Preventing Polarisation - A Conversation with Michelle Blanchet and Brian Deters

Michelle Blanchet is co-author of The Startup Teacher (Times
10, 2020), co-author of Preventing
Polarization (Times 10, 2023), and an educator and
social entrepreneur striving to improve how we treat, train,
and value our teachers. After ten years of experience
working with young people, she founded the Educators’ Lab, which
supports teacher-driven solutions to educational challenges.
Michelle earned a master’s in international relations from
Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. She has taught social studies in
Switzerland and the U.S. and has presented at numerous events,
including SXSWedu and TEDxLausanne. Michelle is a part of the
Global Shaper Community of the World Economic Forum. She has
worked with organizations like PBS Education, the Center for
Transformative Teaching and Learning, Ashoka, and the Center for
Curriculum Redesign.


Brian has been in education for twenty-seven years teaching
social studies and coaching varsity soccer in the US and abroad.
Brian, a co-host of the 4 A Better Tomorrow Podcast, flew back
and forth from Switzerland to run in the 2018 election as a US
Congressional primary candidate from the 18th District of
Illinois.


Brian holds a master’s degree in educational administration from
Illinois State University, where he also served as an adjunct
professor working in the field with student teachers in 2018 and
2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from
the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He currently
teaches sociology and civics at Morton High School in Morton,
Illinois.


Brian is the co-author of Preventing
Polarization (Times 10, 2023) where he and Michelle
Blanchet show how all educators can equip our youth with skills
to become active and engaged citizens.


Social Links


LinkedIn: @michelle-blanchet-edulab / @brian-deters


Twitter: @educatorslab /