School Fun: Tim Goodman, HDP'13

Third-grade teacher Timothy Goodman left his Utah classroom to come to the Ed School, and, now, he’s excited to go back with the goal of using his newfound knowledge and experience to impact others.

“When asked, ‘How do you find school?” many students reply with ‘Boring.’ I will change that to ‘Fun,’” he says. “If young children are in school for 6–8 hours out of their days the least I could do is combine learning with fun.”

Yet, the Human Development and Psychology (HDP) graduate knows that there are no quick fixes to education’s issues. Instead, he sees innovative collaborations as means to successful solutions. “Such a theory diminishes the ‘superstar’ effect and encourages a stronger sense of community and ownership for multiple bodies of people,” he says.

Beliefs like this are just part of what makes Goodman such an inspiration to his cohort.

“Tim clearly thinks hard about his positions, and he is willing to take unpopular stances on important issues. He also listens carefully and respects other points of view,” says Lecturer Richard Weissbourd, director of HDP. “As a human being he seems to embody the Latin phrase non sibi — not for self. His commitment to others and his commitment to this community have been real and deep. So is his commitment to creating a better and more just world.”

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

What was your goal upon entering the Ed School? My goals in coming to the Ed School were threefold: expanding my knowledge of how people, early childhood through adolescence, develop moral and ethical behaviors; creating strategies, systems, and tools that educators can use to best preserve and promote moral and ethical growth in the students they teach; and refining the leadership and research skills necessary to further my role as a teacher leader and reformer for the future.

What advice do you have for next year’s students going through your program? First, find a balance of school, work, and fun that keeps you healthy and successful. For me, I wanted to succeed in my coursework, but I also wanted to contribute and be a part of the broader Harvard community. I also wanted to build friendships and spend time with classmates as much as possible. Make time for what is most important to you, and realize that this is different for everyone.

Second, it’s easy in such an intellectual and successful community to doubt your own abilities. Avoid this at all costs and remember that you were chosen to be at HGSE.  Whether it is your intellect, your experience, your passion, your uniqueness, or your ideas, you were selected by multiple people to be here. Find that strength and own it, in the most humble way possible.

The number one, biggest surprise of the last year was … The biggest surprise from last year was learning as much as I did from Rick Weissbourd and my classmates about how to help young people have ethical romantic and sexual relationships.  I never really saw this coming, but after working on Rick’s research team (YPRR: Young Peoples Romantic Relationships) and attending his Moral Adults: Moral Children class I got more than I had anticipated, in a good way of course. Maybe it means I’ll be getting married soon.

If you could transport one person/place/thing from HGSE to your next destination, what would it be? The entire HGSE student body. Even before I got here I wondered about how cool it would be to unite all of us to impact the face of education. We would all move to one location and open a collection of schools that served students preschool through college. (Ha, ha.) Granted, it wouldn’t fix everything and it wouldn’t serve everyone’s needs, but WOW, it would be an absolutely amazing place. My classmates are some of the most amazing, talented, brilliant, and passionate people I have ever met.

Read profiles of the other master’s students being honored with the 2013 Intellectual Contribution/Faculty Tribute Award.