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Past Events

  • The Right to Vote and the Future of American Democracy

    January 9, 2019

    THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED


    Today, American democracy is in crisis, and voter suppression is at the center of that crisis. There is ample evidence that it has been used to thwart the democratic will of “we the people” in a different states and in a number of recent elections. Our panel gathers not to belabor the self-evident – that voter suppression is morally wrong and injurious to democracy – but to discuss, from a variety of perspectives, what we should be doing to end it.

  • The 2018 Elections: What Do They Mean for American Education?

    November 27, 2018

    What are the implications of the results of the 2018 election for American education, in Washington D.C,. in state capitols and in the nation’s schools and classrooms? From a variety of perspectives ranging from political actor to scholar, our panelists will address this question. Speakers: Domingo Morel assistant professor, political science, Rutgers University; visiting scholar, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University; Michael Petrilli, president, Thomas B. Fordham Institute; research fellow, Stanford University's Hoover Institution; executive editor, Education Next; distinguished senior fellow, Education Commission of the States; Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers and Albert Shanker Institute. Moderator: Michelle Ringuette, assistant to the president for labor, government & political affairs, American Federation of Teachers. Watch the video.

  • The Challenge for Business and Society Book Discussion and Reception with Stanley Litow

    October 2, 2018

    October 2, 2018, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, 555 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. Discussant: Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teacher and the Albert Shanker Institute. More information and Registration.

  • Striking to Survive: Workers Resistance to Factory Relocation in China

    September 28, 2018

    Friday, September 28, 10:00 to 11:30 am, 555 New Jersey Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. book discussion with authors and labor activists Fin Shigang and Li Wen. More information and registration.

  • How To Create A More Collaborative Workplace For Teachers

    September 20, 2018

    Join Public Agenda and the Albert Shanker Institute for a free 1-hour webinar on Thursday, Sept. 20 to explore how educators can work together to foster collaboration among teachers. To register and receive updates leading up to the event, please click here.

  • Charter School Expansion & the Viability of Public Education

    May 9, 2018

    There is vital economic dimension to the American promise of a free, quality pubic education for all of its youth. In its simplest aspect, government needs to provide adequate funding to public schools. As the recent wave of teacher strikes and protests have highlighted, many states are far from meeting that basic obligation. A more complex economic aspect is how government funds are distributed and used. The growth of charter schools, and the resultant diversion of public funds from public district schools to charter schools, had added a new element in the distribution and use of public funds, raising a series of questions. From a variety of perspectives and grounded in studies in different states, our panel addressed these issues.  Watch the video.

  • Conversations 2017-2018

    April 23, 2018

    Co-sponsored by the Albert Shanker Institute and the American Federation of Teachers.

  • Teaching in Context Book Reception at AERA 2018

    April 15, 2018

    Teaching in Context book reception at the American Education Research Association annual meeting, Sunday April 15, 2018, 6:30-8:00 p.m., New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, 1535 Broadway, Astor Ballroom, New York NY. More information and registration.

  • Academic Freedom in an Age of Political Polarization

    March 14, 2018

    Academic freedom is best understood, John Dewey once wrote, as freedom of education: the freedom of students to learn the knowledge and skills of citizenship in a democratic society and the freedom of teachers to teach in ways that cultivate these skills and knowledge. As such, academic freedom is not only indispensable for the educational mission of the university, but vital to the safeguarding of freedom in the larger society. Dewey’s vision of academic freedom as a public good, essential for democracy itself to flourish, has come under attack in recent years. In a hyper-partisan moment, when issues as different as climate change and gun violence have been crudely polarized and politicized, academic freedom too has been targeted by those who believe that the university should not be teaching critical and independent thinking, but propagating a particular political ideology. Provocateurs now use public events to spark disruption, initiate violence and attack intellectual diversity on campus, rather than engaging in productive dialogue and mutual learning. From a variety of different perspectives, our panel addressed the issues raised by the need to defend academic freedom in an age of political polarization. Watch the video.

  • Israel-US Conversation You Haven't Heard Before

    March 6, 2018

    Israeli social justice activist and trade unionist Rami Hod discussed how the citizens of the United States and Israel can work together to help build a broad movement for progressive change. Watch the video.

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