TPP 194a: Educator and Community Activist Jason Allen on Differently Wired Students of Color
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
39 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 8 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of this episode and who is the guest?
Hey there, it's Debbie. Today's episode is a special re-release of a favorite conversation from the archives. Unless you're a longtime listener of the show, there's a good chance you haven't heard this one before. And even if you have, you just might get something completely different from it this time around.
One of the things that I have seen is that Black boys are being pushed into special education programs because of behavior. And behavior is impacted by discipline. Discipline comes from the school. This comes from policies that are normally biased because research has shown that a lot of school district behavior and discipline policies are based off of research and studies of how black boys act and perform in school. And so it's almost as if well we're creating a policy because we're making the assumption that you're going to do something wrong.
Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I'm your host, Debbie Reaver, and in this episode, I talk with Jason Allen, an Atlanta-based teacher, blogger, and community advocate with a passionate drive to improve education for black boys, as well as for increasing the number of black male educators. Yeah. One of my goals for the podcast recently is to feature more perspectives and voices of the teachers who are in the trenches, working with our differently wired kids every day. I'm also aware that across the country, students of color are underserved and under-evaluated for gifted and accelerated programs, while black boys especially tend to be over-identified with learning disabilities.
I believe so deeply that all differently wired kids should be able to thrive and feel supported. So when I came across Jason's writing online, I knew right away I wanted to bring him onto the podcast to talk about this issue and to share his perspective as an educator. In our conversation, Jason tells us about his experiences as a teacher and administrator over the past fifteen years, how his own learning differences influence his teaching and approach to his students, as well as his insights for improving educational outcomes for differently wired kids of color and black boys in particular. This is a profoundly important topic within the differently wired community and deserves attention and understanding.
I hope you get a lot out of this conversation. And a few quick announcements before I get to that. If you haven't seen it yet, I invite you to check out the newest section of Tilt Parenting's website, Tilt Education. On Tilt Education, you'll find the largest and still growing listing of schools for neurodivergent learners available, featuring personal testimonials from parents who have firsthand knowledge of the schools to better help parents trying to find a fit for their child with their decision-making process. Yeah. You'll also find a discussion guide for differently wired for use with PTAs and reading groups, a playlist of education related episodes, and also a section just for educators. And now here is my conversation with Jason.
Hello, Jason. Welcome to the podcast.
Hello, thank you for having me.
Well, I'm really glad to have your voice in this conversation. When I reached out to you, I think I mentioned that though this podcast is primarily for parents, I have a goal of doing more conversations that can be shared with educators as well and just talking about the education system. And I wanted to get your perspective 'cause I I found you online in some of your blog posts which were really powerful. And so I just thank you for coming on to the show.
Oh wow. Well thank you so much for your words. And um I look forward to sharing some of the best practices that I use in my classroom and also uh being a former family engagement specialist, um things that I do to also engage my parents in the learning process.
Well, be as a way to get into this, I always ask people to as a way of sharing who they are in the world to also talk a little bit about their personal why s for doing the work that they do.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the purpose of this episode and who is the guest?
0:00–5:39
2
How does Jason Allen describe the biggest challenges Black boys face in traditional schools?
5:39–10:42
3
What school‑level policies and disciplinary practices push Black students into special education?
10:42–15:50
4
Which classroom strategies does Jason use to keep differently‑wired students engaged and learning?
15:50–21:02
5
How does family and community involvement improve outcomes for Black learners?
21:02–25:44
6
What systemic changes and advocacy does Jason suggest for equity in gifted and special‑education programs?
25:44–30:06
7
What mindset shift does Jason recommend teachers adopt to better support differently wired kids of color?
30:06–34:30
8
Where can listeners find Jason Allen’s writing and additional resources mentioned in the show?
34:30–39:52
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids