Raising Awareness of K12 Book Bans with Heather Harding
Heather Harding, Ed.D., is the Executive Director of the Campaign for Our Shared Future (COSF). She joins host Mike Palmer in a conversation about the recent wave of book bans that have rolled out across the US over the past few years and the work that she and team are doing to counter this.
We begin by hearing Heather’s origin story as a teacher in rural North Carolina for Teach for America where she taught middle school and high school in underserved communities. Since then, her mission has been to improve educational opportunities for all children, regardless of their class, color, or neighborhood. We learn how she gained experience in non-profits and philanthropic work, before joining COSF to help raise awareness and drive towards positive outcomes in defense of academic freedom in K12. We highlight the heroic efforts of school librarians and others defending free expression and literacy across the nation before digging into the work being done with the Let America Read campaign. As we wrap up, Heather shares her advice for folks who want to get involved to help turn the tide on this critical issue. Don’t miss this deep dive into a troubling trend that is cascading across our nation’s classrooms.
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