Conceptually Speaking
Conceptually Speaking is a show about exploring the cognitive processes and social practices that help us make sense of our world. As as teacher-scholar interested in the intersection of educational theory, practice, and scholarship, I host conversations with guests ranging from practicing educators to neuroscientists and literary scholars to YouTube video essayists. Each episode shares a common purpose: to consider, critique, and reconceptualize what we think and feel about education. If you enjoy the show and want to learn more, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, find me on Substack, and check out trevoraleo.com for more information, resources, and details on professional learning.
Conceptually Speaking
Dr. Annie Abrams Talks Literature, Liberal Arts Education, and the College Board
In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Dr. Annie Abrams, author of Short Changed: How Advanced Placement Cheats American Students, to explore the complex relationship between policy, pedagogy, and the purpose of English education in America. Our conversation weaves between critiques of AP's corporatization of liberal arts education and deeper questions about what it means to teach literature meaningfully. Annie and I wrestle with how institutional forces shape (and often constrain) the rich interpretive practices and humanizing ethos that make English teaching worthwhile.
Key Concepts from the Episode:
Corporate Mediation
- AP's shift from facilitating teacher-professor collaboration to prescribing standardized curriculum
- The "AP brand" becoming synonymous with rigor while potentially undermining authentic liberal arts experiences
Spaces of/for Literary Discourse
- Lack of institutional support for teachers to engage deeply with texts and scholarship
- Disconnect between growing public appetite for literary criticism and classroom spaces
Vision for Change
- Drawing on Ralph Ellison to balance critique with hope for the American project
- Need to move beyond standardized frameworks to build sustainable communities of practice with institutional support
For teachers wrestling with their own relationship to AP or seeking ways to cultivate more meaningful literary experiences in their classrooms, this conversation offers both validation and vision for what might be possible. While we may not have all the answers, the episode demonstrates the value of creating spaces where we can explore these questions together.
Check out more of Annie's work here:
Short Changed (book)
Teaching Ellison (article)
Show Information:
My Site
My Substack
Music Credit:
Infraction - No Copyright Music