Harvard Ed. Magazine FALL 2016

“ Halfway through the year I caught one of my 12th- graders cheatıng…”

 ETHICAL DILEMMAS & THE 21ST-CENTURY TEACHER Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

20 Contents Do the Right Fall 2016 Features Thing. (But How?) Educators are faced with difficult ethical dilemmas every day. Figuring out how to handle these situations is rarely, if ever, easy.

STORY BY JESSICA LANDER, ED.M.’15

FALL 2016 � ISSUE N 155

Editor in Chief Lory Hough [email protected]

Creative Director, Ed. Patrick Mitchell MODUS OPERANDI DESIGN WWW.MODUSOP.NET

Assistant Dean of Communications Michael Rodman [email protected]

Contributing Writers Andrew Bauld, Ed.M.’16 Jessica Lander, Ed.M.’15 Leah Shafer

Illustrators Laurent Cilluffo Riccardo Vecchio

Photographers 28 Jill Anderson Jonathan Kozowyk Scenes from Diane Levine Ekaterina Smirnova an Open House “ I think we’ll find it It’s one of the few times Copy Editors each year when schools Marin Jorgensen successful when we have almost all families Abigail Mieko Vargus are able to bring in one place at the same personalized learning time. So why are we blowing this annual POSTMASTER to any school that back-to-school event? Send address changes to: wants to do it.” Harvard Graduate School of Education STORY BY LORY HOUGH Office of Communications ADAM SELDOW, 13 Appian Way ED.M.’03, ED.M.’08, ED.D’10 Cambridge, MA 02138 36 © 2016 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard Ed. magazine is NEWS + NOTES FROM APPIAN WAY Life, Liberty, and the published three times a year. Buddy the plush bison, p. 4 � Mayors take the lead in redesigning Departments Pursuit of a Video Game PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. education, p. 7 � Alum gets personal at Facebook, p. 8 � A Harvard visit from a hip hop high school, p. 11 � Study Skills: Gladys Aguilar, Why one professor is bringing the Declaration of Independence CONVO. — READER FEEDBACK 2 into the digital age in an effort to reach young people. 4 p. 13 � Japanese student art from WWII finds a home, p. 14 � Why stressed students need more PDF, p. 16 � Donovan Livingston lifts GRAD. — ALUMNI NEWS + NOTES 43 STORY BY ANDREW BAULD, ED.M.’16

off, p. 17 � AND MORE! KOZOWYK JONATHAN TOP) FROM (CLOCKWISE POPE KEVIN HERTZBERG; DANIEL LEVINE; DIANA CAMPAIGN 49 Harvard Ed. Fall 2016 Behind the Story Convo. Lory Hough, Editor in Chief JOIN THE CONVERSATION: SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO [email protected].

ROBERT MORRISON, ED.M.’57, a long-retired teacher and adminis- Past Tense Beatles from the kids, when they 1 trator, wrote to say he applauded our recent redesign of Ed. but heard that I would be off to England urged us to devote more ink space to stories focused on public Our inaugural “Past Tense” piece in the next year. Yes, because I left schools. He also asked that we offer stories that give advice to educa- the summer issue promoted another those kids. I felt so guilty. I cared tors working with young people in mainstream classes who are labeled 1960s graduate to recall her ex- about them, and they sensed it. By special education and need help keeping up. “I work with a young perience as a fledgling teacher. As the end of the year, ‘Hey, Teach’ man who will be going into high school next year, and I could SHEILA TIELLI, M.A.T.’63, wrote to us: became ‘Miss Martin.’ That was my sure use some help,” he writes. “What a jolt to my memory I success. However, like Ms. Kovner, received in reading Past Tense the sense of hopelessness was Our story “Where Are All the Teachers of Color?” received a in Convo. My school was a junior such that I had to save my sanity

Summer 2 2016 2 fair share of comments on Facebook and Twitter, as well as high in the Brownsville section of by leaving or, if I stayed, to lose my 3 longer responses, including a letter from LOUIS DEFREITAS SR., Brooklyn. I started, fresh out of the humanity by hardening myself. Where Are All the Teachers of Color ED.M.’71, a 30-year teaching veteran of public schools who had a dif - M.A.T. Program, in late September, “Five years ago, I returned for 20 ferent experience than the students and alumni quoted in the story. as a replacement art teacher. When the first time, ‘my’ school now an

ALTHOUGH NONWHITE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE NOW THE MAJORITY As he writes, “I was born and raised in Harlem. I have been black I appeared the following Monday, elementary school. The remembered IN THE UNITED STATES, NONWHITE TEACHERS ARE ANYTHING BUT.

“ There were so many kids wearing bowties like mine. Even if they don’t realize it at the time, your students are the students couldn’t believe it, as tiny asphalt playground is now non- STORY BY JOSH MOSS always watching your for 78 years. I taught in public schools for over 30 years, 25 of After came out last spring, I moves, and I’m very Dilemmas of Educational Ethics PHOTOGRAPHS BY WALTER SMITH cognizant of that and always watching what I’m doing.” EDVERETTE BREWSTER, ED.M.’16 those years in the New York City public school system.” As a they had already changed teachers existent, filled with portables. Is this HED01-FEA-TeacherDiversity.indd 20 5/4/16 11:09 PM HED01-FEA-TeacherDiversity.indd 21 5/4/16 4:06 PM knew I wanted to include a story in the magazine about the student, DeFreitas says he learned at schools where there were black four times. I came to see the school possible? Apparently. Brownsville teachers and at schools where all the teachers were white. “At no time as a warehouse for those for whom is still the worst area in the city in book or, more generally, about the subject, one I suspected

There’s Nothing a new emphasis on something no one had expectations. They were categories such as single parent that educators as a student did I ever feel neglected or disrespected by my most people didn’t think much about: the ethical choices that have known for decades: skills not measured teachers. I always felt that my teachers were about teaching waiting to turn 16 so that they could families and early school leaving. All by standardized testing are important teachers, principals, and other educators need to make. Sure, to children’s every child. … It was the teachers who loved to teach who got leave. There was an overall grey these years later, it still makes me About These development the best results.” He later taught in Virginia. “The children there shabbiness, bars on the windows, want to cry.” I knew there were big ethical issues, like teachers changing

by jeff wagenheim illustrations by marc rosenthal were the same as the children I taught in New York City schools. They the smell of urine in the stairwells, answers on standardized tests or getting too close to their a policeman assigned to the block. ed_winter_outlined.indd 36 12/22/15 1:56 PM ed_winter_outlined.indd 37 12/22/15 1:56 PM respected teachers who respected them and disliked teachers who did CONNECT WITH ED. not want to teach.” One suggestion? Future educators should watch The only special event I remember students, but those examples were rare, I thought — instances the movies Blackboard Jungle and To Sir With Love. Both, he says, “offer was a beauty contest, of all things, that made splashy headlines in the news but that didn’t affect people an understanding of what dedicated teaching is like.” which served to increase the ten- most teachers. ¶ In one sense, I was wrong. After reading this sion between black and Puerto TWITTER.COM/HGSE HARVARDEDUCATION. TUMBLR.COM OOPS ON US In our winter 2016 issue, Jeff Wagenheim wrote about the Rican students. book, I realized that all educators have to wrestle with ethical 3 growing interest among educators in the so-called soft skills “I was naive. I worked hard to issues of some sort, often on a daily basis and usually without that young people need that go beyond reading, writing, and motivate interest, staying after FACEBOOK.COM/ In our summer story, “Where arithmetic (“There’s Nothing Soft About These Skills”). EVE ODIORNE hours to assemble lesson materials. HARVARDEDUCATION ISSUU.COM/HARVARD guidance. They rarely are the big ethical issues like system- EDUCATION Are All the Teachers of Color?” SULLIVAN, M.A.T.’66, agrees with the content, adding, “There is nothing Yet often paper was crumpled and wide cheating, but ethical issues that nevertheless can have we made a big no-no and soft about these skills, to be sure.” However, Odiorne Sullivan, founder in the wastebasket before I finished big ramifications, especially for students, depending on how passing it out. I once braved a field forgot to credit two authors of the Cambridge-based Parents Forum, also said that the conversa- YOUTUBE.COM/ of the paper The Challenge of trip, but only once. Still, we had a HARVARDEDUCATION MEDIUM.COM/ the teacher reacts. That’s a lot of pressure. And it’s personal. tion around skills shouldn’t be left to educators alone. “ All parents, @HARVARDEDUCATION Recruiting and Hiring Teach- not only affluent ones, should be included in the conversation relationship. In our bleak classroom That’s why, when planning this story, I knew it had to be written ers of Color: NICOLE SIMON, about social-emotional learning,” she writes. “Where are parent- we were stunned to hear the break- ED.M.’12, ED.D.’15, and STEFANIE ing education and parent peer support in this discussion? Miss- ing news of the assassination of by a teacher. It’s one teacher’s experience, but I suspect it will INSTAGRAM.COM/ LETTERS@GSE. REINHORN, ED.M.’13, ED.D.’15. ing, as is almost always the case. Sad face.” Kennedy. I first learned about the HARVARDEDUCATION HARVARD.EDU resonate with anyone who works with young people. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

The Book of Buddy

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FIND NEWS + NOTES FROM APPIAN WAY INSPIRATION IN A CHOCOLATE BROWN, FLUFFY KIDS’ TOY?

STORY BY LORY HOUGH

hen opportunity knocks, even W in the form of a plush bison, you grab it. That’s exactly what ILONA HOLLAND, ED.M.’85, ED.D.’91, did a couple of years ago when she was having lunch with a friend, Grace Lee. Lee, the executive director of the non- profit National Park Trust, brought along toys for Holland’s granddaughters: two stuffed brown bison named Buddy. Curi- 4 ous, Holland asked if there was a story 5 to go along with Buddy, who serves as the trust’s mascot. (The bison also hap- pens to be the national mammal for the country.) When Lee said no, Holland’s wheels started spinning. She had always wanted to write a children’s book and, now retired from teaching at the Ed School after 14 years, she knew the timing was right. And so she proposed a story to Lee and the trust centered on Buddy. To her surprise, she was given the green light to move forward with a book. Immediately she sat down and started thinking about what she wanted to write. Luckily, her years involved in formative evaluation for educational programs, including children’s television shows like Wild Kratts and Word Girl, helped her avoid making a rookie mis- take: jumping into the writing without knowing all the important details. “With my previous work, I got to know how a show gets put together,” she says. “I took that knowledge and was able to apply it to what the TV industry calls the ‘bible’” — a guide- book containing all of the minute details about a show’s characters and setting.

CREDIT HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT “All that work gets done prior to the 3 Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

show, so I did the same thing for the Buddy story. I knew who these characters would be, even the names,” before the story was even written. With their Buddy bible in hand, Holland and Lee next approached the publishing team at National Geographic. City Hall Joins Fight for School Change “Having that bible made a huge difference,” Holland says. “We were prepared for any question, and it really WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING CHANGE IN SCHOOL, WE SHOULDN’T helped the folks at National Geographic get their heads LOOK AT EDUCATORS ALONE TO SHOULDER THE BURDEN around what we were try- ing to do.” This phase of the process was lengthy, lasting a year and included pitch meetings to all of the key decisionmakers at National Geographic. It also involved research trips to STORY BY LORY HOUGH Yellowstone, where Holland proposed setting her story, both in person and online. “What a joy it is to have Google Maps,” she says, talking about the research. “I was able to trace the trail I wanted my characters to take. I could see the actual shrubbery and the terrain. I was like, wow, I’m in my book!” Holland also turned to park rangers for help — thankfully. At one point, her characters were walking on A BIG BOOST FOR EARLY a particular trail. One of the rangers wrote back to say CHILDHOOD that trail had just been closed, indefinitely. 6 “They needed to give [the vegetation] a rest,” she In May, the Ed School announced a renewed focus on early childhood devel- 7 says. Knowing accuracy is important to any book, but opment with the Saul Zaentz Early Childhood Initiative. Supported by a $35.5 particularly for an organization like National Geographic million gift from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation — the largest gift in hen dean james ryan going to take a broader commu- Means initiative makes sense Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll that has a reputation for getting details right, Holland HGSE’s history — the initiative will create a hub at the Ed School for work W sat in Askwith Hall nity effort.” because “for better or for worse, said it’s also important to ask went back to her story and rerouted the characters. focusing on early childhood education. Dean James Ryan says the gift “is during the kickoff of the This is exactly what the By All mayors fly at an altitude that al- what it means when we say we This past February, Holland published her 32-page perfectly aligned with HGSE’s mission of expanding educational opportunity Education Redesign Lab’s By All Means initiative is about. Over lows us to see the interconnec- care about kids. book, Buddy Bison’s Yellowstone Adventure, geared and improving outcomes, especially for our most vulnerable children,” and Means initiative in May with a the next two years, the initiative tivity” of what impacts kids and “Everyone says, ‘We want to toward elementary school students. A mix of illustra- will complement the work already being done here by the Center on the De- group of six mayors from around will host a series of conferences families. “Just as educators alone help,’ but how do we get a unified tion and actual photos, the book is the story of a brother veloping Child at Harvard University. The main focus of the center will be on the country, he said something at the Ed School, and work close- can’t fix all of the problems in ed- community vision and then get and sister who visit Yellowstone with their aunt, a ranger how to design, implement, evaluate, and take to scale high-quality preschool that is at the heart of what makes ly in the field with mayors and ucation, safety can’t be delivered everyone to recognize that they at the park, and have a chance meeting with Buddy programs in an effort to get all kids “kindergarten ready.” This includes a new the new initiative unique: When other city officials in six cities to only by the police. Health care need to play a role?” she said. when one of the kids gets lost. The book, with the iconic population-based study called the Harvard Early Learning Study, which will it comes to radically rethinking create individual plans to tackle can’t be delivered by just doctors “You need to have that shared vi- National Geographic yellow border, includes a journal TO LEARN follow a cohort of 3-year-olds for five years and will be led by the initiative’s education in the United States, a specific childhood challenge. and hospitals. No one system can sion” if you want to make change. MORE ABOUT entry from one of the characters, fun facts, and a history BUDDY: directors, Associate Professor Stephanie Jones and Professor Nonie Lesaux, having mayors lead the way The cities — Oakland, Califor- do it alone.” Reville admitted that all of this of the park. In July, it was featured on Today with Kathy PARKTRUST. and the establishment of the Saul Zaentz Academy for Professional Learning could make all the difference. nia; Louisville, Kentucky; Provi- Absolutely said Louisville change and rethinking will take a ORG/YOUTH- Lee and Hoda. Holland says the book may eventually PROGRAMS/ in Early Childhood to work with educators in the field. “You are, as you know, a criti- dence, Rhode Island; and Salem, Mayor Greg Fischer. “We need lot of hard work and “is easier said be bundled with the very thing that started this whole BUDDY-BISON cal part of this work,” Ryan said. Somerville, and Newton, Mas - everyone jumping in.” The ques- than done.” But, he added, “This

adventure for her: a chocolate brown, fluffy Buddy. LH READ A Q&A WITH JONES AND LESAUX ON THE INSIDE COVER. Professor Paul Reville, found- sachusetts — will serve as labs tion becomes, how do you get is the most important work of the TO LEARN MORE, GO TO GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS ing director of the Redesign Lab, as they test different methods of people to understand that what 21st century. This isn’t miracle agreed, saying that too often, we making deep change in schools affects schools affects everything work. We’re not naïve. But push- look solely at schools to “fix” the and learning for all students. in a community. This was the ing the envelope is really impor- problems in education. But we Somerville Mayor Joseph Cur- challenge he faced when he tried tant work for all of us. This is the WISE WORDS shouldn’t expect teachers and tatone said that it’s important for to get local businesses invested start. We have a long way to go.” principals alone to shoulder the those working on the policy side in schools. Eventually, some did, burden of making change. They in a city or town to break down but for various reasons. are already overwhelmed, Re- silos and to see systems, like ed- “Some knew it was the right “[Civics] is not a priority.” ville said, plus they may not have ucation, for what they truly are: thing to do; others got engaged the expertise or the authority. hugely complex. when we pointed out that this is TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INITIA- Professor on the decline of civics and history “If we’re going to get all kids For this reason, said Oakland your future workforce,” Fischer TIVE AND THE LAB’S FUTURE PLANS: Meira Levinson EDREDESIGN.ORG. TO WATCH A VIDEO education in the country, in part because federal funding for civics ready for success,” he said, Mayor Libby Schaaf, having may- explained. “We got them through OF THE BY ALL MEANS CONFERENCE: education was stripped in 2011. (Forbes) stressing the words all kids, “it’s ors take a lead role in the By All the pocketbook.” GSE.HAVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS

Illustration by Laurent Cilluffo

20980 Scatter cc15.indd 1 8/8/16 3:36 PM Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

“I think we’ll find it successful when we are able to bring personalized learning It Just Got Personal to any school that wants to do it.” ALUM ADAM SELDOW HELPS FACEBOOK PARTNER WITH TEACHERS TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN THE WAY THEY WANT TO LEARN

STORY BY LORY HOUGH

t wasn’t until he was sisted of one person and said he what they’re learning and prog- I getting his doctorate at the wanted to help. And one way to do ress at their own pace. In some Ed School — after West that was to provide Summit with ways, Seldow says, it’s a complete Point, the Army, classroom something Facebook already had: change in culture: Teachers don’t teaching, years overseeing tech- good engineers. lecture in front of the classroom, nology in schools, and two mas- The revamped plp tool, which test students, and then move on ter’s degrees — that ADAM SELDOW, was created with much input to new material. Instead, they ED.M.’03, ED.M.’08, ED.D.’10, real- from teachers, was initially pilot- work individually with students. ized he really wasn’t engaged in ed just in Summit schools. Last “The tool is built for the pio- learning unless something total- year it was offered to 19 other neering teacher who has ideas 8 ly grabbed his attention. public schools around the coun- but hasn’t found a path forward,” 9 He wondered, “What’s wrong try as part of something called Seldow says. with me?” But of course, the an- Summit Basecamp. This past Using student performance swer was nothing. As Seldow summer, for the first time, the data that is generated by the tool, eventually realized, he just learns tool was made available to any teachers can view how each stu- in a different way. teacher who wanted to use it, free dent in a class is progressing and “I find something that really of charge. Geared toward middle then provide targeted one-on- piques my interest, and I dig school and high school students, one feedback. At the beginning deep.” Looking back, he says, plp lets students customize and of a project, a teacher can even “That was my first foray into per- take more ownership of their see what a student has planned sonalized learning.” learning while teachers act as in- and then give out-of-the-gate in- His latest foray is an initiative structional coaches and mentors. put, rather than just waiting for a to bring personalized learning to What’s unique, Seldow says, is finished project to be submitted. the masses as head of education that the tool first asks students to Asked how Facebook will know partnerships at Facebook. For the create an individual plan and set if the plp initiative is successful, past few years, Facebook has part- personal goals. A short-term goal Seldow says they’ll know if the nered with California-based Sum- might be to read for 60 minutes culture in a school changes. mit Public Schools on an online each day. A long-term goal could “We’ll know if the students are personalized learning platform be to attend a certain college. able to learn the way they want called plp. Initially, Summit de - “It’s designed to show stu- to,” he says. “And I think we’ll find veloped its own digital tool to cus- dents, even as young as middle it successful when we are able to tomize instruction at each of its school, that your actions now are bring personalized learning to 10 charter schools. During a visit going to impact your future,” Sel- any school that wants to do it.” to a school with Summit ceo Di- dow says. “It’s very much about ane Tavenner, Facebook founder backwards planning.” Mark Zuckerberg was impressed As students continue to use and asked to meet the engineer- the tool throughout the year, they ing team behind the customized can track how their work, all proj- LISTEN TO AN EDCAST WITH SELDOW tool. Tavenner’s response was, I’ll ect-based, is contributing to their TALKING MORE ABOUT PERSONALIZED LEARNING: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/ introduce you to him. Zuckerberg goals. Based on that feedback, EXTRAS. CHECK OUT THE PLP HOME- was shocked that the team con- they can tweak and fine-tune PAGE: APP.MYSUMMITPS.ORG

Photograph by Jonathan Kozowyk Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

THE MAKING OF

Lecturer Terry Tivnan

As Terry Tivnan noted in a piece he wrote last fall on Medium, he’s been at Harvard a long time. More than five decades to be precise, starting as an under- graduate at the college and eventually teaching “big courses” at the Ed School on educational research and statistics. He remembers learning under famed dean Ted Sizer and the days when Larsen was filled with first-graders from the overcrowded Cambridge Public HIP HOP HARVARD TEACHES ONE SIZE Schools. Still, when asked to write about his long career, he thought, “I have almost nothing to say.” But MOS DEF DOESN’T FIT ALL sure enough, he started writing and 1,500 words later, When Audrey walked up to the mic on the stage of Askwith Hall he found his story. and started telling her story, a story that included memories of abuse and getting kicked out of several schools, she had to stop a few times to compose herself. It wasn’t because she was 1948 1965 1968 1969 1970 1974 1980 2016 nervous — it was because she felt so strongly about her time I was born and grew I was lucky to attend I discovered HGSE. The M.A.T. Program Fun fact: I got to do Teaching first grade! Back at HGSE in the Someone was needed Fast (fast) forward, I as a student at the High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul, up in Salem, Mas- Harvard College. I met Dean Ted Sizer was at HGSE — studying some of my practice Fun, exciting, demand- doctoral program. I to teach a course am very proud to have Minnesota. “Finally,” she told the crowd, “people who treated me sachusetts, the Witch friends who combined teaching a course to become a teacher teaching right in ing, and exhausting. It loved Professor Dick at the Ed School on taught courses that like I was their own.” This past spring, Audrey was part of a group City. My early teaching being very smart with about public educa- was so exciting! Larsen Hall. The Cam- was an amazing expe- Light’s statistics research methods, have been popular of students and administrators from Hip Hop High, as it’s known, 10 experience was giving being very friendly. tion, and he graciously Virtually the entire bridge Public Schools rience. I was lucky to course, and I was and I was asked to do for students getting who visited the Ed School for two days to share stories and make 11 directions to visitors I loved courses in let me, a lowly HGSE was involved were crowded, and be with a supportive lucky to become one it. I was worried that started in statistics music. The school offers at-risk young people from the St. Paul looking for the Witch psychology and child undergraduate with in that program. The Harvard provided a bit principal (thank you, of his TFs the following teaching a course and research. I love area a chance to earn a high school diploma while learning about Museum or the House development. My no formal experience interests ranged from of help by allowing a Don Pierson) and year. I enjoyed all of might delay progress my big courses. We the music business. The school includes two onsite professional of the Seven Gables. professors included in education, join the kindergarten through first-grade classroom wonderful teacher the research courses toward my own gradu- have new statistical recording studios. More than 90 percent of the students, includ- Biggest influence on Jerome Bruner, Robert class. I learned that grade 12, so some on the lower level of colleagues. Lots of and discovered I was ation, but Professor software and apps for ing Audrey, have had rocky pasts at other schools. At any given my path? There were Brown, George Miller HGSE was a special students were learn- Larsen. What fun it field trips and project- good at translat- Courtney Cazden teaching our stu- time, 60 percent are homeless or from highly mobile families. lots of educators in — all world-famous place at Harvard. ing to become high was to have a class- based learning. Lots ing and interpreting carefully pointed out dents, but many of While at Harvard, the students not only spoke and performed my family. My father scholars — and I school math teachers, room of first-graders of nonworksheet research ideas so they to me that this was a the fundamental ideas in Askwith, but also spent time at an on-campus studio in was a school princi- got to meet Beatrice some were working right here on Appian math lessons. Lots of could be tools for col- special opportunity are the same as those Harvard Yard where they recorded a new song, “In the Morning,” pal in my hometown, Whiting, who was not on middle school Way. It put everyone creative ways to teach leagues doing educa- and I would be wise that were part of my with the help of MIKE LIPSET, ED.M.’16, who was a student at the so all of my teach- an official professor social studies, and in a good mood. The reading and writing. tion research. For me to accept. I am glad I courses years ago. My TIVNAN: TOM KATES; OPPOSITE: NICK VICEK NICK OPPOSITE: KATES; TOM TIVNAN: Ed School at the time and who helped organize their visit. Lipset ers knew me and my because she was a some of us, like me, children loved being in this was another kind listened to her advice. background teach- worked at Hip Hop High prior to coming to Harvard. Asked what family. (That nudged woman, but she later were learning about the Larsen Hall castle. of teaching. ing first grade always lessons educators could learn from the students and the work me toward good became one of the beginning reading in We took field trips to comes in handy. Every being done at Hip Hop High, Lipset says: behavior in school.) My first female tenured elementary school. Gutman Library. We year I learn something older siblings set high professors at HGSE. Almost everyone was should try this again! new about research 1) Culturally relevant education may not look or sound like what standards for the rest combining coursework and statistics from my you think it should. What assumptions are you making about the of us, but they also with practice teach- students. I hope they ways young people should be educated? made school easy for ing. “So what is your get to learn something me because they were placement?” was an about how to be a 2) Strong relationships between students and educators can always talking about instant conversation good teacher. mean the difference between dropping out and graduating from what they were learn- starter. Or even better: high school. ing. I got a head start “So have you taught 3) Vocational/technical education can enrich the delivery of the on almost everything. a lesson to a real live Common Core. class?” Everyone was 4) When you believe in and value the talents and sources of nervous about moving knowledge your students possess, you receive the gift of watch- from observing class- ing them change the world. es taught by master teachers to being the 5) School choice means different schools offering different kinds one at the front of the of learning opportunities for different people. There is no one- room. We knew we had size-fits-all answer in education.LH a lot to learn!

WATCH “IN THE MORNING,” THE VIDEO THE STUDENTS MADE: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

STUDY WHAT WOULD YOU ASK SKILLS THE CANDIDATES?

Anyone following the presidential campaign has heard a Gladys Aguilar, lot about gun control, the economy, and, well, the can- didates themselves, but we’ve all heard very little about Ph.D. another important topic: K–12 education. This isn’t a Growing up, Gladys Aguillar spoke in two new slight, as Associate Professor Martin West pointed worlds: Spanish at home with her parents, who out recently at the annual Education Writers Association had moved to the United States from Mexico summit. Historically, education hasn’t been a big issue when she was a toddler, and English at school on the campaign trail. in Los Angeles. The two worlds rarely mixed. “As a result, the candidates haven’t been forced to So when Aguillar’s homeroom teacher say much about where they are” on education issues, asked her to give the sixth-grade graduation West said. speech, the 11-year-old wrote it the way she With that in mind, we asked Ed. readers on Facebook Deliberately Developmental had every other school assignment: in English. and Twitter to tell us: If you could ask the candidates “My teacher read the speech and said, to address one education issue, what would it be? Not ‘Great. Now write it in Spanish.’ I was so sur- surprisingly, there was little consensus, however, three STORY BY LEAH SHAFER prised and reminded her that I speak English. responses did come out on top: equity, early childhood, She said something beautiful, something that and school funding. Here are a few other responses: changed who I was: ‘Of course I know, but I students don’t have to be developmental” in school or in want your parents and the other parents who Emily Maloney the only ones with revitalized any workplace: speak Spanish to hear your speech.’ This valo- @emalongey100 learning in the new school year. 3Become “developmental bud- rized who I was and still inspires me daily.” Teacher evaluation, specifically surrounding Teachers may have finished their dies” with a co-worker. Set aside It even inspired her to leave the class- inclusion of students’ standardized test scores. formal education years ago, but time regular time to chat. Instead room after 17 years as a bilingual elementary in the post-school decades, adult of offering each other advice, ask school teacher in Los Angeles County to start ••• the Ph.D. Program at the Ed School. Based brains can continue to develop. each other how you’re both pro- on what she was experiencing at home with 12 As they enhance the growth of gressing in achieving your goals. her two bilingual sons, and at school with her 13 3 Jennie Treeger Bowen, Ed.M.’96 students, teachers can also work Create an “immunity-to- mostly Latino students, she says she real- Just Now • via Facebook to ensure that they keep develop- change map” of your goals. To do ized that one area sorely lacking in research — and in usable knowledge for teachers — is The privatization of public education ing and learning. this, set a goal, list the behaviors But what if your school is not that have been stopping you from how best to serve the academic and socio- ••• the kind of organization that de- achieving that goal, and then ask emotional needs of students whose home language is not English. Part of the problem, liberately puts employee growth yourself what scares you when she acknowledges, is that there is no one type at the center of the agenda? What you imagine yourself not exhib- of bilingual student. Kranky Keith LISTEN TO AN if you want to grow in your job — iting those behaviors. “Some bilingual students are exposed to @keithRydzik EDCAST WITH professionally and personally 3Seek small-scale, regular two languages at home and speak both. Oth- To end #segregation of our public schools by both LAHEY ON DELIBERATELY — but your school doesn’t seem feedback. Ask co-workers to ers speak one language exclusively at school, race and socio-economic status. DEVELOPMENTAL to value it or doesn’t have the re- provide feedback on a specific one at home,” she says, like she did. Others, ORGANIZATIONS: like her two sons, increasingly resist speaking ••• sources to promote it? assignment or on your perfor- GSE.HARVARD. both languages at home as they grow older EDU/ED/EXTRAS A recent book written by sev- mance during a meeting. For or when they start to sense that some home eral from the Ed School, includ- example: “I’m working on being languages (like French) are considered “high ing Professor Bob Kegan and Lec- more welcoming of perspectives status” while others are less respected. Older

WISE turers LISA LAHEY, ED.M.’80, ED.D.’86, that are different than my own. students may react differently to instruction WORDS MATT MILLER, ED.M.’01, ED.D.’06, and Can you let me know how I do than younger students. “For these reasons, it’s a complex issue DEBORAH HELSING, ED.D.’03, makes listening and responding during and one that is a hard area to research and the argument that you can still our next team meeting?” develop curriculum for,” she says. Yet, as the 3 prioritize growth. Offering strat- Look for role models. Notice percentage of non-English-speaking U.S. “ I think it fills a role egies they developed after watch- how colleagues and leaders you households has increased more than 140 ing several companies in action, admire seek feedback, model be- percent since 1980 and is projected to grow that doesn’t exist the authors of An Everyone Cul- haviors that you value, and invest even more, Aguillar says research into what ture: Becoming a Deliberately De- in the growth of those around students require and how teachers can help right now.” velopmental Organization say any them. Then ask to talk to them them succeed is needed now more than ever. “We have an increasing number of children worker can concentrate on per- about their approach to learning Lecturer TODD ROSE, ED.M.’01, ED.D.’07, director of the who are bilingual,” she says, “and we’re seeing Mind, Brain, and Education Program, commenting on sonal growth and spread a simi- and growing in the workplace. more school leaders who are aware of the edu- advanced digital tutors created by Sesame Street and lar mindset to colleagues. Here cational landscape and are wondering what IBM that can interact with preschoolers and assess are four ways to be, as the authors LEAH SHAFER IS A STAFF WRITER FOR they are going to do to help their teachers.” LH

their individual skills and learning needs. (USA Today) explain in the book, “deliberately THE USABLE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT. HERE CREDIT

Illustration by Laurent Cilluffo Photograph by Jonathan Kozowyk Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

ART EXCHANGE Have ESL, Will Travel STUDENTS PIECES CREATED BY JAPANESE ED SCHOOL STUDENTS HELP TEACHERS AND ADULT LEARNERS STUDENTS AFTER WWII FINALLY PRACTICE THEIR ENGLISH ON THE GO FIND THEIR WAY TO HARVARD

Fran Fergusson doesn’t exactly remem- STORY BY LORY HOUGH ber her father, FRANCIS DALY, ED.D.’47, talking about the massive art project he coordinated in partnership with Yukio Isaka, a Japanese school psychiatrist, or many adults, trying between students in Japan and students F to learn English can be chal- in the United States just after World War lenging, as HEIDI LARSON, II ended, but she always knew the col- ED.M.’04, and the Ed School stu- lection existed. “I remember going through the 600- dents she mentored last year plus drawings and paintings and noting, found out. Some adults don’t at that early age, the games that were have access to English-language depicted, the clothes, the wonderful col- learner (ell) classes because of ors,” says Fergusson, who recently do- cost or distance. Others have ac- nated the collection to Gutman Library. cess but, given the busyness of “Originally, as is documented in the their lives, can’t attend classes 14 materials I gave to Harvard, it was to be 15 an exchange of drawings from Japanese on a regular basis or focus fully and American students. The papers are on the material. silent on whether or not American stu- However, one thing most dent drawings were sent to Japan. And, adult learners can easily access as far as I know, there was no exhibition is a mobile device, like a smart- in the United States until now.” phone or tablet. Knowing this, Rebecca Martin, the collections strategist and scholarly communica- Larson started working last fall tions librarian at Gutman, says the with students in two of Professor collection is the library’s first featuring Chris Dede’s technology classes, art. “It provides us with an innovative in conjunction with the Fram- chance to incorporate student artwork ingham Adult esl Plus Program into teaching, learning, and research in Massachusetts. The group cre- what’s available for free online, The material also allowed Here are some of the tools you’ll opportunities at HGSE.” ated a website called esl Mobile including podcasts and apps, learning to be less abstract and find on theesl Mobile website: Fergusson, a former president at 3 Vassar College, says her father loved that included digital resources geared toward all levels — begin- more relevant, says one of Lar- Customized online learn- Japanese culture and was proud of his like apps and online learning ner to advanced learner. In some son’s students, IVAN VALDOVINOS, ing games (called Kahoots) to be connection to the country, even during games that teachers can use with cases, the Ed School students ED.M.’16, who remembers both used in class. a period in U.S. history when anti- their adults students in class and customized the resources for a of his parents taking ell classes 3 Access to more than 30 self- Japanese sentiment loomed large. She students can later use outside of specific class or teacher’s need. when he was growing up. quiz tools through Quizlet to im- says he was also proud to have gone class. Larson says the need to The result is that ell teachers For example, Valdovinos cre- prove memorization. to Harvard, first as an undergraduate help ell teachers is great. were given well-researched, ated a module on parts of the 3 Resources like YouTube vid- when he had to work his way through THE EXHIBIT, FROM CRAYONS TO CALLIGRAPHY: AN EXHIBITION OF JAPANESE STUDENT ARTWORK, 1949–1951, OPENED IN GUTMAN IN MID-MAY IN THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS ROOM. WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT “Teachers spend enough readily available resources to use body using an online learning eos to help students work on cor- college as a “newsie” with United Press THE STUDENTS WHO CREATED THESE PIECES? GO TO: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS International, and then later getting his time preparing for and teaching to better reach students, Larson tool called Quizlet, which allows rect pronunciation. doctorate at the Ed School. That’s why classes, and for many this is a sec- says. The ell students, in turn, users to make digital flashcards. 3 Podcasts to help with listen- she says donating the art collection ond or a volunteer job,” she says. were then able to learn on the go. “I decided to create this mod- ing skills and comprehension. to Gutman, along with the rest of her WISE WORDS “They may not be aware of the “They could practice on the ule because when we visited the father’s papers, was easy. apps available on students’ mo- bus, as they waited for their chil- Framingham school,” he says, “My father would have been so proud bile devices, and they may not dren, as they waited in line at the “students told us that they decid- and happy to know that his papers are “Their wasted talent is a huge loss.” there,” she says. “I’m thoroughly de- have time to research them.” grocery store, or at home after ed to enroll [in the class] to learn CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE lighted that his papers and the artwork Assistant Professor Roberto Gonzales writing in an op-ed following the Supreme Court’s 4–4 decision in That’s where the Ed School they completed their assigned material that would be useful in AND STUDENT BLOG: WWW. have found such a good home.” LH June that effectively bars deferred deportation for millions of immigrant parents. (The Washington Post) students came in, researching work,” she says. their daily lives.” ESLMOBILE.ORG

Photographs by Jill Anderson Illustration by Laurent Cilluffo Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

Too Much on Their Plates

THIS PDF HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ADOBE AND EVERTHING TO BLOG DO WITH HELPING TEENS DESTRESS AND STAY HAPPY WORTHY A sampling of Ed School blogs worth reading

STORY BY LORY HOUGH

n her new book, Overloaded and WHAT IS PDF? I Underprepared, DENISE POPE, ED.M. ’89, and her colleagues at the Chal- lenge Success project at Stanford Uni- versity, spell out something that seems especially important these days: Our fast-paced, high-pressure culture is working against kids being able to de- 1 velop in a healthy, happy way. Just read- ing the sample high school student’s Assistant Professor Sarah Dryden-Peterson, 16 breakneck schedule, printed on page 1 Ed.D.’09 17 of the book’s introduction, is enough to cause stress. This is especially true with On the Brookings site, Dryden- teens from elite high schools, as Pope Peterson explores global educa- noticed after writing her first book on tion and conflict. stressed-out kids. These kids, she says, brookings.edu/experts/sarah- “were getting in to high-achieving uni- dryden-peterson/ versities, and they didn’t have the cop- ing skills to handle the workload and LIFT OFF TAKES OFF the stress of the transition to college. PLAYTIME DOWNTIME FAMILY TIME 2 The health centers were struggling to Play, they write, is the work of Running from activity to activity It’s important for students and keep up with the large number of kids kids. It’s not just running around can be exhausting. Kids need the adults in their lives to know Professor Howard It started out with impressive numbers. Less than one day after DONOVAN LIVINGSTON, ED.M.’16, suffering from depression, anxiety, and and yelling. Play helps kids solve downtime — time not focused that family time is a “significant Gardner gave the Ed School’s student convocation speech, where he talked in spoken word about no stu- problems, negotiate with oth- on structured play or academics, protective factor,” the authors suicide ideation.” dent being common and about education not being the great equalizer that it should be, nearly ers, and develop self-regulation but time to do basically nothing. point out, and results in positive Gardner’s thoughts on ethics But as Pope and her co-authors show 1.5 million people watched a video of his Lift Off speech on Facebook. skills. It can include unstructured This includes listening to music, mental health and fewer at-risk and excellence in education, in this new book, there are many sim - activities like digging holes in the watching television, or taking behaviors for young people. related to his Good Project. And then things blew up. ple strategies that can be taken to com- backyard or structured activities a walk. It also includes sleep, thegoodproject.org/author/ Celebrities started tweeting about the speech, including Justin Timberlake, Jada Pinkett bat this. One example is making sure like joining a soccer team. For something kids, especially older HOW TO HELP: Parents can make howardgardner Smith, Piers Morgan, and Joyce Carol Oates. Hillary Rodman Clinton shared it on her campaign that all stakeholders in any student’s older kids, it can even include kids, don’t get enough of. even simple things like family Facebook page. Within days, Livingston was being interviewed by NPR, CNN, Good Morning time hanging out with friends. dinners a priority. Family rituals life — teachers, coaches, parents, even America, People, and The Washington Post. Less than a week in, 11 million people saw the HOW TO HELP: Parents should en- and traditions, like Friday night the student — know the importance of video on Facebook and more than 500,000 on YouTube. Nearly 12,000 left comments on the Ed HOW TO HELP: Parents shouldn’t force bedtimes and remove so- pizza or regular walks in the 3 something Pope calls pdf: playtime, overschedule their kids (or let cial media lures like smartphones neighborhood with the dog, are School’s Facebook page. By the middle of the summer, the tweets and the shares and the likes downtime, and family time. high school students spend more from bedrooms at night. They also important to develop and Associate Professor were still going strong. “We looked at the research for pro- than 15–20 hours a week on should resist telling kids to “do keep up. Teachers should limit Jal Mehta What did Livingston, who started a Ph.D. program this fall at the University of North Carolina, tective factors for kids — those things extracurriculars) and should let something” when they’re loung- homework assignments over think of all of the hubbub? As he told an ABC News reporter, “I didn’t know it would be so well that every kid needs in order to thrive kids have more choice in their ing, seemingly doing nothing. vacations and holidays and as- In conjunction with education received. Whenever you put yourself out there, especially with poetry, you’re making yourself activities. Schools should build This time allows kids to un- sign a few family-based projects writer Robert Rothman, Mehta physically, mentally, and academically vulnerable,” he said. “However it was received, I would’ve felt great at the end of the day because in more play time for all ages, wind and in turn become more over the course of the year like explores Learning Deeply — and we boiled them down to three especially just before intense productive. Schools should add researching your family tree. on Education Week, with guest I was being myself, but the fact that it blew up the way it did is a humbling experience.” LH main categories for well-being,” the au- moments, such as midterms. in longer break periods and set contributors. TO LINK TO THE VIDEO, AND TO SEE A LIST OF thors write, which led to their mantra: aside classtime for reflection. blogs.edweek.org/edweek/ OTHER PUBLICATIONS THAT RAN STORIES, GO TO:

“Every kid needs pdf every day.” ANDERSON JILL BY PHOTOGRAPH learning_deeply GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS

Illustrations by Laurent Cilluffo Intro. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

ON MY BOOKSHELF RACE TO THE BOTTOM LOOKING TOGETHER AT Michael McGill STUDENT WORK Tina Blythe, David Allen, and Focusing on the push over the past few Barbara Schieffelin Powell decades to “save” the nation’s schools James Ryan, Dean by applying rigorous business strate- In this revised version of a book COMPETITION AND COMPASSION IN gies, Michael McGill, M.A.T.’67, C.A.S.’70, published 20 years ago, the authors, CHINESE SECONDARY EDUCATION Ed.D.’72, a former superintendent, argues including TINA BLYTHE, ED.M.’02, and Xu Zhao that corporate reform has actually BARBARA SCHIEFFELIN POWELL, weakened public schools, with narrower M.A.T.’65, ED.D.’70, set out to do what In Competition and Compassion, XU ZHAO, curriculums and a slashing of “nonessen- they did the first time around: provide ED.M.’07, ED.D.’11, a native of China, examines tials” like art and languages. Educators, tips and strategies for teachers and CURRENTLY READING: I have three books on my nightstand that I’m going back and the genesis of academic competition between he writes, feel demoralized. In a chapter other educators to use when working Chinese schools and between Chinese stu- together to examine and discuss forth between: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, Random Family by Adrian Nicole called “Stop the Madness,” McGill offers dents, and what she sees as a lack of compas- concrete suggestions for change. student work. In this version, the authors LeBlanc, and Respect by SARA LAWRENCE-LIGHTFOOT, ED.D.’72. sion that has led to high test scores and toxic have updated the research, provided levels of stress. As a result, she writes, educa- new case studies, and included protocols FAVORITE BOOK FROM CHILDHOOD: I read a lot of biographies of sports heroes when I tion in China faces an unprecedented chal- — steps and structures — to help was younger, including everything I could find on Babe Ruth. But the first book I lenge to figure out how the learning experience guide the collaboration. remember having a real influence, insofar as it introduced me to the power of fiction, can be both competitive and compassionate, was A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I fell in love with that book, and it hooked me rigorous and humane. on literature. It helped that the book we read right before that one was The Old Man and the Sea, which made A Separate Peace seem even better!

BOOK YOU LOVE READING TO YOUR KIDS AND WHY: Our kids are all older and read on their own, but I loved reading just about any book to them when they were younger. FIFTEEN LETTERS ON The one I never tired of was Goodnight Moon because it has a very sweet rhythm. At EDUCATION IN SINGAPORE the moment, I’m reading a poem every night with my daughter, who is 10. It’s about as Fernando Reimers and E.B. O’Donnell much time as she’ll let me read to her. In the fall of 2015, a delegation of educators from Massachusetts trav- 18 IF YOU WERE TO GIVE A BOOK AS A GIFT TO SOMEONE, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? eled to Singapore to learn more about This is a hard question to answer. I like to give books to friends and family, and what the country’s journey from developing sort of book depends on the person. If they like fiction, I would think of stories that nation to major manufacturing and have stuck with me or made me think. I tend to like sad novels, so I would consider financial center, with one of the most high-performing education systems American Pastoral by Philip Roth or We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates. If in the world. From that visit, the they were in their twenties, I would lean heavily toward The Unbearable Lightness of team, including Professor FERNANDO Being by Milan Kundera, which is one of the first philosophically oriented books I read REIMERS, ED.M.’84, ED.D.’88, and cur- that made sense to me — and made sense of the world to me. If they like nonfiction, I rent doctoral student E.B. O’DONNELL, ED.M.’10, decided to write a series of would think of great reads about fascinating people, like West with the Night by Beryl letters, 15 in all, reflecting on what Markham or King of the World by David Remnick. If they were law and history nerds, they experienced visiting schools in like me, I would consider Lincoln at Gettysburg by Garry Wills. Singapore and to determine what lessons could be implemented here in FAVORITE SPOT TO CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK: I don’t really curl up. the United States.

NEXT UP: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. LH

FOR A FULL LIST OF BOOKS FEATURED IN THIS MICHAEL EVAN BY STYLING ISSUE: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS. IF YOU’RE PART OF THE ED SCHOOL COMMUNITY AND YOU’VE RECENTLY PUBLISHED A BOOK, LET US KNOW: THE LEADING EDGE OF EARLY [email protected] CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Nonie Lesaux and Stephanie Jones

In 2014, Professor Nonie Lesaux and Associate Professor Stephanie Jones brought together 300 scholars, practi- tioners, and policymakers for a one-day conference to talk about early childhood education. Inspired by what they heard, Lesaux and Jones asked several attend- ees to write chapters focused on press- ing issues in the field, including pieces on assessing the needs of bilingual learners, programs for students and their parents, and early intervention strategies.

Photograph by Ekaterina Smirnova 20 2016 Fall

CREDIT HERE

CREDIT HERE Illustration by Shout Shout YOU KNOW HE WANTS WANTS HE KNOW YOU IS BEING DISRUPTIVE TO DO WELL. DO TO HER FIRST YEAR TEACHING AT A LARGE URBAN SCHOOL, SCHOOL, URBAN LARGE A AT TEACHING YEAR FIRST HER Do the Right Thing. Right the Do YOUR STUDENT WITH WITH IN CLASS. IN EDUCATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE FACED FACED ARE COUNTRY THE ACROSS EDUCATORS THEY DON’T ALWAYS KNOW HOW TO RESPOND. TO HOW KNOW ALWAYS DON’T THEY AS ONE TEACHER SHARES IN A LOOK BACK AT BACK LOOK A IN SHARES TEACHER ONE AS ETHICAL ETHICAL DILEMMAS STORY BY STORY HE WON’T LISTEN. WON’T HE PHOTOGRAPHS BY DIANA LEVINE (But How?) (But

JESSICA LANDER, ED.M.’15

HE MESSES UP ANOTHER ANOTHER UP MESSES HE Summer 2016 STUDENT’S PROJECT,STUDENT’S LIKE THIS EVERY DAY AND, AND, DAY EVERY THIS LIKE

ON PURPOSE. HIS BEHAVIOR OR JUST JUST OR BEHAVIOR HIS GIVE A WARNING? A GIVE DO YOU REPORT REPORT YOU DO HE WON’T TALK. WON’T HE

21 Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

Halfway through the year I caught one of my 12th-graders cheating on a U.S. history test about the Progressive Era. Nothing elaborate, but three separate 22 times I watched as her eyes wandered to her 23 neighbor’s paper. Let’s call her Anna. On each occasion I subtly walked over and quietly re- minded Anna to keep her eyes on her paper. But when I went to grade, her answers were word-for-word identical to her neighbor’s (they also happened, unfortunately for Anna, to be mostly incorrect). What should I do? At the start of the year I had laid out explicit expectations: “If I catch you cheating, you get a zero.” End of story. Though I had taught in a variety of schools and settings, both abroad and locally, this was my first year teaching at this larger urban public high school. I hadn’t yet had to follow through on my rule. Until recently, Anna had struggled in class; she seemed constantly to be texting or nod- ding off. But recently she had begun partici- pating in discussions and regularly turning in assignments. Would her motivation dry up if she received a big red zero on her test? Yet I couldn’t fail to address her choice to cheat. Challenging decisions involving questions of ethics, justice, and equity arise every day in classrooms, lunch cafeterias, and principals’ offices. Do you promote a student who is be- low grade level, but who might drop out if held back? Should a school participate in grade in- flation because it will help their students get into college, even if it fails to give them an ac- Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

curate measure of their strengths and weak- of their choices. nesses? These are challenges that face educa- After much debate, Anna suggested I de- tors with surprising regularity. duct 20 points from her score. And together These decisions can alter our students’ we decided that before the next test we would success in school and, in some cases, their fu- meet to discuss study strategies. When the “WHEN WE EXCLUDE tures. They are decisions not to be taken light- next test came, Anna chose a seat far from her ly and not to be made alone. peers and particularly her friends. When she OUR STUDENTS FROM But rarely, it seems, do we speak openly turned in her paper, she was smiling. Her final DECISIONS THAT about how to tackle these everyday dilemmas. grade was markedly better. INVOLVE THEM, Too often they remain private ruminations. In Dilemmas of Educational Ethics, Levin- WE PASS UP AUTHENTIC Unlike hospitals, where doctors meet weekly to son and Fay have amassed an army of 36 edu- OPPORTUNITIES TO discuss vexing cases, many schools lack a reg- cators to debate moral predicaments: Should a ular forum or intellectual framework to mean- teacher report a student who she believes has TEACH THEM ingfully collaborate and debate hard challeng- stolen a pricey iPhone, knowing the likely con- HOW TO GRAPPLE es that arise in the classroom. Professor Meira sequence could be expulsion, felony charg- WITH HARD QUESTIONS — Levinson and current doctoral student JACOB es, and jail time if convicted? How should a AND TO TAKE OWNERSHIP FAY, ED.M.’14, have tried to spark a conversation teacher include a girl who struggles with im- with their collaborative new book Dilemmas of pulse control and can be disruptive in class? OF THEIR CHOICES.” Educational Ethics: Cases and Commentaries. Levinson and Fay have asked professors of Levinson and Fay present six everyday political science, criminal justice, philosophy, school scenarios. For each they invited six education, African American studies, and ur- scholars or educators to share thoughts and ban policy. They have included the thoughts approaches for these difficult decisions. of nonprofit leaders, charter school founders, Reading their book late this spring made and middle and high school teachers. me think back to the student I caught cheat- Not included are the voices of young people. ing. I remember agonizing over the long week- With this in mind, I decided to pose Levinson end, but by Monday it became clear. I needed and Fay’s problems to my students. to bring Anna into the conversation. 24 “What do you suggest I do?” I asked Anna 25 after class. I laid out the predicament. She squirmed in her seat, puzzled and a little over- whelmed that I was seeking her opinion. Anna tried pushing back: “I don’t know. You decide.” She wouldn’t look at me. No, I in- sisted, I wanted her opinion. Tentatively: “You could forgive me. ...?” Of course, I told her, I At lunch, my had already done so, but she had cheated and classroom fills owned up to cheating, so what was the appro- with students priate consequence? As teachers we are charged with nurturing, often swapping inspiring, and mentoring young people as they snacks: explore and fashion their identities. Our roles spicy Burmese fish for Vietnamese fish balls, are not confined to conveying facts about our or perhaps Brazilian sweets. While munching discrete disciplines. on hummus and pita myself one afternoon, I I often find myself being a sounding board presented Levinson and Fay’s dilemmas. for my students as they learn how to tackle sup- As I knew they would, my students took porting a friend who is overworked, coming each in turn, mulling it thoughtfully and con- forward about bullying, standing up to a part- ferring. Kaleidoscopically, they examined ner or, in the case of one quiet and thoughtful the angles. For the girl with impulse control, history lover, asking advice on how to a speak should she be moved to a new group? one stu- to a girl he cared for. dent asked. “No,” another chimed in, “she We try to provide our students with not wasn’t trying to act out. She should still be only the skills to tackle five-paragraph es- included.” “What if,” one of my students sug- says and long division problems, but to meet gested, “the teacher explained to the other stu- the challenging situations life will throw their dents that she struggled with control, and they way. When we exclude our students from deci- worked on strategies together?” sions that involve them, we pass up authentic Every scenario I presented followed a simi- opportunities to teach them how to grapple lar pattern: My students agreed that the young

with hard questions — and to take ownership people in question had to be included, that be- HERE CREDIT

Illustration by John Doe Harvard Ed. ing part of the conversation would help ad- write about what had made them upset, to tell CASES IN POINT Without being able to address the underly- to send money home to distant relatives, oth- dress the problem. their stories. Then, collaboratively with the ing root causes, teachers are left to make un- ers rush from school to cleaning jobs to pay I sat back, watching my students parse the teacher and sometimes other students, they As Professor Meira Levinson and doctoral easy compromises. I chose to keep John in the for heating bills. I have students who strug- nuances of each challenge, pressing each oth- came up with a strategy for addressing the student Jacob Fay, Ed.M.’14, point out in class, but had him work independently — mak- gle with loneliness for families and home- er to dive deeper. In their book, Levinson and conflict and a game plan for re-entering class. Dilemmas of Educational Ethics, the chal- ing the call while juggling the needs of my oth- lands that are oceans away. There are others Fay suggest different ways for their case stud- The practice is an offshoot of a national lenging ethical dilemmas that teachers er 19 students and knowing the bell was soon who replay memories of war, refugee camps, ies to be used as jumping off points for discus- movement away from punitive school policies and school leaders face “are not exotic to ring. And while we continued our conversa- and flight. Some play peacemaker in volatile problems; they are everyday dilemmas.” sions among faculty. But listening to my stu- and punishments to a practice and philosophy tions — John and I — he continued to disrupt homes. Still others — like Rosie would soon be “RESEARCH SHOWS THAT And they’re not limited to one area of the dents, I wondered too if such challenges could termed restorative justice. Rather than the country or one type of district. “They (we!) class throughout the year, and never was there — are parents themselves. also become regular lessons for our students — suspension or expulsion, the approach invites DISCIPLINING STUDENTS are struggling with them in wealthy and in time or the support to create successful sus- We can’t ignore these real-life concerns. As helping them to sharpen their minds on prob- students to be part of creating a solution, em- BY REMOVING THEM middle- and low-income schools; in rural, tainable strategies. teachers, it is essential to appreciate and ad- lems that exist in shades of gray. powering them to take responsibility for their suburban, and urban districts; in magnet, dress our students’ outside lives. Even more important, encouraging stu- actions and solve school conflicts. FROM CLASS HAS regular, district, charter, parochial, and We cannot lower our expectations. But dents and staff to share the burden of hard Yet at many schools, often with thousands LONG-TERM NEGATIVE independent schools; along the coasts, as many of the contributors in Levinson and decisions has the potential to foster trust and of students, there are no such programs or ap- in the American heartland, from south to Fay’s book point out, and as I have experi- OUTCOMES ON THEIR north, and everywhere in between.” create more just schools. By making decisions proaches — and often too little time. If a teach- enced, we can be flexible and creative in sup- ACADEMIC SUCCESS. Unfortunately, teachers and educations not only transparent but also inclusive can er wants a disruptive student out of class, se- often have to wrestle with these challeng- porting each individual student. help teachers see students holistically, rather curity escorts the student to an office, where I HAVE NEVER FELT ing, sometimes heart-wrenching dilemmas “ Rosie and I met the next day to create a than focus on specific incidents of miscon- he or she is often treated like a troublemaker COMFORTABLE on their own. That’s a big part of the rea- Miss, I want plan. We mapped out what assignments she duct; we end up holding ourselves more ac - and then sent to detention to sit silently for a son why Levinson and Fay wrote the book: was missing. I printed out new copies. I ex- countable, just as we strive for our charges to period of time after the last school bell rings. SENDING MY STUDENTS to provide a tool — usable case studies to tell you. …I’m plained that for her I would make an exception do the same. And by engaging student voices, Not surprisingly, research shows that disci- OUT.” — for educators to read and use as they pregnant.” to my one-week policy. It was important that face their own ethical struggles. For addi- the entire community is more likely to believe plining students by removing them from class Rosie was a shy senior whom I had just begun she do the work, demonstrate mastery, but if it tional thinking about the issues, each case in the legitimacy of the final decisions. has long-term negative outcomes on their study is followed by six responses written to really know over lunches and afternoon took her longer than her peers, she would not academic success. A structure that addresses by people involved in the education field, conversations. Academically she had been be penalized. I also reached out to a library only the effect (John acting out) rather than including several faculty members at the struggling, missing school often and incon- tutor, arranging a time for her to meet daily the cause (why John acted out) does little to Ed School. sistently turning in assignments. It was 50–50 to work through classwork and homework for prevent a similar situation from happening So with so many potential dilemmas whether she could scrape together the credits both my class and others. faced by teachers and other educators, 26 the next day or next week. I have never felt to graduate on time. Equality in education need not mean treat- 27 comfortable sending my students out. Yet I how did they choose the ones they did for “Miss, I want to graduate,” she said, her ing students uniformly. Truly equitable educa- the book? As Levinson recently told the struggle with the compromise — the possible Harvard EdCast, “These are not the six voice quiet but determined. tion means seeing an individual with specific negative impact on the rest of the class. most important cases or the only cases I couldn’t agree with her more: It was vital strengths and also specific needs. It means Late one winter There are no easy solutions when schools we need, but they seem to traverse a lot that she graduate. recognizing the structures and barriers that afternoon, my lack the structures, dedicated staff, or finan- of important ground in education ethics, Without a diploma, Rosie would face sub- get in each student’s way and being deliberate upper-class cial resources to support students like John. moving from the classroom to the school stantial challenges. High school dropouts un- and persistent in seeking ways to help students But what if schools saw everyday dilemmas to the district and even the state level.” able to compete for high-paying, high-skilled overcome them. students were as bellwethers that reveal underlying school jobs, earn roughly $9,000 less a year than Most importantly, it requires inviting a stu- THE CASES INCLUDE: sprawled across pressure points, where schools are falling classmates who graduate. Fewer than one in dent’s community into decisions that impact short of successfully serving students? A 1. A struggling student and whether to four teen moms receive financial support from their future. It means not making those de- the floor promote her, knowing she might drop out designing and coloring political party posters number of the contributors in Levinson and their child’s father, and half of teen mothers cisions alone but rather reaching beyond the altogether if not promoted. for a lesson on the impact of 1930s German Fay’s book highlight the need to dive more who drop out live below the poverty line. The classroom and fully partnering with teachers, 2. How to balance the needs of a disrup- propaganda. One young man — John, let’s say deeply into the causes of these specific pre- impact on her baby would also be substantial coaches, guidance councilors, families, and, tive third-grader with mental illness and — refused to participate. He sat stubbornly dicaments presented in the six case studies. the needs of the rest of the students. — a higher likelihood of early health complica- most importantly, students themselves. to the side, brushing off the invitations of his Having more open discussions would not tions, of reading delays and lower test scores Slowly, Rosie’s assignments trickled in. On 3. A new academic dean grappling with peers. We talked quietly in the corner — me only lead to more ethical decisions for indi- conflicting grading and grade inflation at a compared to babies born to older moms. numerous occasions she would spend lunches trying unsuccessfully to find out what was vidual students, but also could allow teachers private school — and conflicting interests I knew, though, that Rosie was not a sta- in my room, head down, working away. Some- making him so upset. We discussed a strategy to identify the systemic causes of these indi - in the status quo. tistic. She is smart and thoughtful and deter- times she would stop to talk. We spoke of her and a task he could take on, but five minutes vidual cases — and help schools begin to make 4. Boston Public Schools’ new school as- mined — and like many teen moms, deeply pregnancy, of her financial concerns. Once we later he was drawing designs on his hand. A sustainable change. signment plan and potential pandering to motivated. She needed to graduate. But to do made lists of baby names. team member asked for his help. Aggravated, For example, a discussion starting with middle class families in an effort to keep so, she would need our help. And then came graduation. Rosie turned in John got up and deliberately stepped on their how to support John could quickly ripple out- them in the district. What should I do? A look at my grade-book her last assignment only days before. Across poster, leaving the dark outline of his sneaker. ward: Why do we maintain traditional deten- 5. Whether to report a high school student confirmed that she was missing more than a the stage she walked, hair curled, nails pol- I think back to when I taught in Boston tion? What will students learn from the prac- suspected of stealing a teacher’s phone dozen assignments including a major project ished, robe billowing. with the nonprofit Citizen Schools extended tice? Have we measured its effectiveness? in a zero-tolerance school with possible and a test. Usually I maintained a one-week I couldn’t have clapped any louder. learning day program. If a student acted out What alternatives might be more effective? criminal action looming. policy for submitting late work — at least a few 6. How, if at all, should charter schools be — threw a fit, cussed another student out — we By asking these questions, we can begin to un- of her assignments were a month overdue. JESSICA LANDER, ED.M.’15, IS A TEACHER AND had the option to send them to “Step Up.” Un- earth the root causes of many everyday chal- compared to local district schools. Rosie’s challenges are not unique. Many JOURNALIST. SHE IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE USABLE KNOWLEDGE BLOG AND THE BOSTON like detention, Step Up was a space and time lenges, and begin to rework structural barriers LISTEN TO LEVINSON’S EDCAST AT: of my teenage students carry adult burdens. GLOBE, WHERE SHE WRITES OP-EDS ON EDUCA- for reflection. Students would have a chance to that impede our students’ success. GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED.EXTRAS/ Some work as late as 3 a.m. on assembly lines TION. SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF DRIVING BACKWARDS, Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

Summer 2016

SCENES FROM AN OPEN HOUSE WHY DO WE CONTINUE TO BLOW IT WITH THIS ANNUAL BACK-TO-SCHOOL EVENT? STORY BY LORY HOUGH

28 29 CREDIT HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT Harvard Ed. Fall 2016 “ HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN TO A SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE?”

asks Senior Lecturer KAREN MAPP, ED.M.’93, ful tool for parents and teachers and not just houses wouldn’t be planned the way they are ED.D.’99. Pretty much all hands in Askwith Hall something a school ticks off as “done” at the now. They would be a much warmer, much go up. “And I bet you just can’t wait to turn off beginning of the year. more collaborative event and” — here she Scandal to go to another one.” “It started with Trinity College,” she says, stresses the term — “linked to learning.” Based on the laughter in the room, the an- where she once worked as associate director of Then why aren’t they? Why are most schools swer is clearly no. Although open houses are a admissions. “I was asked to coordinate efforts following the cattle-herding formula, leaving rare chance for parents and caregivers to walk to recruit a more diverse group of students to families with a ho-hum first impression and freely around the school and meet with educa- the college — racially, ethnically, and socio- wondering the next year if they should even tors, unfortunately, as Mapp points out and as economically. As I traveled and talked to bother attending? the audience reaction clearly confirms, tradi- young people, I started to ask, ‘What is it that The main reason, Mapp says, is that “peo- tional open houses just don’t work. led you to being so successful in school?’ I was ple don’t know how to do open houses” or fam- They’re boring. They’re rushed. And they struck by how many said it was my parents, ily engagement in general. “Parents say they end up feeling a lot like cattle drives, as Mapp and by parents I mean also aunts, grandpar- want to partner with schools, but they don’t 30 likes to say, with parents first crowding into ents, any adults who pushed them and told know how. Teachers say they want to do better 31 the cafeteria to hear the principal talk for 20 them they could do it. It was pretty powerful but don’t know how.” Even when family en- minutes about rules related to bussing and at- that almost every student I talked to men- gagement became federally mandated when tendance before being herded to classrooms tioned one of these people. I talked to guid- Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- where teachers usually talk about — guess ance counselors and said, ‘The kids are telling cation Act stated that any Title 1 school had to what? — more rules. me adults are key.’ I asked what are you doing develop an agrement, or “school-family com- “Do I get to learn, as a parent, a new tip or to get them, the adults, involved. They looked pact,” describing how schools and parents tool? Do I get to practice something that helps at me like I had three heads. They didn’t think would work togther, there was no guidebook “Well, technically it’s free. But if you’re interested in spending any time support my kid’s learning?” Mapp asks. “Not family engagement was very helpful.” on how to do that. As the U.S. Department of with your kid’s teacher, you should definitely upgrade to our “A+” ticket, which’ll usually. Do the teachers get to hear from me But Mapp, who later served as a deputy su- Education noted in a statement to Education put you right smack at the front of the line — no waiting.” about what I know about my kid that might perintendent for family and community rela- Week in 2012 about the mandate, “The ap - help them be a better teacher? No.” tions in Boston Public Schools, knows how im- proach to family engagement has been frag- As a result, on any given fall night in the portant it is. And schools, more often than not, mented and nonstrategic, often constituting United States, “15,000 or more of these open aren’t doing as much as they could, or should, ‘random acts of family involvement.’” What ends up happening is what University houses occur, and we blow it,” Mapp says. to engage families. Mapp says educators want to “do right” of Washington Assistant Professor ANN ISHI- We blow it because open houses are not “We waste a wonderful opportunity with by families, “but their capacity hasn’t been MARU, ED.M.’08, ED.D.’11, a researcher on school– linked to learning and because they don’t many of our events at school, and open house built. We have not done a good job of train- community relationships, calls a toxic cycle: do a good job of helping families make that is just one of them,” she says. ing our practitioners.” As she writes in Beyond Schools organize events, like the open house, initial connection to the people in the build- Although there are lots of ways to engage the Bake Sale, her first book on family–school and, if parents don’t show, conclude they just ing. And as Mapp points out, when it comes families throughout the year, given that most partnerships, many teachers “tend to be more don’t care. to helping students succeed, relationships re- open houses are fairly well attended (at least comfortable with helping families to be in- “A Somali mom I met recently put this so ally matter. at the elementary level) and one of the first volved with their children at home than with potently,” Ishimaru says. “She said, ‘Just be- events of the school year — and sometimes the engaging families in their classrooms and cause we don’t speak English doesn’t mean only face-to-face contact parents have with school buildings.” we can’t see. We know they [educators] are teachers — it’s critical that schools rethink What holds them back? For starters, there’s judging us.’ That’s what happens when par- RELATIONSHIPS ARE KING their back-to-school night. mindset. Some educators, whether they admit ents don’t attend the typical open house or This realization that relationships matter “It’s really the beginning of the relation- it or not, don’t necessarily believe that parents parent-teacher conference or they do attend when it comes to student success is exactly ship between home and school. It’s a partner- want to be engaged or even want the best for once and then decide to be ‘too busy’ the next why Mapp is now on a personal quest to re- ship focused on the child’s learning,” Mapp their children. Some don’t recognize that their time.” Too often, as Ishimaru has found in her vamp the open house in America — to make says. “As a staff, if we said, ‘Here’s our first school culture is unwelcoming or that fami- research and her work with the Family Lead- this time-honored back-to-school event a use- chance to engage parents,’ then surely open lies feel like they are “bothering” school staff. ership Design Collaborative, which looks at

Illustration by Kevin Pope Harvard Ed. Fall 2016 “Parents tell us that feeling welcome and being treated with respect by school staff is the number one key to their connection with a school.”

have to believe that all parents have some- are worried that parents will think less of them. the school’s K–8 visual arts teacher, “we offer thing to offer (regardless of education level or Young teachers worry parents will think they to meet with them on their own time to share background), and they have to trust that what don’t know what they’re doing. Families are the information they missed.” Over the course parents offer will be valuable. “Guess what? worried they’ll be judged. Both sides are ner- of the year, the staff also makes an extra ef- Families and communities have funds of vous about what the other is thinking.” fort to connect with harder-to-reach families. knowledge that we need in order to be better Mapp says this mutual mistrust or unease “For example, teachers complete a minimum educators,” Mapp says. “It can’t just be teach- “makes it very difficult to execute any strat - of two home visits to families who have not ers and principals talking at the families.” egies to improve outcomes for schools. Trust been able to actively attend our out-of-school- ELIZABETH CANADA, ED.M.’15, works with teach- is like the lubricant that keeps all of the other time events,” says Byron. They also offer rides ers every day as a family engagement coach things moving.” to events like open house to families that don’t for the Boston-based nonprofit 1647, which Which is why Canada and her colleagues at have transportation. was named for the year the Massachusetts leg- 1647, including founder John Connolly, a for- At Whittemore Elementary in Waltham, islature declared that educating children is a mer Boston city councillor, help teachers and Massachusetts, Principal EMMA HERZOG, ED.M.’14, 32 community responsibility. She says families families get to know one another with home has found that in all of the diverse schools 33 have to be a welcomed part of the team — but visits that initially happen well before poten- where she has worked, open house is a key op- often aren’t. tially tense events like the open house. portunity for staff to explain to parents how “Unfortunately in education, we’ve gotten “The home visit flips the dynamic,” Can- U.S. schools work while simultaneously build- really good at working in silos,” she says. “We ada says. “When I was a teacher, the class- ing relationships. need to break those down.” room was my kingdom. That’s where I felt “The majority of our students do not speak As Mapp writes in Beyond the Bake Sale, safe, where I was in control, where I could in- English at home. Most students speak Span- “Hiya, folks. I’m Ralph, and I’m your emcee. My cohosts tonight are Rusty, our “The expression ‘Parents are their children’s vite others in, but it was still my space. Home ish, but we also have students who speak other “Welcome,beloved I’m mascot, Ralph and the Estelle Janitor. from After the fortycafeteria. minutes Before or I dismissso, I’ll hand you to o your the classrooms, mic to Rusty the first teachers’ is so widely used it has become a visits flip that power dynamic; teachers get out languages, like Portuguese and Haitian Cre- Raven and thenlet me to tellLenora you a the little Lunch bit about Lady what before it takes we tonally keep dismissthis school you clean…” to see the teachers.” cliché, but it is true. We should view and treat of the school and visit with families in their ole,” she says. “We use open house as a tool parents as the experts they are.” Educators and space, where families feel most comfortable.” to help make all families feel comfortable and parents “are two such important systems for She says this could be in a home or at baseball welcome and to build strong and lasting rela- kids — they have to work together.” practice, in a park, or at a coffee shop. “Just not tionships. We also use open house as an oppor- racial equality in family engagement, teach- This sense of working together comes from at the school. We are always asking families to tunity to explain systems and structures, to ers default to stereotypes about whole cul- developing a relationship — something every- come to us, to cross the academic threshold to explain what their students will be learning.” tural, ethnic, or socio-economic groups of one working in the family engagement field meet with us — to come to our turf. Relation- For parents and caretakers who come from dif- people. Worse case scenario, she says, “well- says is what parents crave. ship-building home visits, scheduled in ad- ferent cultures or did not attend school in the intentioned school events, like open houses, “Parents tell us that feeling welcome and vance, allow us to meet with families in a non- United States, she says, “Open house gives us can actually inadvertently send the message being treated with respect by school staff is academic setting to have authentic, positive a chance to demystify how our school works.” that people are not good parents unless they the number one key to their connection with a conversations during which we get to know Moving into her second year as principal, Her- passively support what educators and profes- school,” Mapp writes. “When school staff con- one another as people.” zog says she will be adding more translators at sionals say is best for their children.” struct caring and trustful relationships with At Gardner Pilot Academy in Boston, LIZ BY- events like open house to cover all languages Mapp, in her forthcoming book due out parents, treating parents as partners in their RON, ED.M.’08, a sixth-grade math teacher, says spoken by her families. next spring and co-written with Eileen Carver, children’s education, parents are far more like- her school also makes it clear early on that a Boston teacher, says this is why, when they ly to become involved,” and, she says stay in- each family is valued. Leading up to the open work with schools on improving family en- volved down the road. house, for example, every middle school fam- gagement, “we start with thinking about the Unfortunately, deep-seated layers of mis- ily receives a personalized phone call from a BUT WHY? teacher’s mindset. What do you really think trust often develop between schools and teacher not only inviting them to the event, but Why is all of this important? Research shows about the families in your class? Do you see families. Canada, remembering her days also confirming attendance. that family engagement improves student suc- them as resources or problems?” In order for teaching, says at events like the open house, “If families are not able to attend,” says By- cess at school. As Mapp wrote in her paper A family engagement to be effective, educators “Everyone is afraid of something. Educators ron, who is transitioning this fall to become New Wave of Evidence, students with involved

Illustration by Kevin Pope Harvard Ed. Fall 2016 “ If we don’t do these things, not only do we not engage families, but families stay away.”

parents — no matter their income level or says the change came in response to feedback to talk about their hopes and dreams for their background — earn higher grades, are more that open house was boring and too hectic to kids. Those answers were eventually posted likely to attend school regularly, have better accomplish much. They decided to host both alongside the family tree. social skills, and are more likely to go on to col- an orientation and an open house. The orien- “This night said, ‘We’re going to be a part lege. One study found that elementary school tation, held a week before school starts, is like of a team,’” Mapp says. “By doing this, it says I students made greater and more consistent a mini fair with stations that allow families to value your knowledge about your child.” gains when teachers were “especially active” meet and mingle with staff, take student IDs, Ishimaru says schools can also design the in their outreach to parents, which included and learn about fun extracurriculars. Open event so that families have a chance to get to face-to-face meetings, sending home materi- house is held around mid-September, after re- know other families and to begin to build rela- al for parents to use to help their children, and lationships have been nurtured, and is more tionships with each other, family to family. “In calling home routinely with updates. academically focused. It’s also student led. racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse However, educators need to be mindful of Students individually prepare an electronic contexts, that can sometimes begin more com- when and why they reach out, Canada says. presentation to share with parents and care- fortably by ethnic/cultural/language group,” 34 “We do a great job of reaching out to fam- givers regarding their current progress in she says. On a practical level, schools can also 35 ilies when something goes wrong but never the form of “glows and grows” — an assess- stagger the open house, with one grade per positive calls,” Canada says. “We run out of ment strategy related to strengths and chal- night, allowing parents with multiple kids not time. We know that the things not happen- lenges, Ivey says. “It also includes a synopsis to feel rushed as they race from class to class. ing well need to be addressed, so we do those of the data and their action plan for moving Open house could be held off site or on the things first.” forward.” For students unable to attend open playground, becoming more of a get-to-know- But educators need to think beyond the house, presentations are divided up during the you party, where the principal and teachers here and now, she says. “When you establish a school day. “The secretary takes a few, coun- serve the families. “We’ve got the kids’ open house this Friday, or the Swanson’s positive relationship with parents, it saves you selors have a group, career specialists, even “I’ve also seen open houses where every- vacation slideshow of their cement factory tour — which I’m leaning towards.” time later. If you have to reach out to a family the principals have a group of students they one wears big name badges and they have fun to give bad news — say their child was throw- meet with who then present their data,” he activities that let the teachers and parents get ing things — if this is the first time [they’re] says. “Even the head custodian.” together to talk. The principal is saying this is hearing from [you], that message will be re- the kind of relationship we want to have with house — or any family engagement event — ceived differently” than if you’ve already cre- you this year,” Mapp says. One high school takes, Mapp says families should leave feel- ated a trusting partnership with them. she visited explained to parents that students ing excited about the year and have an under- Mapp also stresses that everything a OTHER WAYS OF DOING would be learning how to craft an argument. standing about learning goals. They should school does, including engaging fami - What are other ways that schools can improve But rather than just giving them another hand- learn at least three or four things their child lies, should be “linked to learning.” Many on family engagement in general and open out to take home, teachers gave parents an ex- will know by the end of the year and they schools offer obvious ways to engage fami- houses specifically? From her days work- ercise to do on the spot. “Parents had to use ev- should definitely feel included. lies that also improve academics — family ing in Boston Public Schools, Mapp remem- idence from around the school and make their “If we don’t do these things,” Mapp says, math nights or tutoring sessions — but she bers one middle school in the district getting own case for a particular argument,” Mapp “not only do we not engage families, but fami- says schools need to get into the mindset of creative. They renamed open house to Fam- says. “They got to explore what it meant to lies stay away.” connecting all of the activities that involve ily Fun Night. There was a jazz band playing craft an argument and find evidence, exactly And when you don’t do these things, says families to learning, including events like the in the lobby. The staff rolled out a red carpet what was expected of their kids. This let them Canada, you lose who the whole student is. open house or the spring concert, in ways that for families to walk down as they entered the learn what the kids would be learning, but in “You lose their full story when you’re not

are both fun and useful. school, and kids were lined up along the car- a fun way.” engaging families,” she says. “It’s like if you’re TIPS FOR MAKING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT HAPPEN: GSE. Alice Drive Middle School in Sumter, South pet, taking pictures like paparazzi. The photos It’s these kinds of activities and this kind on a hockey team and you’re down two play- HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS Carolina, has found a way, by offering not one, were later used to create a big family tree in of engaging event that are “designed to really ers — maybe they’re in the penalty box. You’re LISTEN TO AN EDCAST WITH JOHN CONNOLLY ON HIS 1647 NONPROFIT: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS but two back-to-school events. TREVOR IVEY, the main hallway. When families branched off start the year off right,” Mapp says. “It says we now a three-person team. That’s what educa- KAREN MAPP’S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FRAME- ED.M.’10, the assistant principal and a former later to visit their individual classes, the teach- care about you. We want your engagement.” tion is like when we’re not engaging families. WORK ON FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: GSE.HARVARD.EDU/ third-grade and middle school science teacher, ers asked parents and caregivers specifically In the end, no matter what format an open We lose the full team.” ED/EXTRAS

Illustration by Kevin Pope Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

Summer Life, Liberty, and2016 the Pursuit of a Video Game HOW ONE ED SCHOOL PROFESSOR IS HELPING KIDS BETTER UNDERSTAND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

STORY BY ANDREW BAULD, ED.M.’16

36 37

ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL HERTZBERG CREDIT HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

“ I think it is a good moment for a civics story that can connect different parts of the country.” PROFESSOR DANIELLE ALLEN

38 39 thousand years in the future, the America we know to- day is a very different place. Ruled by a dystopian mon- archy that has shut down all democratic institutions, a small group of dissenters struggle to keep historical records intact, but they possess only bits and pieces of the important writings that once made up the foun- dations of American government. The group sends a young girl, Briana, back in time to the beginnings of the American Revolution to try and restore democra - cy for the future. Her only aid: fragments of a long-for- gotten and misunderstood document she must piece back together, something called the Declaration of Independence. ¶ This isn’t the plot to the next Holly - wood historical thriller, but the beginning of a unique new video game being designed by a team of educa- TKTKTK tors, political philosophers, and software engineers TKTKTK TKTKTK at Harvard, led by Ed School Professor Danielle Allen. TKTKTK

Photograph by Jason Grow Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

It might seem an odd direction for a politi- philosophers have taught us to think that there cal theorist who has published broadly in dem- is an inherent tension between liberty and ocratic theory, political sociology, and the his- equality, that we can pursue egalitarian com- tory of political thought. But in an age where mitments only at the expense of governmental the life of Alexander Hamilton can be turned intrusions that reduce liberty. ... Because we into a hit Broadway hip-hop musical, perhaps have accepted the view that there is a trade- bringing the Declaration of Independence off between equality and liberty, we think we into the digital age might not be such a wild have to choose.” idea and, in many ways, is an ideal vehicle to make the declaration relevant and interactive for young people. “A video game is a living product,” Allen WRONG, WRONG, WRONG And as historians note, when the docu- says. “I think the biggest challenge thinking ment was presented, Franklin likely wasn’t about a video game is actually trying to figure For the opener of this story, we used an there, nor was Livingston, who opposed out what will be the sustainable organization iconic painting called the Declaration of independence and never actually signed that grows this over time. I think it is a good Independence by John Trumbull, which the declaration. Sneff writes that the moment for a civics story that can connect to hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda and is painting, completed in 1818, is somewhat different parts of the country.” on the back of the two-dollar bill. random in terms of who appears: 42 of the Allen, a recently appointed professor at the We clearly manipulated the art. 56 signers are in it, plus another six who Ed School, is also a professor of government can feel the passion for the declaration in Al- As it turns out, we weren’t the first — didn’t sign the document at all. at Harvard College and director of Harvard’s len’s writing and voice. This is not a preserved Trumbull himself took liberties with the “Though Trumbull worked on the paint- In this screen shot from Portrait of a Tryant, Briana is in the captain’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. She holds document to be observed through museum scene, as Emily Sneff recently explained ing for years in hopes of including all of quarters of the British Gaspee customs schooner. Ph.D.’s in classics and government, is an opin- glass, but a still-relevant reminder of how we in a post on Danielle Allen’s Declaration the signers, the lesser-known delegates ion columnist for The Washington Post, and re- all might better live our lives. Still, while Our Resources Project website. Sneff, the proj- and the ones who died in the decades just ceived a MacArthur Fellowship for her “ability Declaration did much to bring to light the im - ect’s research manager, started her piece after the Declaration of Independence was of Independence,” she says. “It just felt like video game and organizing the game around to combine the classicist’s careful attention to portance of the declaration, Allen believed she with the lyrics from a song about Trumbull signed didn’t make the cut,” Sneff writes. a travesty, especially since the whole point of the structure of grievances and rights. texts and language with the political theorist’s missed a crucial opportunity with the book to that were eventually cut from the smash “Both Jefferson and Adams apparently the declaration is for people with grievances “We want to give kids a rich, active under- sophisticated and informed engagement.” reach a middle-school audience. Her solution: Broadway musical, Hamilton: advised Trumbull that, in cases where to have a way of articulating them and chang- standing of the declaration,” Allen says. “The 40 This lifelong work teaching and writing a video game to give kids an active understand- no portraits could be found to copy, the ing the world.” As she said on The Diane Rehm game turns around the grievances and the 41 about political philosophy culminated in 2014 ing of the document. You ever see a painting by John Trumbull? delegates should be left out rather than Show, when talking about her adult students, connection between the grievances and the with Our Declaration: A Reading of the Decla- To trace the birth of a video game derived Founding Fathers in a line, looking all poorly represented.” “Nobody else had ever made the suggestion declaration and the Bill of Rights. The rights ration of Independence in Defense of Equality. from one of America’s best-known yet often humble It appears that Trumbull also took that the text belonged to them.” are solutions to the grievances, and once you Allen wrote the book — which has since won misunderstood political documents, you have Patiently waiting to sign a declaration, creative license with the setting, the Penn- Now, Allen and her team will seek not only understand that connection, you can under- several awards — in part to clear up several to begin in a classroom at the University of to start a nation sylvania State House, now called Indepen- to bring the declaration to a wider audience, stand the logical structure of the Declaration misconceptions about the declaration. Chicago, where Allen was teaching the dec- No sign of disagreement, not one grumble dence Hall in Philadelphia. According to but to bring it to life. The video game, cur- of Independence.” “As I worked on the book, one of the things laration almost a decade ago. In particular, The reality is messier and richer, kids Architect of the Capitol, the federal agency rently titled Portrait of a Tyrant, takes place Turow says, “Danielle is one of the most I realized is that we actually have a lot of col- her night class for adult students retaught her The reality is not a pretty picture, kids in charge of maintaining the Capitol, the between 1772 and 1776, leading up to the sign- naturally gifted teachers I’ve ever met. As lective confusion about the text of the Decla- exactly how powerful each of the document’s Every cabinet meeting is a full-on rumble number and placement of doors and win- ing of the Declaration of Independence. The smart as she is, what is amazing is how simple ration of Independence,” Allen says. “People 1,337 words really is. What you ’bout to see is no John Trumbull dows is different, and the furniture in the game’s main player takes on the role of Bri- she makes complicated ideas.” tend to the think the sentence ends after the “Every teacher has had the experience painting was more elegant than it likely ana, a young girl from the future whose job is The game, which is being designed for stu- first three clauses — ‘We hold these truths to when you can tell the whole class is completely So what’s the messy problem? The problem was in real life — artistic decisions based to piece together the declaration and help save dents in grades 6–12, will let players traverse be self-evident, that all men are created equal, engaged, and every single session on the dec- is that what most people see in this “pretty either on a sketch that Jefferson gave to democracy for the future. several historical events through increasingly that they are endowed by their Creator with laration was like that,” Allen says. “There was picture” never really happened. The mem- the artist when the two met in Paris years “The purpose of the game in many ways difficult adventures to better understand the certain unalienable Rights, that among these a sense of urgency around it, and people kept bers of the Continental Congress never before to discuss the plan or, perhaps, is to tell the stories behind the grievances ar- grievances of early Americans and draw con- are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness’ drawing connections to their own life. There came together in July to sign the Declara- based on Trumbull’s whimsy. ticulated in the declaration and to link them nections to the real life impact of the declara- — and that’s a mistake.” was a really palpable sense that what people tion of Independence with the Committee In one area, the painting is absolutely to the rights articulated 13 years later in the tion. Importantly, the game will stay true to In fact, the sentence continues and pro- were reading directly helped them think about of Five — Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin authentic and accurate: capturing the Bill of Rights,” says Gabe Turow, a game des- Thomas Jefferson’s words. vides the heart of the document, offering up a things they were seeing and living through.” Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, faces of some of the founding fathers of signer and the project manager for Portrait of “We are different on the landscape of histor- theory of revolution and arguing for the basic Over the course of these sessions, howev- and Roger Sherman — and definitely never the country. As Trumbull wrote in his auto- a Tyrant. “The two documents tell one long ical video games in putting the text front and right of the people to alter their government er, Allen came to a painful realization. A basic presented the document as a group to biography, Autobiography, reminiscences story when read together, and we’re showing center,” Allen says. “We’re using the original when that government is not working. tool that she saw as a means of social action to John Hancock, president of the congress. and letters of John Trumbull, his greatest you how all the pieces relate through dialogues language, we’re not converting to modern ver- In her line-by-line close analysis, Allen ar- better understand the world when it is working As one site about the painting points gift with this painting was to preserve the that are structured like puzzles, and the player nacular, and the whole purpose is to teach kids gues that we’ve lost touch with some of the and when it is not, the Declaration of Indepen- out, what we see is “wrong, wrong, wrong.” likeness of those men “to whom we owe has to identify which grievances are described slow reading to understand the declaration.” most important aspects of the declaration. For dence had been withheld from her students. No such gathering took place, and it that memorable act and all its glorious by each story they encounter.” Portrait of a Tyrant begins with Briana trans- instance, while most can recite the tenets of “I was blown away at the beginning of certainly didn’t happen on July 4. (The consequences.” Allen approached Turow to help design a ported back to the past, aboard a real histori- “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” these sessions to discover that these night declaration was approved on July 4, but game about the declaration, without anything cal British customs schooner, the Gaspee, just she says that we have forgotten what comes students — low-income people, mostly Afri- the signing didn’t start until a month later READ SNEFF’S BLOG POST: DECLARATION.FAS. much more specific than that. Turow says that outside of Providence, Rhode Island. As she before: “that all men are created equal.” As can American, some Latino, a couple white and continued piecemeal through the fall.) HARVARD.EDU Allen’s book was a huge influence in shaping the explores the ship, Briana eventually meets a Allen writes in Our Declaration, “Political students — had never read the Declaration challenge of turning political philosophy into a smuggler, which leads to a discussion on unjust Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

taxes imposed by the British government. Apart NEWS + NOTES FROM OUR ALUMNI COMMUNITY from the historical accuracy of the discussion, the detailed environment of the ship is stunning. “There was a lot of intense research about what would be seen in the rooms,” Turow says. “We built 3-D models based on the architectur- al plans and writings we had of this ship that burned down in 1772.” Of course, the game won’t let young peo- ple or those unfamiliar with the text drown in details. The game will begin at an easy level, with just one or two grievances to tackle. Play- Grad. ers will have the option to read the text in its entirety as well as to expand individual words to understand their meaning either in context or vernacular English. The goal is creating an engaging video game, not a textbook. “We’ve got a chance to do something real- ly cool,” Turow says. “We want it to be a good game. We worry about the pedagogy, but if we fail at the way we present this, there isn’t a point Briana standing on the upper deck of the Gaspee, docked in Rhode Island, of making a game if it’s not fun.” in this screenshot from Portrait of a Tryant. Emily Sneff, a research manager for Allen’s Declaration Resources Project, says that telling the real and exciting stories behind the Decla- preciation for civic engagement and a better ration of Independence is one of the main ef- understanding of the world they are entering. forts of the video game. “We are in a new phase because the Com- “Creating a video game that literally trans- mon Core, whatever its travails, has only three 42 ports students to the events surrounding the required texts: the Declaration of Indepen- 43 declaration, and causing them to interact with dence, the Bill of Rights, and the Gettysburg and hopefully empathize with historically plau- Address,” Allen says. “For the first time there is sible colonists, will allow students to see this list a requirement across most of the nation that the of seemingly outdated complaints with fresh declaration be taught in full as a text, so we are eyes,” she says. trying to build out resources to make sure the Current Ed.L.D. student JEFF CURLEY, an- teaching around that is effective and reaches up other member of the Portrait of a Tyrant team, into the space of civic agency.” says, “Civics is about shaping and navigating The video game is currently in the prototype systems to accomplish our goals as a society. phase. The team has applied for a National En- Educational games offer a mechanism for stu- dowment for the Humanities grant to finish the dents to learn and apply civics principals.” first chapter out of a proposed six-chapter narra- Curley is no stranger to educational games. tive. If all goes to plan, Portrait of a Tyrant will He is co-founder and executive director of iCiv- be released as a mobile game sometime in 2019. “Receiving this award is a ics, a nonprofit organization that offers games For now, Allen will continue to bring awareness wonderful surprise, as it and other interactive resources to help students of the declaration and push for a better under- indicates that HGSE’s Alumni Council and institution recog- acquire civic skills. iCivics features a growing standing of the whole document. nizes this work and validates network of 115,000 educators and reaches more “To understand the declaration is to learn it as an important contribu- than 3 million students annually. how to think about politics,” Allen says. “It’s not tion to the field of education. “Good educational games allow students as if you’ve just acquired information and can This powerful recognition to learn and practice specific skills that are check off boxes on a test. If you genuinely un- is not just for me, but critical for effective citizenship,” Curley says. derstand it, then I think you know what counts celebrates collective work over time: my work with “Through Portrait of a Tyrant, students will as a good political argument, and I think that Native teachers, with tribal experience how to identify societal grievances, puts you in a position to tell the difference be- colleges and universities, and craft solutions, and argue for change — skills at tween good and bad political arguments. And with tribal communities.” the core of civic agency.” that seems to me like a very important thing Interestingly, at a time in education when for us to recover in our contemporary circum- TARAJEAN YAZZIE-MINTZ, ED.D.’02, CO-DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND SPONSORED the buzz is around concepts like stem and 21st- stances.” PROGRAMS WITH THE AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE century skills, it is perhaps a nearly 250-year- FUND, IN ADVANCE OF THIS YEAR’S CONVOCA- ANDREW BAULD, ED.M.,’16, IS THE FOUNDER AND TION CEREMONY IN MAY, AT WHICH SHE RECEIVED old document that holds the most relevancies PRODUCER OF THE PALETTE, A PODCAST FOCUSED FOLLOW THE DECLARATION RESOURCES THE ALUMNI COUNCIL AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING

for students today in regaining a deeper ap- ON THE ARTS AND LEARNING. PROJECT ON TWITTER @DECLARATIONRES HERE CREDIT HERE CREDIT CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION

Illustration by Riccardo Vecchio Grad. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

vious books, including Six Decades Masters: Old-Time and Bluegrass IN MEMORY 1954 of Baseball: A Personal Narrative, 1973 Legends, a book featuring seven

1940–1949 David Remley, M.A.T., taught in two are works of nonfiction. Connie Kennedy, M.A.T., a former prominent musicians from the high schools and at two universities superintendent, including in Detroit state who pioneered old-time and ARTHUR TIFFANY, M.A.T.’46 and received a Ph.D. from Indiana Public Schools, published a collection bluegrass music. Carlson is the University in 1967. He has published 1970 of vignettes about her life called 100 founder and education director 1950–1959 four books, all on historical aspects Pieces of Sun: Diary of a Potted Plant. of Carolina Music Ways, a non- JOAN KELLER ALDEN, M.A.T.’51 of the American West, including Barbara Schieffelin Powell, M.A.T.’65, profit group that educates school ABIGAIL KRYSTALL, M.A.T.’56 Crooked Road: The Story of the Ed.D., recently co-wrote Looking Togeth- John Merrow, Ed.D., received the children about North Carolina’s GERTRUDE HELEN CARES, ED.M.’58 Alaska Highway and Kit Carson: The er at Student Work with David Allen and Excellence in Media Reporting on musical heritage. HAROLD LAY HODGKINSON, Life of an American Border Man. Tina Blythe, Ed.M.’02. (See page 19.) Education Research Award in March ED.D.’59 at the annual American Educational Alec Lee, Ed.M., founder and ex- Research Association conference. ecutive director of Aim High, a free 1960–1969 1960 1972 Throughout his 41-year educa- summer learning program for Bay EMILY LOUISE RICHARD, GSE’60 tion journalism career, Merrow has Area, California, middleschoolers, RICHARD RIENDEAU, M.A.T.’60 Frank Lyman Jr., Ed.M., a teacher Michael McGill, M.A.T.’67, C.A.S.’70, worked for NPR and the PBS News- was one of nine people honored at JACK ROBINSON, ED.D.’60 and teacher educator, recently Ed.D., director of the program for Hour. @John_Merrow the White House in February as a PAUL ZORN JR., M.A.T.’60 published ThinkTrix: Tools to Teach 7 district leadership and reform at “champion of change” in summer DAVID CHAMPAGNE, ED.M.’61 Essential Thinking Skills. Bank Street Graduate School of learning. Lee started Aim High FREDRIC MISNER, ED.M.’61 Education, is founder of the Global 1976 in 1986, just after finishing his BLAINE CROOKS, ED.M.’62 Learning Alliance and a former su- program at the Ed School. ANNE CONSTANT EWING, 1966 perintendent in the Scarsdale Union Tanya Hwart, Ed.M., the host of the M.A.T.’62 Free School District. He recently syndicated show Hollywood Live, Katherine Hall Page, Ed.D., re- JAMES JOINER, ED.M.’63 Bill Lewers, M.A.T., recently pub- published Race to the Bottom: Cor- was named co-chair of the Caucus ceived the Malice Domestic’s Life- FRANK FIELD, ED.M.’61, ED.D.’64 lished The Gatekeepers of Democ- porate School Reform and the Future for Producers, Writers, and Direc- time Achievement Award in on May SHEILA LEIFER, M.A.T.’64 racy, a book of fiction. His two pre- of Public Education. (See page 19.) tors. She is the first female and 1, honoring her career writing what NANCY MCLAREN, M.A.T.’64 are known as traditional mystery SANDI KINYON PEASLEE, ED.M.’64 Joanne Grady Huskey, Ed.M., celebrated the 20th anniversary of the school she co-founded books. Since the early 1990s, she 44 ARMINE THOMASON, ED.M.’64 45 in Chennai, India, the American International School of Chennai. The school opened in 1996 with has written 30 books, including 23 ANN HOWARD WILSON, ED.M.’65 SPOTLIGHT 1978 23 students. Today the school has 900 international students, preK through 12th grade. Last fall, in the Faith Fairchild series. JOHN BURGESS III, ED.D.’67 DORINTHE SACKS, ED.M.’62, Grady Huskey (center) published her book, Make It In India. katherine-hall-page.org C.A.S.’67 JOAN HELPERN, GSE’68 Inspirational. first African American to head the rently superintendent of schools years. Croft will be publishing un- 1986 1970–1979 40-year-old organization. Hart is in Norwalk, Connecticut. Prior, he der a new imprint, Interleaf Press, a former senior producer for Black worked for the Connecticut Depart- which will publish books on the Frank Linton, Ed.M., recently JOHN DOUGHERTY, M.A.T.’71 Practical. SUSAN WILLOUGHBY, ED.D.’72 Entertainment Television and has ment of Education and was superin- psyche. published The Observation Hive KATHRYN HESSERT-TUCKER, won four Emmys. @TanyaHollywood tendent in Hartford. Handbook, a book about installing ED.M.’73 Grounded in Research. and working with a honeybee hive SHARON PERRY, ED.M.’74 Rashid Silvera, Ed.M., a GQ and 1985 at home. SABINA HARRIS, ED.M.’62, Essence cover model, has been 1980 ED.D.’79 teaching social studies at Scarsdale Elizabeth Carlson, Ed.M., pub- William McKersie, Ed.M., was High School in New York for more David Podell, Ed.M., was appointed lished North Carolina String appointed superintendent of 1980–1989 Explore more than 70 programs than three decades. president of Massachusetts Bay LAMONT GONZALEZ, ED.M.’80 Community College in Wellesley, TAYLOR MCLEAN, ED.M.’81 for preK-12 and higher education Massachusetts, effective July JANE PORTER POTTER, ED.M.’81 THE 1-QUESTION INTERVIEW: 1977 2016. Since 2008, Podell served ALEC LEE ELSIE APTHORP, ED.M.’82 professionals. as vice president for academic KENNETH DOUCETTE, ED.M.’82 Randie Gottlieb, Ed.M., recently affairs and dean of the faculty at HOLLY CYRUS ZEEB, ED.D.’85 published the Multicultural Confer- Marymount Manhattan College in WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE HONORED BY THE WHITE HOUSE? Q SHEILA HOADLEY, ED.M.’86 ence Planning Guide, a how-to guide New York. MAUREEN TWOMEY, ED.M.’86 that includes everything from setting Being honored during our 30th anniversary was incredible. Aim CONSTANCE RICHARDSON, A a budget to room setup. High has always stood squarely at the intersection of academic ED.M.’88 1981 rigor and encroachment and youth development. I firmly believe that hgse.me/ppe_ed summer is an opportunity to be different, a chance for youth to rein- 2010–2019 1979 Diane Croft, Ed.M., stepped down vent themselves and experience inspiring and creative learning en- SAMAIYA EWING, ED.M.’14 as publisher of National Braille vironments. Aim High is all about opening doors for young people. It

JOANNE GRADY HUSKEY GRADY JOANNE Steven Adamowski, C.A.S., is cur- Press, where she worked for 34 was such a validation to be recognized for our work. It gave me hope. Grad. Harvard Ed. Fall 2016

schools in Weston, Massachu- Worcester, and a teacher. by the Harvard Club of Long Island. ton, New Jersey. setts, during a special meeting of 1989 Kritas also serves as the co-adviser 2005 the school board. He began his Denise Pope, Ed.M., a senior of the sophomore class and is a Renee Spencer, Ed.M.’97, Ed.D., Ronen Habib, Ed.M., teaches at new position this past summer. lecturer at the Stanford University 1993 member of the school’s diversity was promoted from assistant Gunn High School in Palo Alto, Cali- Since 2012, he served as super- Graduate School of Education, is Lady June Hubbard-Cole, C.A.S., committee. This summer, Kritas professor to full professor at Boston fornia, and runs EQSchools, which intendent of Greenwich Public the co-author of Overloaded and recently accepted a faculty position released an album, Diluvian Blues. University. Spencer joined Boston provides social-emotional training Schools in Connecticut. Prior, Underprepared. (See page 16.) with Clemson University in the Eu- University in the School of Social to schools. he served as associate superin- gene T. Moore School of Education. Joelle Murchison, Ed.M., is associ- Work in 2002. tendent for academic excellence She continues to work as an associ- ate vice president and chief diversity Nia Ujamaa, Ed.M., is a senior pro- for the Catholic Archdiocese of 1991 ate professor with the Wheelock officer at the University of Connecti- fessional development specialist for Boston and associate dean for College International Program. cut. Murchison leads the university’s 2003 Apple, Inc. She is also an advisory development and alumni relations Ilona Holland, Ed.M.’85, Ed.D., in diversity council. Before joining the board member for their Distin- at the Ed School. collaboration with the National Trust Susan Pickford, C.A.S., published university, she was vice president of Christina Tobias-Nahi, Ed.M., direc- guished Educator Program. Prior, and National Geographic, recently The Bassler Family in Focus Through enterprise diversity and inclusion for tor of public affairs at Islamic Relief she was an instructional technology published Buddy Bison’s Yellow- Photos, Diaries, and Letters, a book the Travelers Companies, Inc. USA, in Alexandria, Virginia, traveled specialist for the Mirman School for 1988 stone Adventure. (See page 4.) tracing her family history beginning in April on an interfaith interagency the Gifted Child in Los Angeles. in Massachusetts on the Mayflower. Betty Rosa, Ed.M.’93, Ed.D., was assessment trip to Jordan, Lebanon, Fernando Reimers, Ed.M.’84, Ed.D., Pickford is a retired teacher. elected in March to be chancellor of and Turkey to research the plight of a professor at the Ed School and 1992 the State Board of Regents in New unaccompanied Syrian children and 2007 director of the school’s Interna- York. During her career, Rosa has to make policy recommendations tional Education Policy Program, Maureen Binienda, Ed.M., is the 1994 worked as a teacher, principal, and with the United Nations High Com- Brittnay Buckner, Ed.M., pub- recently co-edited Fifteen Letters new superintendent of Worcester superintendent in the Bronx. mission on Refugees to the United lished her first novella ebook, on Education in Singapore with [Massachusetts] Public Schools. Alexios Kritas, Ed.M., an English States government. Leaving Grace, on Amazon Kindle E.D. (Nell) O’Donnell Weber, For nearly 40 years prior, she was teacher at Waldorf School in Garden in February 2016. Buckner is Ed.M.’10, a current doctoral stu- assistant principal and then prin- City, New York, was honored in April 1997 Susan Stuebner, Ed.M.’98, Ed.D., director of the Organizational dent. (See page 19.) cipal at South High School, also in as a distinguished teacher of 2016 was named the ninth president Development and Effectiveness Antonio Cicioni, Ed.M., currently of Colby-Sawyer College in New Department at George Washington 46 living in Ushuaia, Argentina, writes London, New Hampshire, effec- University. 47 that he would like to reconnect with tive July 1, 2016. Stuebner was Ed School clasmates and friends: vice president for development Aviva Jacobs, Ed.M., was named [email protected]. and alumni relations, enrollment, a Schusterman Fellow this past Education and college relations at Allegheny spring. The recognition is given to Caitlin Robbins, the granddaughter of Nancy Robbins, College since 2013. At Allegheny, those who see Jewish organizational SPOTLIGHT 1999 1981 Ed.M., read Ed. to her cousin, Luna Robbins, in Denver, she also served as chief financial leadership as an important way to needs Colorado. “This was the beginning of Caitlin’s Bat officer, dean of students, director create change in the world. Jacobs Melissa Morse, Ed.M., writes, “I have Mitzvah weekend,” Robbins writes. “No greater time to of human resources and athletics, was a 2003 Teach For America (TFA) more people not stayed in touch as much as I focus on education.” and Title IX coordinator. corps member in New Orleans and would have liked with those I went like you. to grad school with, but I’m letting University of Hartford. tino Students through the Routledge everyone know that I’m still alive.” Research in Higher Education series. THE 1-QUESTION INTERVIEW: After graduation, Morse worked in Jeanine Staples, Ed.M., recently development for a private school in published The Revelations of Asher. CHRISTINA TOBIAS-NAHI Help us find Connecticut, at a performing arts Staples is an associate professor of 2002 conservatory, and for a small Mon- education (literacy and language) WHAT DID YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF UNACCOMPA- others who share Q tessori elementary school. “Most and African American studies at the Tina Blythe, Ed.M., recently co- NIED SYRIAN CHILDREN IN TERMS OF SCHOOLING? your passion recently, I find myself working on my Pennsylvania State University. She wrote Looking Together at Student next career: I currently train guid- is a board member of Penn State’s Work with David Allen and Bar- A The majority of Syrian children are out of school for myriad for education. A ance staff and school administrators Africana Research Center and was bara Schieffelin Powell, M.A.T.’65, reasons: They have missed too much schooling, they don’t on a computer program that is used named a research fellow of the Ed.D.’70. (See page 19.) speak the language of instruction, the “second shift” school pro- as a counseling tool to promote col- Social Science Research Institute/ grams are of poor quality, the teachers are found to be abusive, or lege and career readiness.” Children, Youth, and Family Consor- Ruth Shoemaker Wood, Ed.M., the schools are too far, so it is not safe for them to get there (or to get tium. jeaninestaples.com was promoted to partner at home in the dark hours after “second shift” has ended). Another seri- Christine Pina, Ed.M., joined Miss Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, ous issue is that in most instances, parents or adult caregivers do not Porter’s School, a boarding and day an executive search firm special- have permission to work in the host communities, so children are of- hgse.me/refer_ed school for girls in grades 9– 12, as 2000 izing in higher education execu- ten the sole bread-earners. They are entering the informal workforce chief advancement officer. Since tive recruitment for colleges and because they can get by checkpoints easier, because they are cheap 2011, she served as vice president Patricia Perez, Ed.M., edited Higher universities, independent schools, labor, [or] because their little hands are more dexterous for working in

for institutional advancement at the ROBBINS CAITLIN Education Access and Choice for La- and nonprofits. She lives in Prince- a textile factory or on a farm picking agricultural products. 48 Grad. nonprofit isdedicated thepreserva- Museum asexecutive director. The joined the Metropolitan Waterworks Barbara Elfman,Ed.M., recently 2011 Ed.M.’84, Ed.D.’88. (See page19.) Professor Fernando Reimers, Education inSingapore with co-edited FifteenLetters on a current doctoral student,recently Nell (E.B.)O’Donnell Weber, Ed.M., 2010 towards their full potential.” direct serviceinmotivating students tion inspired me to make a move to My research inachievement motiva- professional andacademicgoals. begin counselingstudentson their postdoctoral fellow. “Iam thrilled to the University of Pennsylvania as a career counselor. She was at in Waltham, Massachusetts, as a positionatBrandeis University Ed.M.’03, Ed.D., Priya Gersappa Nalkur-Pai, sociate dean. the summer of 2008assenior as- Boule joined the admissionsstaff in at Bowdoin Collegeasof July 2016. dean of admissions and financial aid Whitney Soule,Ed.M., took over as 2008 recruitment team. is currently a vice president on TFA’s live with this reality. alyssalilesamponsah.com profound ways. I wanted to callattention to those who now have to munity carry onafter these killings. These losseschange the world in ested inhow mothers, fathers, families, friends, and the larger com- ALYSSA LILES-AMPONSAH THE 1-QUESTION INTERVIEW: Q A

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO FOCUS ON THE MOMS? ing than losingone’s childinsucha horrific way. Iaminter Because asa mother Icould not imagineanything more terrify- recently accepted Nirmeen Abdulla Alireza , Ed.M., 2012 Education. (See page18.) Compassion inChineseSecondary cently publishedCompetition and Xu Zhao,Ed.M.’07, Ed.D., re- Americana inRiode Janeiro inBrazil. most recently, principalof the Escola Timilty, principalof the Rogers, and, High School,assistantprincipalat the academic director atMadisonPark English HighSchool.He served as the taught atboth the McKay Schooland cer and writing program. Later, he the America SCORESBostonsoc- schools as the program director of worked inseveral Bostonpublic principal, andprincipal.He also teacher, program director, assistant more than 16 years, working asa been aneducationprofessional for High SchoolinBoston. Walker has new headmaster this year atFenway Geoffrey Walker , Ed.M., became the interim principalsince August 2015. ace Mann.Leith hasbeenservingas ship between SalemStateandHor School and will direct the partner pal at the Horace MannLaboratory Massachusetts, will serve asprinci- Salem StateUniversity inSalem, Chad Leith,Ed.D., a professor at Harvard Art Museums. Graduate Schoolof Designand the Prior, Elman worked at the Harvard educational programs andexhibits. water engineeringlegacy through tion andinterpretation of Boston’s

- - - from localpublicschools,includ - reflective writing by students violence, as well asexcerpts of lost children to racially motivated tures imagesof women who have in SouthCarolina. The exhibit fea- Schools Administration Building on display at the Columbia Public American Mom Seriespaintings recently hadanexhibit of her Alyssa Liles-Amponsah , Ed.M., is basedonpersonalized learning. dah, Saudi Arabia. The K–12 school founded theNün Academy in Jed- FROM DRUMMERS TO DIRECTORS COMMENCEMENT 2016:

who told them, “My jobis to create a world that lasts two hours. Your jobis to create a graduates anda Hollywood heavyweight This year’s commencmentincluded719 the UnitedStates. learning inK–12 schooldistrictsin mentation of high-quality blended mission is to accelerate the imple- in Princeton, New Jersey, whose celerator, a nationalnonprofit based became CEO of the Learning Ac- Beth Rabbitt, Ed.L.D., recently 2013 works asanart teacher. ing one where Liles-Amponsah

world that lasts forever,”

Harvard Ed Harvard .

JILL ANDERSON AND MICHAEL RODMAN

JANET STEARNS; JILL ANDERSON CREDIT HERE Illustration by John Doe field of early childhoodeducation. who come to the school to study, andon the overall Foundation will have on their work, on future educators the $35.5milliongift from the SaulZaentzCharitable fessor Nonie Lesaux, satdown to talk about the impact directors, Associate Professor Stephanie Jones and Pro of SaulZaentzEarly ChildhoodInitiative, the initiative’s This summer, after the schoolannounced the creation The Campaign for the Harvard Graduate Schoolof Education Learn to Change the World and inspiringgift will enable us to Education Leadership programs. rolling inour master’s andDoctor of program for incomingstudentsen- leaders, andincludesa fellowship next generation of early education ment is focused oncultivating the Early Learning Study. The third ele- dissemination from the Harvard and will bea vehicle for rapid-cycle childhood practices andstrategies, cutting-edge scienceaboutearly will function asa go-toplace for in Early Childhood. The academy Academy for Professional Learning represented by the SaulZaentz strategy of professional learning, second elementisanadult-focused their early learningexperiences. The their development anddocument hood years. The study will examine follow them across their early child- from across Massachusetts and representative cohortof 3-year-olds ing Study, which will begin with a element is the Harvard Early Learn- experience adversity. The first core growing populationof those who of today’s children, particularly the set, attend to the pressing needs components, which, asa cohesive initiative has three interconnected early childhoodeducation. The and leadershipdevelopment in for research, innovation, outreach, increase the Ed School’s capacity partnerships that will significantly impact actions,investments, and ALL EARLY CHILDHOOD FIELD? HEADLINE Q Q A A

THIS GIFT HAS ON THE OVER- WHAT IMPACT DO YOU HOPE ABOUT? WHAT IS THE INITIATIVE Foundation’s extraordinary The SaulZaentz Charitable tion a coordinated set of high- This initiative sets intoa mo-

well assymbolic ways, isorganiz institution that, in very concrete as be enrolled ina higher education directly onearly education, will now ence is focused squarely or less whether their programmatic experi- leaders. Future Ed Schoolstudents, thought leaders,andeducator education leaders—policy leaders, tive is the next generation of early tunities through the Harvard Early Learning, and to research oppor Zaentz Academy for Professional ulty, to apprenticeships at the Saul early childhoodmembersof the fac- have access to coursesledby new As such,allEd Schoolstudents will before formal schoolingare crucial. ing around the notion that the years impact onchildren andsociety. knowledge needed for long-lasting ing andrapidly disseminating the forts while simultaneously generat- can bring together this array of ef a hub,a new kindof resource that Early ChildhoodInitiative will create still unaddressed. The SaulZaentz with many fundamental questions coordination andleadership, the field is expanding withlimited communities. The challengeis that for the youngest membersof our momentum holdsgreat promise the years before kindergarten. This of formal learningopportunitiesin agendas for dramatic expansion are putting together ambitious Across the country, communities ing the early childhood field today. opportunities andchallenges fac- tackle, head-on, the significant INTO THE FIELD? STUDY AND WHO THEN GO OUT STUDENTS WHO COME HERE TO Q A

ON FUTURE ED SCHOOL WHAT ABOUT THE IMPACT Zaentz Early ChildhoodInitia- The bedrock of the new Saul - - - - nie Jones andProfessor Nonie Lesaux Directors of the SaulZaentzEarly ChildhoodInitiative, Associate Professor Stepha duced becauseof population-based the field of public healthhaspro- to generate insightsakin to what large-scale study with the potential — itisenabling the launchof a very has doneisuniqueandinspirational Saul ZaentzCharitableFoundation to back this kindof work. What the combination of will andresources funding climatedoesnot have the ditions. To besure, today’s overall work for whom andunder what con- of what early educationmodels ing a much-needed understanding the primary vehicle for develop- great economicinstability. Itisalso diverse andgrowing upinanera of tion —one that isincreasingly of today’s early childhoodpopula- with the changingdemographics hood development to keep pace crucial for the scienceof early child- early educationagenda. contributing to today’s ambitious the early educationsector who are a network of professionals across commitment will becomepartof to Appian Way andbenefit from this tion, the many students who come mitment to the field of early educa- as the Ed Schoolexpands itscom- Learning Study. Equally important, WITHOUT A GIFT LIKE THIS? LEARNING STUDY BE POSSIBLE Q A

LIKE THE HARVARD EARLY WOULD A LONG-TERM STUDY cal study suchas this oneis A developmental epidemiologi- pursue internships at the center. we expect ZaentzFellows to also In addition to other opportunities, capacity building will beinvaluable. ence of early development andadult tise andongoing work on the sci- and advocacy, the center’s exper preK program improvement, policy, several components, focusing on and engagein the ZaentzInitiative’s innovations atscale. As we launch tion andadoption of science-based designed to accelerate the genera- Frontiers of Innovation, which is and development initiative called ter’s approach includesa research first three years after birth. Thecen- attention on the prenatal periodand and lifelong health, with significant brain development, early learning, cal influences of early experience on a broad agenda,including the criti- ing Childiscommitted to advancing nected. The Center on the Develop- tiative are complementary andcon- Developing Childand the ZaentzIni- health anddevelopment. pact of smokingor leadexposure on such asheartdiseaseand the im- research around pressing issues, HARVARD.EDU/ED/EXTRAS TO READ A Q&A, LONGER TO TO GSE. ING CHILD? TO THE CENTER ON THE DEVELOP- Q A

ZAENTZ INITIATIVE RELATING HOW DO YOU SEE THE the work of the Center on the There are many ways in which - - Harvard Graduate School of Education Nonprofit Organization Office of Communications U.S. Postage PAID 13 Appian Way Holliston, MA Cambridge, MA 02138 Permit No. 20

This Fall on Campus

REMEMBER HOW MUCH YOU LOVED GOING TO ASKWITH FORUMS? HERE’S A LIST OF A FEW FORUMS COMING UP THIS SEMESTER. YOU CAN WATCH THEM IN PERSON IN ASKWITH HALL ON CAMPUS OR LIVE-STREAMED AT YOUTUBE.COM/USER/HARVARDEDUCATION. FORUMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

EDUCATION AS A LIFE, ANIMATED: A CONVERSATION WHAT IS A GOOD HUMAN RIGHT: AUTISM, ABLEISM, AND WITH JEB BUSH CITIZEN AND HOW DO HANAN AL HROUB, EDUCATORS YOU CREATE ONE? 2016 GLOBAL TEACHER OF THE YEAR A conversation between Pulitzer Prize winning Jeb Bush, former governor A post-election panel dis- journalist Ron Suskind will of Florida and founder of cussion on the challenges Hear from Hanan Al Hroub, talk about about his book, the Foundation for Excel- that confront American the recipient of the 2016 Life, Animated: A Story of lence in Education, and society as we struggle with Global Teacher Prize and a Sidekicks, Heroes, and Au- Ed School Associate diversity, divided parties, secondary school teacher tism, and how he was able Professor Marty West. digital democracy, and the in Palestine. to reach his autistic son pressure for a more global through Disney characters. perspective. In conjunction OCTOBER 13 with the 42nd Association SEPTEMBER 22 5 - 6:30 P.M. for Moral Education Annual 5:30 – 7 P.M. OCTOBER 6 Conference. 5:30 - 7 P.M. DECEMBER 8 5:30 - 7 P.M.