Why does school so often feel like the opposite of learning?
When schools set out to address systemic issues, they frequently reach for what Lauren Porosoff calls “compensatory programs”: wellness kits, diversity posters, and isolated professional development workshops layered on top of existing structures. These efforts signal a commitment to belonging and wellbeing without fundamentally changing how students and teachers actually spend their time, and they often create new problems in the process.
In this conversation, Porosoff examines why institutions gravitate toward these surface-level interventions, how they backfire, and why their very superficiality leaves them so vulnerable to criticism. The alternative is not another add-on, but a rethinking of how school uses the time and attention of everyone inside it.
Guest Information
Lauren Porosoff spent nearly two decades as a middle school humanities teacher and served as a diversity coordinator and grade-level team leader. She writes at theteachernerd.com and is the author of Teach for Authentic Engagement (ASCD).
Show Notes & Recommendations
- Jailbreak Your PD
- The Trouble with Compensatory Programs
- The Grammar of Inclusive Instructional Design
- Teach for Authentic Engagement (ASCD)