Centering the Rising Generation: Dr. Janice Jackson on Screens, AI, and the Future of Schooling
Are screen bans solving the right problem, or just creating new ones? Host Mike Palmer welcomes Dr. Janice Jackson, Executive Director of the Education & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and former CEO of Chicago Public Schools, for a conversation that trades hyperbole for nuance. Janice traces her path from CPS history teacher and debate coach to superintendent, then to founder of Hope Chicago, and now to Aspen. There she helps lead the new Rising Generations Strategy Group, a cross-sector, cross-partisan, intergenerational effort that puts young people at the center of the conversation, not just on the input list.
Janice draws a clear line between phones in classrooms (ban them) and technology that augments learning (hold it accountable). She makes the equity case against blanket bans, calls for digital literacy over prohibition, and pushes the edtech industry to prove efficacy. The two dig into several threads:
> Aspen’s first convening, where students opened with four provocations.
> An “AI Futures” exercise weighing risk and opportunity.
> Declining trust in institutions.
> The role of state policy, like Illinois’ new AI legislation.
> A powerful lesson from Hope Chicago: getting help isn’t cheating, it’s what advantaged students have always done. If technology can level that playing field, we should embrace it.
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Resources Mentioned:
- Aspen Institute Education & Society Program
- Rising Generation Strategy Group
- Hope Chicago
- Dr. Jackson on The Education Equation with Jeremy Singer
- Edelman Trust Barometer
- Bellwether’s responsible AI framework
- Digital Promise
- ISTE
- Kim Smith, The Learner Studio
Timestamps:
- 🕙 00:00 — Introduction: Welcoming Dr. Janice Jackson.
- 🕙 00:50 — Origin Story: From CPS history teacher to superintendent, Hope Chicago, and Aspen.
- 🕙 03:15 — The Rising Generation Strategy Group: Cross-sector, cross-partisan, and youth-centered.
- 🕙 04:30 — The Equity Risk: Why quick screen bans can lock students out.
- 🕙 06:00 — Phones vs. Edtech: Doom scrolling isn’t the same as learning.
- 🕙 08:00 — The Land of Hyperbole: Bringing parents and young people into the debate.
- 🕙 10:00 — Digital Literacy: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- 🕙 11:00 — Students First: Aspen’s convening and the Center for Rising Generations.
- 🕙 14:00 — Trust Architecture: Gap-widening vs. gap-narrowing technology.
- 🕙 15:00 — AI Futures: Mapping risks and opportunities together.
- 🕙 17:00 — The Trust Deficit: What the Edelman Trust Barometer tells us.
- 🕙 19:00 — Guardrails: Government’s role and state-level AI policy.
- 🕙 21:30 — Resources: Digital Promise, ISTE, and vetting edtech tools.
- 🕙 23:30 — Advice: Be authentic, keep kids first, hone your craft.
- 🕙 25:30 — Help-Seeking: Lessons from Hope Chicago on AI and “cheating.”
- 🕙 28:30 — Final Thoughts: Join the conversation on the purpose of schooling.
