In developing its public school system, the United States deliberately departed from the traditional European model of channeling students from wealthy backgrounds into rigorous academic tracks and those from the working class into vocational ones. Instead, as Harvard economists Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz note in their book The Race Between Education and Technology, the aim was...

In September 1977, I was born in San Diego into a lifelong battle. I didn’t choose this fight. Many people get to choose lifelong outcomes, but that’s not an option for people like me. The fact that I was born with dark skin meant that I had no choice but to engage in a lifelong...

While all students have experienced disruption to their daily lives this spring, COVID-19, the economic disaster that followed and the continued violence against African Americans are disproportionately affecting communities of color, particularly black students. Educators need to step up and help students regain their footing, heal and flourish. The country’s education system’s typical, standardized response...

This essay originally appeared on the FutureEd blog. When schools were shuttered around the country three months ago, the pandemic did what nearly a decade of activist parents and testing skeptics could not do — put a systemwide pause on statewide standardized testing. It wasn’t because the tests were too long or poorly aligned to classroom...

Although we aren’t yet through the worst of the pandemic, there are signs that our collective efforts to “flatten the curve” have not been in vain. We can begin to look forward with some hope to the gradual return of normal life. For many of us in education, our thoughts are focused on what comes...

The killing of George Floyd is rightfully sparking a hard and overdue look at the American relationship with law enforcement, in particular, about race and policing. In the education world, that means the role of police in schools — especially school resource officers, or SROs — is again under scrutiny. When schools in Minneapolis announced...

With every breakdown comes the possibility of a breakthrough. I live by these words in my personal life as a parent and spouse; in my professional life as a mentor and parent coach; and in my career as a scientist-educator working with kids. Breakdowns are a part of life. They offer powerful learning opportunities. We...

George Floyd was unarmed and complying with officers. Breonna Taylor was asleep in her home. Ahmaud Arbery was out for a run. They all became victims because of the color of their skin. Now, frustrations are boiling over across the country. In my home of Los Angeles, peaceful protests intended to raise voices against systemic...

In moments of crisis, I look to my ancestors for guidance and strength. Blessed with the wisdom of millennia-old East African traditions, I trust in the power of collective resilience and hope. I grew up with stories of colonization and a 30-year war, as a result of which, by age 14, both of my parents...

For parents, the current school closures are requiring us to step in and support our children in new ways. It’s hard. I know. I’m a mom to two school-aged kids and find myself balancing work while playing school information technology specialist, phys ed teacher, guidance counselor and homework enforcer. But it’s also a rare opportunity...