Episode Notes

Austin Crowder is making his curriculum come alive for his Soulsville students by asking “Can Government Class Revolutionize Police Encounters?” And he’s taking it a step further by making his findings free, open to the nation, and scalable for every situation.

A brief “Know Your Rights” curriculum being added to Government and Civics classes throughout the country could dramatically mitigate the risks faced by civilians and police throughout interactions, increase police accountability, decrease incarceration rates, and save lives. Austin Crowder discusses the unit’s learning process and invites them to experience what makes it effective and explore the remarkable survey data demonstrating its impact. He paints a picture of how, if scaled, the unit could fundamentally shift the narrative around police encounters, benefit both civilian and officer, mitigate dangerous escalation, increase self-efficacy of civilians, and lower incarceration rates. Austin currently teaches government and economics at The Soulsville Charter School in South Memphis. Throughout eight years as an educator he has developed a Know Your Rights Unit for implementation in civics classes throughout the city and country.