Public education is living in a strange moment. Polls show trust and confidence in our K–12 system at an all-time low — a record 26% of Americans believe schools are headed in the right direction. And yet every day, inside classrooms across the country, teachers are pouring themselves into kids with everything they’ve got.
In this episode, we sit inside that tension: why the public perception has dipped so sharply, what stories are being told about schools, and what realities are actually unfolding inside them.
We also explore the deep and often unspoken ocean between people and curriculum. On one shore sits content: standards, pacing guides, expectations, academic rigor. On the other shore stand the humans: students carrying invisible weight, teachers navigating burnout, leaders trying to steer ships in choppy waters.
Joined by Dr. Polikoff, a professor at the University of Southern California whose expertise includes K-12 education policy, curriculum, standards, accountability and survey research methods, we wrestle with the why behind the public’s dissatisfaction and, more importantly, what can be done. We discuss what schools can control, what they should rethink, and how leaders might rebuild trust through clarity, connection, and communication.
If you’ve ever felt caught in the riptide between doing what the curriculum demands and what a student needs in that moment, or if you’ve wondered how we restore faith in public education, this conversation aims to offer both candor and hope.
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Show Sponsors:Schurtz and Ties is a proud partner with TeachBetter.com:
“The Teach Better Podcast Network is dedicated to supporting the entire school ecosystem through in-depth conversations around topics you care about. Covering a variety of areas in education, each podcast aims to support educators in creating and maintaining a progressive, student-focused classroom.”
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