The Quiet Dismantling of Texas Public Schools, with Dan Dawer

Texas has taken over more school districts than any other state in the country, and a majority of those takeovers have happened in the last ten years under Governor Greg Abbott and Education Commissioner Mike Morath. The official story is accountability. The real story, according to this week's guest, is the construction of an entirely new model for public education in Texas, one designed to be cheaper, more regimented, and built on a workforce of uncertified, inexperienced teachers reading from scripted curriculum.

Marc sits down with Dan Dawer, a former classroom teacher of 11 years and a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin, whose dissertation research has put him on the ground inside the Houston ISD takeover for nearly four years. Dan has interviewed close to 140 stakeholders across the district and has emerged with one of the most comprehensive views of what state takeovers actually do to communities, students, and teachers.

This conversation covers:

. Why the research overwhelmingly shows takeovers do not improve student outcomes, and which communities they disproportionately target . The shift from "conservative" takeovers (designed to restore districts) to "activist" takeovers (designed to rebuild them into something new) . How Houston's reported test score improvements may be driven by changes to the pool of test takers, not actual learning gains (including a 24% drop in 8th grade Algebra 1 enrollment and a 15% drop in Biology end-of-course test takers) . The financial throughline connecting property tax elimination, the absence of a state income tax, and the budget pressure to make public education cheaper . Why a Pennsylvania billionaire would care about Texas school board elections . The reality of the voucher program: most applicants were already enrolled in private school, and tuition routinely exceeds the $10,000 award . The teacher pipeline crisis (45% of Houston ISD's teaching workforce now has between 0 and 3 years of experience, and a majority of new hires statewide are uncertified) . The AI-in-the-classroom question, and why Dan worries about cognitive offloading and the erosion of professional teaching knowledge . An honest assessment of Mike Morath's ten years as Education Commissioner . Why the A-F school rating system is more variable than parents realize, and what families should actually be looking at . The toll road analogy that explains vouchers better than any political talking point

If you care about public education, your property taxes, your kids' classrooms, or the long-term direction of this state, this is the conversation. Dan brings the data. We dig into what it actually means.

Recommended reading from this episode: Takeover: Race, Education, and Democracy in America by Domingo Morel.

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What happens when we hand seventh graders "a hundred million people and a hundred million choices"?

Chris McKenna spent 12 years in business risk consulting at Ernst & Young before a call to youth ministry put him face-to-face with the rise of the smartphone in kids' lives. What he saw there led him to launch Protect Young Eyes, now one of the most respected voices in the fight for online child safety.

In this conversation, Chris and I get into why he thinks "parental controls" is a destructive phrase, how to talk to other parents about screens without sounding judgmental (hint: think peanut allergy), what the recent Meta and social media court wins really mean, why the Australia law is being framed exactly the way Big Tech wants it framed, and what it'll take for screen-time legislation to have its seatbelt-law moment.

Chris's new book, Five Habits of the Tech-Ready Family: Raising Wise Kids in a Wild Digital World, comes out June 16 and is available for pre-order now.

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If you've ever sat in the bleachers and wondered when youth sports got so intense, this episode is for you. Meet Jonathan Carone, creator of Healthy Sports Parents (100K+ on Instagram), and hear a candid conversation about what's gone wrong - and what we can do about it.

We discuss the "self-love and self-glory" forces driving parent behavior on the sidelines, why "winning is everything" coaching is still the default even when we know better, the private-equity gold rush turning kids into revenue streams, the scholarship myth, and the difference between development and competition for kids under 12. Jonathan also shares the John Wooden quote that reframed how he thinks about success, why he calls himself part of "the youth sports resistance," and the one piece of advice every sports parent needs to hear: let your kid lead.

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From a church play to the longest-running Genie on Broadway, Major Attaway's journey has taken him from Forth Worth, Texas to Broadway in New York City, and beyond. Major talks about the exact moment at a performance of the Lion King that made him tell his mom, "I'm doing this" - no question mark. He opens up about learning his craft, learning patience, and learning to make it in a business that's notoriously tricky. And he shares the complicated experience of being one of the only Black performers in the rooms he grew up in, and why everything people like about him, he learned in Texas.

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Episode 2.05
2 million followers on Facebook. More than 700k on Instagram. Bob Morano a great chef who just wants to teach you how to cook. Known for his fast-growing account (@everydayisfeastday), Bob's built a growing fandom of people who love him and the food he cooks. He shares his journey from the Culinary Institute of America to some of the best kitchens in the country to working as a full-time chef at a monastery kitchen to full-time creator... why your 8-year-old self holds the key to your dream job, and a secret to baking cookies trick that might change your life. Gracious, grateful, gourmet, hearing from Bob will leave you hungry. Oh - and don't forget to buy a meat thermometer.

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Episode 2.04:
Sara Wiles knows what it's like to go viral. The Florida-based business owner and content creator activist has racked of millions of views with videos sharing her perspectives and journey from corporate event planner to virtual assistant trainer to progressive activist. Sara and explains why she believes her sales and marketing brain is her secret weapon for driving real political change, the motherhood penalty, the fatherhood bonus, and the costs of being an outspoken progressive in conservative Florida. It's an insightful, genuine and honest conversation about finding your voice, using your platform, and doing the work you were put here to do - especially when it isn't easy.

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Episode 2.03:

TCU's Sonny Dykes grew up the son of a coaching legend, but forged his own path through high school classrooms, scraping by in a dorm room at Navarro Junior College and the ups and downs that would make anyone question their path. In this episode, Coach Dykes opens up about the circuitous route that led him to one of college football's most coveted jobs - including what Mike Leach taught him about forging your own path, why he and his wife made a decision at Louisiana Tech that transcended football, and how leading the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff's National Championship Game only made him hungry for more. Honest, self-aware, and filled with lessons beyond the gridiron - this one is for anyone who's ever wondered if the long way around was worth it.

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