The Harvard EdCast

As millions of students prepare for summer vacation, many parents may worry about endless time spent on the screen. Michael Rich, pediatrician and Director of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital, says children spend more time on the screen during the summer but that the real challenge is balance between screen time and offline activities.“Now, the issue with screen time also should not be that the time you spend on screen is toxic, but that it is displacing something else. And if it is displacing something that is arguably a richer, more positive experience, then one should be thoughtful about that and make that choice,” he says. “The problem with screens as we use them is that we use them in such an open-ended way, such a way that it's a default behavior.”He discusses the challenges of setting screen time limits in today's digital environment and offers practical strategies for structuring days with both screen and non-screen activities. One of the best ways, he says, is for parents to set good examples. “When we get home, we should put down our devices and focus on them, really look at them, listen to them, be silent with them, but not be distracted by our phones. Work is over ostensibly, although we don't remember that most of the time, and it's a time when you can actually enjoy them,” he says. “They're not going to be this old forever. They are constantly changing before us. So, in some ways, we need to value that time with them even more. And by doing so, we are modeling for them valuing time with us.”In this episode, Rich shares insights on navigating screen time in children's lives, and addresses concerns about the impact of screens on mental health, advocating for a nuanced approach that considers individual readiness and understanding.

With looming threats of high teacher turnover rates during COVID-19, Olivia Chi, an assistant professor at Boston University, wanted to study how the pandemic shaped who decided to become a teacher.Many states foresaw serious disruptions to the teacher pipeline as testing centers and schools closed around the county. While teacher requirements differ by state, many require a bachelor’s or master’s teacher education program, student teaching, state teaching exams, or some type of alternative certification program. Massachusetts sought innovative solutions to sustain their teaching workforce by issuing emergency teaching licenses. “In order to prevent a stopgap essentially in the teacher pipeline, Massachusetts issued what they called emergency teaching licenses. And these began in June of 2020, in response to all of the closures during the pandemic,” Chi says. “And the emergency teaching license is different from the others because it only requires a bachelor's degree to be eligible for the license. In other words, you did not have to complete and pass these teacher licensure exams in order to get the license. So if you have a bachelor's degree and you went through the typical checks, you could get that license and be eligible to be a Massachusetts classroom teacher in a public school.”Chi's research, conducted in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, demonstrates how emergency licenses influenced the demographics and effectiveness of the teaching workforce.“I think our results would put forth to consider more flexibility, particularly for those who have already engaged in the teacher pipeline or may already have lots of experience working in public schools as paraprofessionals or in other staff positions,” Chi says. “That being said, I don't necessarily think our results suggest we should just do away with all of the requirements and let anybody in.”In this episode of the EdCast, we discuss the study’s findings and what emergency teaching licenses can tell us about teacher requirements given the current state of the teaching workforce today. 

While most schools in the United States do not report using corporal punishment – the use of pain as punishment -- it still impacts tens of thousands of students annually, particularly in states where it remains legal. Jaime Peterson, a pediatrician and assistant professor at Oregon Health and Science University, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, issued a call this fall to end such practices in school. “As pediatricians, we don't recommend corporal punishment. We know it's not an effective form of discipline. Spanking and hitting a child might help a behavior in the short term. They might be fearful and obedient,” she says. “But in the long term it has a lot of negative consequences. But if it's how you discipline your child at home, parents are often teachers, and school personnel, and school board members that that's a practice in their community at home that seems acceptable. It may be hard to change it.”It also disproportionately impacts certain demographics such as Black students and students with disabilities. With 17 states remaining where corporal punishment is still legal today, Peterson urges parents, educators and policymakers to mobilize and push for abolition of this practice. Calling this form of punishment ineffective, she urges parents and schools to adopt more supportive and positive disciplinary practices that work. “Saying that it's not allowed isn't going to change a school culture entirely. We don't know what other forms of discipline will come in,” she says. “I think really in the simplest forms when I talk with families, I remind them that our goal is no pain-- so that's corporal punishment-- no shame, and no blame when we discipline children. No pain, no shame, no blame.” In this episode of the EdCast, we discuss the prevalence and effects of corporal punishment in schools, and what it’s going to take to end it for good.

Family engagement plays a pivotal role in combatting chronic absenteeism.The number of students who are chronically absent – missing 10% or more of the school year – has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Eyal Bergman, senior vice president at Learning Heroes, studied this issue and was surprised to discover how schools with robust family engagement had significantly lower rates of chronic absenteeism. “It shows that the strength of a school's family engagement is actually more predictive of a school's chronic absenteeism than their rates of poverty,” he says. But fostering strong home-school partnerships has been a challenge for many school districts. “What we find is that schools often, despite really good intentions, have not really been designed to promote really strong partnerships with families,” he says. “This is why families are often treated as spectators to the work of schools. This is why their cultural wisdom and their expertise about their children aren't necessarily woven into the fabric of schooling. It's why we see that schools often apply assimilationist practices.”Bergman emphasizes the need for trust-building between educators and families, personalized approaches to student learning, and systemic infrastructural support to enhance family engagement. In future work, Bergman will dig deeper into the data and try to gather more information about what certain school districts with strong family engagement did to keep chronic absenteeism down and a possible tool down the line to help schools with family engagement. In this episode, he explains the soaring numbers of chronic absenteeism while underscoring the transformative potential of prioritizing family engagement in ensuring student well-being and academic success.

For many first-generation college students, the dream of pursuing a college degree is often accompanied by financial uncertainty and adversities that keep it as just a dream. The faulty rollout of a new, more simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form may only keep this student population from even trying.“The intent of simplifying it and making it 'Better FAFSA' was actually very much right-footed to really make sure that it can go to the intent of providing and expanding more access to young people who would be least likely to go to college, largely because they also think that they can't pay for it,” says Heather Wathington, the CEO of iMentor. “So what the challenge then is that something that was created to ameliorate a problem is stuck. So then you have young people that remain stuck. They aren't necessarily able to provide the financial information that they need, and they're discouraged about going.”Wathington acknowledges that the FAFSA changes were intended and may eventually help first generation college goers, but the delays, technical glitches, and math mistakes of the new FAFSA have only added a layer of adversity. “For the seniors, my heart aches for them because it's not feeling like they're going to college,” Wathington says. “And as we're trying to build a college going identity, particularly with young people who might be on the fence about whether they belong, whether they should go, whether they can pay for it, all the ‘whethers.’ We want to be able to make it feel possible, and this kind of serves to stymie them a bit.”How can we make college feel more accessible for these student populations? What is the role of mentors in not only getting students to apply to college but also matriculating to college? In this episode, we explore the hurdles faced by these individuals and explore strategies to help them overcome the barriers to accessing higher education.

Math has a problem when it comes to equitable learning. The way math is taught and how students are tracked is part of the issue, according to Kentaro Iwasaki, a former math teacher who led new math standards in California and now works with school districts nationwide to overhaul their math programs. Tracking in math contributes to segregation, with Black and brown students often placed in lower-track classes compared to their white and Asian counterparts, he says.“When we go into classes or schools, almost every high school is tracked. With the doors closed and just looking through the window of a classroom, if you just look inside, you can pretty much tell what is a high track class and what's a low track class just based on the student demographics. And that's really unacceptable in our education system today, and particularly this is problematic in math.” The negative impact of tracking carries over into students' self-concept, classroom dynamics, and overall educational experiences. As a math teacher, Iwasaki dismantled an honors math program at Mission High School in San Francisco. This change resulted in increased AP enrollment and passing rates for all students, challenging the notion that tracking is necessary for academic success.“Math is being used as a vehicle to maintain segregation in our education system and that it's more comfortable for parents, particularly parents with social, cultural, political capital, to argue for segregation under the guise of mathematics and saying, ‘Well, my student is at this level, so therefore should be in this class,’ and really kept away from Black and brown students,” Iwasaki says. “No parent is going to outright say that, but in my work with parent communities and listening in and attending school board and school committee meetings, that very much is the underlying conversation and that is what district leaders, district systems, really need to confront.”In this episode, we discuss the concept of complex instruction, the value of de-tracking math, and how like-minded educators can forge a new identity for math in schools. 

Janet Patti and Robin Stern joined forces decades ago when they recognized the crucial role of emotional intelligence for school leaders. How educators understand and manage emotions can positively impact the entire school community, contribute to better leadership, well-being, and resilience. The problem though is that for many education leaders developing emotional intelligence is low on the to do list. “People can burn out. People can be exhausted. And we hear that from leaders. It really takes a bite out of well-being when you're constantly in the state of emotion labor and you're not attending to that,” says Stern, a senior advisor for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.High rates of stress and turnover in school leader positions only point to more need for emotional intelligence training in leadership development. In their book “Emotional Intelligence for School Leaders,” they push for social-emotional learning as a required skill for school leaders. They also share how educators can develop a conscience practice incorporating emotions, and how coaching and professional development can only help sustain educators in the field.“Many people just see it as, ’I'm not going to spend my money on me.’ That's number one. I'm not going to spend my money on adults. I'm going to spend it where we need it on kids. We understand that,” says Patti, a professor emeritus at Hunter College. “But if they only realize that by the investment in the principals and the assistant principals and even the superintendent who also is not faring well in terms of long lasting, they would have such a different outcome. Such a more productive environment. Kids would be able to achieve. Adults who would be happy going to work. It would be a different world.”In this episode, we discuss the need for training in emotional intelligence, sharing real-life examples of leaders who have successfully integrated these skills into their roles, and how it can change a school culture. 

Over the past few years, a battle is taking place on many school grounds – one being driven by mothers that is inevitably shaping the future of schools. Laura Pappano – a journalist with decades covering education – couldn’t ignore the growing influence of these movements on education policies and challenging public schools. In her book, “School Moms,” she reports on the well-organized efforts of far-right movements, such as Moms for Liberty, in framing attacks on schools, influencing language and mobilizing local communities. As a result, these movements have flipped school boards, banned books, and changed curriculums.“There is a lot of organized money on the far right. They see schools as a political opportunity. I mean, one of the reasons that I have been reporting on this and wrote this book is because I have viewed public schools-- and I think many people share this view-- that this is a place that is nonpartisan,” she says. “I never knew what people's politics were in my school. We're here for all children. We're here to support their learning. We're here to support the teachers, the librarians. And what the far-right extremists have done is recognize that because schools gather everyone, they are a great platform for gaining power.” In this episode of the EdCast, we explore the historical parallels to these movements, the challenges faced by teachers, and the significance of public engagement in preserving democracy and inclusive education.

In a world increasingly dominated by structured routines and adult supervision, renowned psychologist Peter Gray is not surprised that children’s mental health challenges and anxiety has been on the rise for decades.“We are so overprotecting children, because we are so always there to solve their problems for them, they're not developing the sense that they can solve their own problem,” Gray says, adding that clinical questionnaires conducted throughout the latter half of the 20th century showed a decline in locus of control for school-aged children as mental disorders rose. “How can you have an internal locus of control if you don't have experience controlling your own life? One thing that clinical psychologists have long known is that if you don't have a strong internal locus of control, that sets you up for anxiety and depression. No surprise. If I believe something can happen at any time, and there's nothing I can do about it, that's a very anxiety-provoking world. Things are frightening. I'm constantly anxious.”He cites many reasons for how we got to this place, including societal shifts and an education system focused on accountability. Gray, a professor emeritus at Boston College, advocates for the urgent need to reclaim the simple yet profound act of independent play, emphasizing its impact on children's happiness and long-term well-being. In this episode, we explore the critical role of independent play in fostering resilient, self-reliant, and mentally healthy young individuals.

How do we teach children to love reading amidst the ongoing debates surrounding literacy curriculums and instructional methods, and the emphasis on student outcomes? It's something that Pamela Mason, senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, thinks about a lot. She's been both a teacher and school leader, and has spent decades training teachers on literacy instruction. She says it takes many pieces coming together to create the perfect mix -- especially making it fun -- for successful reading instruction. As data continues to show dips in children's reading assessments nationwide, some states like Florida and Mississippi have been able to make progress and capture the attention of educators. "There's a whole systemic approach to literacy improvement. A lot of people looking at Mississippi say, 'Oh, it's because there's going to be third grade retention. Yes, that is part of their literacy plan, but there's so much more. There's in-school support. There's after school support. There's even books being given free to families who attend schools who are underperforming," she says. "So we have this merging of teachers, and community, and families, and administrators, all shining a light on the importance of literacy, and hopefully we're keeping some of the joy involved in that, as well."In this episode, we explore the intersection of effective literacy instruction, cultivating joy in reading, and empowering educators and families to ignite a passion for lifelong learning. 

Questions about the power of report cards led high school history teacher Wade Morris to dig deep into how these pieces of paper came to carry so much weight in the world. In his book, “Report Cards: A Cultural History,” Morris uncovers the evolution and significance of report cards. “Since the birth of report cards, report cards have had critics and they've had reformers that have tried to create alternative systems,” he says.He traces the origins of report cards to the 1830s and 1840s, revealing how teachers in common schools grappled with the challenge of gaining parental support and controlling unruly students. Morris emphasizes that the emergence of report cards was a grassroots development, with teachers documenting their intentions and experimenting to find effective means of control. Over time, report cards have come to be more than just academic assessments and carry profound impact on students, parents, and teachers. “[Report cards are] effective at motivating students even though it's an extrinsic motivation that has all kinds of unintended consequences like anxiety and sometimes bitterness and neurosis and self-loathing.” Morris says. “And it's also extremely effective at still today winning over the support of parents…I still save report cards of my kids. Now they're digital. They're in a Google Drive now, but we still save them. And because there's something deeply rooted about our psyche… report cards are a great way of controlling people because we like it.”Morris says reports cards are instruments of documentation and surveillance, having a unique role in shaping power dynamics within the educational landscape and also influence college admissions, job applications, and even juvenile corrections systems. In this episode of the EdCast, Morris shares how understanding the historical context of report cards can provide a sense of wisdom and perspective. He encourages parents and educators to navigate the complexities of the educational system with a deeper awareness of its evolution and the inherent challenges associated with grading and assessment.

When school finances were looking dire, Michael Hester, superintendent of Batesville Public Schools in Arkansas, saw an opportunity to get creative. In an effort to overcome financial challenges, he turned to a solar energy initiative. The district utilized legislation (Act 464) to conduct an energy audit and redirect savings from solar and efficiency measures to cover costs. Within four years, teachers had a 30% increase to their base salary. “We didn't really have resistance at first because it was more just doubt whether the numbers match, if that would be delivered. Just disbelief that maybe what we were saying we were going to do and pursue could actually happen. Could we check all the boxes? Could we not only find the money, would those numbers be right? And then would we give the teachers the money?” Hester says. “Because you know how that goes. A lot of times you get your budget and things happen, and then you've got emergencies or crisis and things happen and it never gets to where you intended it to go.”In this episode, he discusses the rapid implementation of the project and emphasizes the positive impact on education, the community, and student engagement with green initiatives. 

A rise in mass shootings and growing tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas War are just a couple things that children are likely hearing about – regardless how parents may try to shield them. These events compounded with other factors like existential uncertainty, the pervasive influence of social media, and a breakdown of civility in society are likely impacting children today and contributing to increased anxiety, says Abigail Gewirtz, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Many of today’s challenges are unfamiliar with parents who are left trying to figure out the best way to respond. “Parents are dealing with things in this generation that parents didn't have to deal with, at least in the last couple of generations. And that's a tricky thing to do, to know what to say, how to say, when to say it, what to listen for,” she says. Although it may seem like there is nothing a parent can do, Gewirtz believes parents can take on these difficult conversations. In this episode of the EdCast, she shares effective communication strategies, including regulating parents' emotions and engaging in problem-solving conversations with children, and strking the balance between shielding children and providing age-appropriate information. “I just want to acknowledge there's no resolution to these terrible events. But when I talk about resolution I'm thinking about how we can empower our children to feel better,” Gewirtz says. “These things worry us and upset us. And often we can be left feeling like, ‘There's nothing I can do,’ and we can be left feeling hopeless. But I think one of the most important messages that parents can convey to children is there is always something you can do.”

Higher education is one of the few industries that has changed little in the past few decades. Harvard Visiting Professor Brian Rosenberg believes there is an urgent need to transform higher education but too many structures and practices are keeping colleges and universities stuck in the past. “Look at any mission statement for any college or university, and you will probably find a word like transformational or transformative. And look at the work of any faculty member in any discipline, and they will tell you that they're trying to push the boundaries of their discipline and change things,” Rosenberg says. “But when it comes to the way these institutions operate, there is, in fact, a powerful resistance to, reluctance to, opposition to change.”He says an unsustainable financial model in colleges and universities and the importance of making education more accessible and equitable should be enough of a driver for higher education to change. However, a stubborn resistance to change is so embedded in the culture and structures of higher education have made it nearly impossible to. Some of those structures are the foundation of higher education like faculty tenure and shared governance.In this episode of the EdCast, Rosenberg emphasizes the need for a shift in mindset and incentives to push for meaningful change in the field and to ensure its sustainability and relevance.

What does it mean to raise a grateful child? Developmental scientist and psychologist Andrea Hussong from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says it’s a lot more than teaching your child about basic manners. In fact, it’s a lot deeper than that and parents play a crucial role in modeling gratitude, how they create opportunities for children to experience gratefulness, and even talking to their children about it. After studying parents and children, she recognized components of gratitude: what we notice, how we think or feel about it, what we do and how we enact grateful behaviors. “One of the big things that gratitude does that I think is so important for kids is it helps us find people in our environment that care about us.” Hussong says. “It strengthens our relationship with them, and it makes that support network surround us with a little more care. And we know social support is so important, particularly now, when we're dealing with these pandemics of loneliness and isolation. We really need that.”In this episode of the EdCast, Hussong shares strategies that can help your child develop a deeper understanding of gratitude,  how you can foster it in the hearts and minds of your children, and the way to pivot as your child becomes a teenager. She also addresses the potential impact of gratitude on mental health. 

Tony DelaRosa doesn’t think teachers can wait for policy mandating the inclusion of all races – especially Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) – in the classroom. The majority of states do not require curriculum about AAPI. Delarosa's aim is to support educators on how to do this necessary work on a group that’s historically and systemically invisible in the United States.  In DelaRosa’s new book, "Teaching the Invisible Race," he emphasizes the importance of being pro-Asian American in the classroom, which involves recognizing the intersectionality of Asian American identities and their connection to other racial and social justice movements. "With my work, I'm challenging educators to think about how do you get Asian American in dialogue now? You're already talking with your kids. That's great. Step two is how do you actually get the community talking and involved? And that's another level. That takes years of practice..." he says. "And also a second level is that we need this even more in places where there's not Asian Americans. Much more important because if you're not going to get exposed to them by people, what is your way to build your racial literacy about Asian America if it's not in front of you? It has to be that school. School is the places to do those things.”In this episode of the EdCast, he addresses the challenges teachers may face in implementing Asian American education and the need for racial literacy and the importance of failure and reflection in the learning process. 

Harvard Associate Professor Nadine Gaab wants to see the whole system surrounding children and reading development change – starting in utero. Earlier intervention can be the ultimate game-changer when it comes to identifying children with dyslexia, but also other learning differences. “When it comes to learning differences such as dyslexia, we are largely focused on a reactive deficit-driven wait to fail model instead of the development of preventative approaches,” she says. Gaab is a neuroscientist who researches the development of typical and atypical language and literacy skills in the pediatric brain, and pre-markers of learning disabilities. "What we could show is that some of these brain alterations are already there in infancy, and toddlerhood, and preschool. So what we can conclude from this is that some children step into their first day of kindergarten with a less optimal brain for learning to read. So you want to find them right then, right? And that has tremendous implications for policy," she says. "You don't want to wait and let them fail if you already can determine who will struggle most likely and who will not."While there have been some efforts to mandate universal dyslexia screening, it is only one small part of what needs to be done to take steps toward addressing the needs of children. The latter is something that Gaab envisions an entire community -- beyond just the school walls -- being a part of from pediatricians to bus drivers and even librarians.In this episode of the EdCast, Gaab discusses the what we know and don’t know about dyslexia and literacy development, and why the need for intervention – as early as preschool -- could be the most impactful thing that happens. 

Changing a school can be challenging, but possible when you have a group of folks committed to making change, says Justin Cohen. He is a writer and activist who authored, "Change Agents: Transforming Schools from the Ground Up." As part of his research, he spent time speaking to educators in various schools that had successfully implemented change to better understand how they were able to do so. There's no real secret to making change, he notes, but rather there were key steps that these schools did including being open to change and giving the teachers the keys to drive and implement it. "Teachers know more than anyone what needs to happen," he says.  "It's when the outsiders and the people with clipboards and the policymakers who haven't set foot in a school, since they dropped their kids off at private school, have a take. That's what I think gets people's backs up. And so when educators come together and talk, they know the challenges. They are deeply aware of what needs to happen, in a lot of cases, and are pretty disempowered when it comes to enacting or adopting the changes." Sometimes that even means going rogue from the district, he admits. In this episode of the EdCast, Cohen shares the habits of schools that have managed to implement change and how you can too in your school. 

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race conscious admissions and -- actions taking place in many states to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on college campuses – has raised the question: what is next for DEI in higher education? Rich Reddick, a leading thinker on DEI in higher education, knows that the field needs to regroup and rethink the future of diversity – something on the minds of most college administrators. “Many folks this summer, we all were sort of in a funk, you know. It's just disappointing to know that the work and the research that has gone for the last 40 years, sort of, being dismissed,” says Reddick, the associate dean for equity, community engagement, and outreach for the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin.“I remind people in both Fisher cases, there are amicus briefs submitted by the Fortune 100 and the military saying [diversity] is something that's critical to our ability to be competitive. Having a diverse population and having students have an opportunity to learn from each other and expose to each other's identities is such an important part of what makes us competitive economically, socially, politically. So that can't go away,” he says, reminding that this is a time for applicants to lean into diversity in  college admissions and for colleges to lean on partners in higher education to continue their commitment to diversity. In this episode of the EdCast, Reddick shares his reaction to the Court’s decision, how it has impacted and changed his work with college administrators, and ways for those doing the challenging work of diversity today to stay committed to the fight. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how we work with implications for the future.  A recent study, conducted by edX Founder Anant Agarwal and Workplace Intelligence,  reveals how AI is already impacting the workforce. With the explosion of AI, 87 percent of executives are already struggling to find talent for jobs. In order to prepare students for the future -- this means educators must also learn to incorporate AI in their work and classrooms, he says. Agarwal compares the adaption of AI in education as similar to other technological innovations like the Internet. “While students should learn how to use AI to research stuff and how to find different kinds of content, we need to help them understand how to use it in their day-to-day lives and at work, much as we brought in search engines and the Internet into the education process without fighting it," he says.In this episode of the EdCast, Agarwal discusses why everyone needs to upskill in AI and how educators can begin learning more about AI in order to figure out the best approach in the classroom.