Stories by Jill Anderson

“Brendan was greatly admired and respected by his colleagues and many friends at HGSE and across the university, and will be deeply missed by all those whose lives he touched,” said Dean James Ryan. Russell, Ed.M.’07, a former lawyer and teacher, studied religion, law, and education as a doctoral student. Those who knew him remember Randall as a passionate, dedicated learner with endless energy. He held a number of positions including as a senior consultant focused on campus engagement at Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, a senior researcher for the Pluralism Project at Harvard University,...

In these divided times in which Islamophobia and the bullying of Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu students are on the rise, how has it affected conversations around the teaching of religion in schools? Things are certainly more heated, says Linda K. Wertheimer, "It makes the atmosphere a lot more tense when you are teaching about the world's religions." Wertheimer's recent book, Faith Ed: Teaching about Religion in an Age of Intolerance, explores the challenges faced by public schools when incorporating lessons about world religions into their classrooms, looking at specific examples in several areas...

One could argue that, over his 30-year career, Lecturer David Dockterman, Ed.D.'88, has helped launch and shape the field of education technology — particularly how to use computers in the classroom in interactive and engaging ways for teachers and students. So, it may come as a surprise that Dockterman sees his foray into edtech as “happenstance.” Even more surprising: it was the introduction of computers at the high school where he taught history that led him away from classroom teaching. “This guy came in with RadioShack computers showing us this ‘cutting edge’ software. This game States...

When Chinese-American journalist Lenora Chu arrived in Shanghai in 2010 with her family, she did what many parents would do — found a top-performing school to enroll her then three-year-old son. After all, Shanghai had just scored at the top of the PISA and was being lauded worldwide for its high performance. But quickly, Chu and her family were met with immense challenges and experienced culture clash as they tried to adapt to the Chinese way, which largely emphasizes group progress over individual students. Chu shares the anxiety-ridden experience in her book, Little Soldiers: An American...

Darienne Driver, Ed.M.'06, Ed.D.'14, is as creative and energetic as they come. Now, entering her fourth year as superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, she has already crossed from her list of goals significant reforms: Earlier start to the school year. Check. School uniforms. Check. Partnerships with community organizations. Check. Higher graduation rate. Check. Increase in attendance. Check. After speaking with Driver for a few minutes, it becomes clear that she shows no signs of slowing down. She speaks quickly, praising Milwaukee schools and its people. Driver is the first woman...

In the nearly 25 years of working as director of the Safe Schools Program for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning Students (LGBTQ), Jeff Perrotti, C.A.S.'85, has had one main goal: providing support for students and educators trying to address the needs of this population. Today many openly transgender students face the same struggles that gay and lesbian students did in the early 1990s, he says. With the growing number of openly transgender students in schools has come true issues with school climate, mental health, and social justice. Citing the addition of gender...

Former teacher Alex Tavares, Ed.M.’17, spent much of his year in the Technology, Innovation, and Education Program working on his invention, The Read Read, a device which allows blind and visually impaired children to independently learn how to read using the same techniques as teachers would use. This summer Tavares is continuing this work as he focuses on building an organization and scaling the device at the Harvard iLab.

Lecturer Lee Teitel (pictured, left) is building a movement focused on school integration. “Building high-quality diverse and equitable schools is something we can do,” Teitel insists. But getting America to a place where schools are truly integrated is a work-in-progress. Since launching Reimagining Integration: The Diverse and Equitable Schools Project (RIDES), an initiative that investigates and identifies a common vision for growing equitable, diverse, and truly integrated schools, in 2015, Teitel has relied on students and educators working together to help capture what integration...