. Thank us later.

You watched the movie, you listened to the podcast, and now it’s time to listen to the B-Side from Dead Poets Society. Carla sits down with Joe Romano for an extended interview. If you’re completely lost, go back and listen to full episode of Dead Poets Society, and then listen to this. It’ll make more sense.

If you are a teacher today, there is probably a small part of you that wanted to be as inspiring and passionate as John Keating.  And if you were a student – ever – you probably yearned for a teacher who stood on desks, encouraged you to rip pages out of the text book, and enticed you to read poetry in dark caves.  Join Bill and Carla for a walk through Dead Poets Society as we discuss these and many other questions: * Was John Keating responsible for the death of Neil Perry?* Was he a “progressive” educator?* Is there such a thing as “pedagogical charisma”?* How is it that nobody ever smells the cigarette smoke in the dorm rooms?* Is standing on desks an essential quality for inspiring teachers? Not everybody loved this movie, including Roger Ebert who wrote “Dead Poets Society” is a collection of pious platitudes masquerading as a courageous stand in favor of something: doing your own thing, I think.”  You can read his full review of the movie here.  Kevin Dettmar, English Professor at Pomona College, composed an inspired hate letter to the movie in the Atlantic Monthly in 2014 writing, “I’ve never hated a film quite the way I hate Dead Poets Society.” What do you think about the film?  Take a watch,  then tune in as we discuss the good, bad, ugly and ridiculous of Dead Poets Society in Episode 02! And. . . be sure to watch the SNL parody, Farewell, Mr. Bunting, if you have an extra few minutes.  Gruesome but hilarious. If you want to hear the full, unedited interview with Joe Romano, listen below!

Welcome to our first official episode! And there was no debate on our pick to kick off  this podcast. It’s spring in Chicago and Ferris Bueller opens his shades, peers out at a glorious blue sky and asks, “How could I possibly be expected to handle school on a day like this?” Thus begins his adventure – a day off of school with his best friend, Cameron, and girl friend, Sloane. The 1985 John Hughes film, which portrays high school as pointless, dull, and filled with adults who are unimaginative buffoons, was an instant cult classic. So join us,  Bill and Carla, as we relive the moments you loved and talk about Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Never seen the movie?  (Have you been living in a cave under a rock?) Here is the original trailer. Carla mentions swooning over Matthew Broderick, having seen him perform the previous summer in Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. Here is her signed program that she has save for 35 years.