Intellectual Contribution/Faculty Tribute Award Recipient: Jerome "Jay" Green, HDP'09

Jay Green, Ed.M.'09, is eager to start the next phase. Following commencement, he will return to his home state of North Carolina in the role of program coordinator for the Robertson Scholars Program, an organization that administers a four-year merit scholarship and leadership development program to students at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. "I will be helping students to make important classroom-to-community service linkages and to develop and implement various engagement projects within, between, and beyond the two universities," Green explains.

"Jay Green shows his talents in a variety of ways. He has been a strong student, and he has worked exceptionally hard to make this year a success. He has displayed dedication and perseverance, and his leadership has been widely noted," says Lecturer Terrence Tivnan, director of the Human Development and Psychology Program (HDP). "Jay has intellectual skills that he combines with a willingness to share, and he has a special style that helps to promote careful thinking and reflection by others. He has helped to make everyone's learning richer and deeper. Many students have noted Jay's influence in making their experiences more meaningful and genuine. We are lucky and proud to have had him with us this year."

Upon learning that he had been honored with the Intellectual Contribution/Faculty Tribute Award for HDP, Green answered some questions about his time at the Ed School.

What was your goal upon entering the Ed School?
I entered the school year planning to use the Ed.M. as both a "synthesis" and "exploration" degree. On the one hand, I wanted to synthesize my prior working experiences and strengthen my foundation in research and theory. On the other hand, I wanted to explore interdisciplinary studies in human development, focus my research interests, and prepare myself for an immediate transition into a doctoral program. Even though I had been looking at several doctoral programs around the country (in human development and in developmental, social, or clinical psychology), I had a particular eye for the "Cultures, Communities, and Change" and "Human Development and Education" concentrations here at HGSE.

Is that goal any different now?
I am still very much interested in the field of human development and in its applications, but I decided to delay my doctoral studies for the time being. I have gained so much in just one year's time, and I am looking forward to seeing how this knowledge will impact my practice before I continue on with additional study.

What were your favorite classes?
Now, that's a hard one to answer! I can honestly say that each of my classes -- though [each] challenging in its own particular way -- has offered to me its own unique treasures. Over the year, I have observed and appreciated many wonderful linkages between them.

[Associate Professor] Mica Pollock's American Dilemmas class has given me a wonderful framework for analyzing "race talk," be it in verbal or written form. She applies a very useful method of inquiry to a complex conversation that is at times circular, confusing, and even inciting.... This class has allowed me to see how many "either-or" explanations and suppositions may in fact be reductions of "both-and" phenomena....

[Professor] Nancy Hill's class, Psychology of Ethnicity and Context, gave me more exposure to systems theory and allowed me to bring into clearer focus many context-influenced processes and process-influenced contexts that impact child and youth development. What I most appreciated about this course was the opportunity to "practice": to develop, present, and justify a research-based and theory-driven intervention program for middle-school age Latino youth and their families and teachers.

If it were not for [Lecturer] Karen Mapp's class [The Why, What, and How of School, Family, and Community Partnerships], I would still be unaware of the fact that there is a whole field dedicated to fostering partnerships between schools, families, and communities; to researching the processes underlying those partnerships; and to promoting the best, most collaborative (and most accountable) practices. As a participant and organizer of more than 17 neighborhood-based youth development initiatives, this course is of great importance to me....

I also very much appreciated [Lecturer] Rick Weissbourd's class on Moral Education, whose central premise is that moral education is more than a matter of moral literacy, of helping children to determine right from wrong. Rather, it is about the processes and dynamics involved in promoting (or undermining) moral identity. It is about building capacity and skill to be more emotionally self-aware (and authentic); to take the perspective of others; and, among many others skills, to reason why one should be moral (and to reflect on what is most conducive to the highest self- and collective good)....

Perhaps it is [Professor] Robert Kegan's class on Adult Development and on constructive-developmentalism that has had the greatest impact on me, however. His is a very robust, multidimensional, and widely applicable theory that calls for a major shift in the way that we conceptualize "development" (as it pertains to the individual and even to the "collective conscious" of entire communities and societies). We tend to measure development by time, age, and/or content, by the "amount" of information or understanding that an individual has. However, development may be better defined in terms of structure - not by the increase of information itself, but by the trans-formation of understanding - by the capacity to organize information more complexly.... I struggled very hard in his class, but I am inspired; and I know that I will be digesting this theory (and trying to apply it) for a long time to come.

How did you stay inspired throughout the year?
Learning itself has inspired me. The people that I have learned with and from inspired me. The many friends, family, and community members who have supported (and put up with) me in difficult times have all inspired me. But perhaps I have been most inspired and influenced by the example and loving memory of my mother.

What advice do you have for next year's students going through your program?
It's a little hard for me to feel as if I have advice to offer, largely because my personal experiences this year have not been reflective of the "normal" or usual student experience. But if I were speaking with a younger version of myself for next year, I'd probably offer the following blanket advice. Take it as you will:

Seize every opportunity you can (as best you can) to engage deeply...with the coursework, with your professors, with your peers (you'll learn the most from them), and with the community.

Sometimes quality is actually more [important] than quantity.

Make sure to protect the activities that are restorative to you.

Do not miss out on opportunities for direct service (or practice).

Do not give up on the theory-to-practice linkage. Keep trying -- it will indeed blossom!