#404 Who's to Blame for the State of Education? with Dr. Anindya Kundu (pt.1)

I am thrilled to welcome back sociologist and education thought-leader Dr. Anindya Kundu for a powerful conversation about what it truly takes to lead schools and communities toward meaningful change. You may remember Anindya from our earlier discussions on systemic inequality and student agency. In this return visit, we go deeper into why traditional models of leadership no longer serve our schools — and how we must evolve our approaches to meet the challenges of today's educational landscape.

Anindya's new book, Transforming Educational Leadership: Non-Traditional Narratives to Promote Equity in Uncertain Times, offers a compelling roadmap for rethinking leadership in education by elevating the voices and experiences of students, educators, families, and leaders who are leading in new ways. Drawing from narrative research and sociological insight, he challenges the idea that leadership is something done to people and reframes it as a collective practice.

In this conversation, we explore:

Why educational leadership must move beyond managerial efficiency How stories from multiple stakeholders help us understand what real leadership looks like in unsettled times How we got to where we are today with the lack of trust in public education

Whether you're an educator, administrator, parent, or advocate, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership and inspire you to engage in the higher-order work of transforming systems, not just coping with them.