The Harvard EdCast

The superintendent’s role is challenging and always evolving but too often educators step into this leadership position not fully prepared for what’s ahead. As a position with high turnover and equally high isolation at times, Lindsay Whorton, The Holdsworth Center president, says we need to be more upfront about the role if we are to attract, support, and retain leaders.

“What we have to do is be honest but also be encouraging and celebrate what an incredible opportunity it is to be in these roles. Yeah, it's going to be hard and there's going to be these pressures. And it's a really complex, intellectually, emotionally, physically demanding job,” she says. “And it represents an incredible opportunity to facilitate a conversation in your community to help advance your district to do the right thing for kids and to really make a significant difference in the lives of both the students who are in your school system today and in the future.”

The transition to a superintendent role often surprises those coming from senior leadership, as it requires them to assume a broader, more public-facing leadership stance. Many new superintendents feel "discomfort" or even disillusionment when realizing how drastically their responsibilities have expanded, including heightened community visibility and accountability. 

“What gets tricky is when that sense of discomfort turns into maybe I'm not capable, maybe I don't have the confidence, maybe this isn't something that I can do,” she says. “And so we think by helping people understand that it is normal to experience what we're calling a shift in professional identity, people can be a little bit less destabilized by that experience and can learn through it and get to the other side of feeling more prepared, more capable, more confident about the role that they have as a superintendent.”

Whorton explains that navigating the superintendency successfully demands strong relational skills, strategic vision, and adaptability. A key component to long-term success, she notes, is the ability to foster strong board relationships, even as boards may change or challenge the superintendent’s direction. Additionally, Whorton advocates for recognizing the superintendency as a role that requires community leadership and suggests a shift toward viewing superintendents as central civic figures.

In this episode, Whorton discusses whether the superintendent position has changed and why it’s necessary to reframe the role to inspire a new generation of leaders to step into this role. 

Edward Clapp wants education to shift from a traditional, individualistic view of creativity toward a participatory, socially distributed perspective. Clapp, principal investigator at Harvard’s Project Zero and co-author of, “The Participatory Creativity Guide for Educators,” doesn’t see creativity as a personal trait some people "possess" or "are," instead he proposes that everyone can "participate" in creativity. 

“Young people play a variety of roles when they participate in creativity, each leveraging their own talents, skills, background experiences, and cultural perspectives,” he says. “So, it's this more socially distributed approach to understanding what creativity is -- that isn't held within the skulls and skin of individuals. It's putting creativity in a social space so that everyone can participate in creativity in the unique ways that they have to do so.” 

Clapp talks about the “eight crises of creativity,” where challenges stem from individualism, such as the misconception that some kids are inherently more creative, and from a "culture of power" that overlooks the social and cultural dynamics of creativity. Clapp argues that an individualistic view limits students by creating exclusive standards of creativity, often alienating those who don’t fit these norms. “Creativity is not socially and culturally neutral -- it’s socially, culturally charged…” he says. “I saw the posters growing up as a kid, of Charles Darwin, and Vincent van Gogh, and Albert Einstein. More contemporarily, we'll have Steve Jobs up there-- all the dead white guys who are these icons of creativity. And creativity literally-- it literally, from that perspective, doesn't look like the majority of our students. So young people will look at those icons and say, right away, ‘I just don't even look like that person.’ To counter these issues, Clapp advocates for participatory creativity in classrooms. For example, teachers can shift focus from "creative icons" to the evolution of ideas, inviting all students to engage. 

In this episode, Clapp explains the participatory approach to creativity, and how it can empower students by validating diverse contributions and helping them develop purpose in the world. 

Sexual misconduct by school employees is more prevalent than many of us want to believe, according to Charol Shakeshaft, a distinguished professor in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Many times, school culture gets in the way of stopping this abuse from happening. 

“What I find is that teachers see things, kids see things, administrators see things, parents see things. And what they see are what I call red flags of possible problems, but certainly what they see are boundary crossings,” Shakeshaft says. “Teachers are crossing a professional boundary, and they don't report it. And they don't report it for lots of reasons. The foremost reason they don't report it is because they don't realize they're supposed to report it. Nobody's taught them or helped them understand that these are signs that a child might be being targeted for sexual misconduct.”

For decades, Shakeshaft has studied sexual misconduct by school employees and served as a lead expert witness in hundreds of cases. In her book, “Organizational Betrayal: How Schools Enable Sexual Misconduct and How to Stop It,” she unveils a problem that is deeply entrenched in our schools and calls for greater awareness and action to protect students.

Recent studies estimate about 17% of students report being the target of sexual misconduct by a school employee. “We expect our schools to be places that are looking out for our kids, and the people there are kind and good. And in fact, most of them are. Most of them are people who care about kids, who care about people, who are honest, who have good ethics. That's the good part,” Shakeshaft says. “But as in every profession, there are those who aren't. That's the sad part.”

In this episode, Shakeshaft stresses how educators are responsible for reporting suspicious actions without having to determine whether the behavior is truly harmful and shares strategies for educators and families to recognize, report, and prevent these incidents from happening in their schools.

Elliot Haspel believes universal childcare can happen in America, especially because it affects everyone across red and blue lines. Haspel, senior fellow at Capita, says part of the challenge is recognizing that childcare is something Americans seen as a public good. 

Reflecting on the history of childcare in America, Haspel points out how certain policy failures, particularly the Comprehensive Child Development Act in the 1970s, have led to where we are today. “We've never gotten to this point in the country of really reckoning with, what is childcare and individual responsibility? Is it actually something that should be more of a right, that should be more seen akin to public education, or libraries, or parks, or roads, where society has a vested interest in supporting the family?” he says.

 He highlights two key obstacles: inclusivity (recognizing informal caregivers and stay-at-home parents) and funding, with a necessary budget estimated at over $150 billion annually. 

“Fundamentally, if you want a functional childcare system in this country that works for families, and works for children, that works for the educators, and it ultimately works for communities, and the economy, and society at large -- it has to start with robust, permanent, dedicated amounts of public funding,” Haspel says. “And we've never done anything like that in this country without first deciding, as a nation, that it is a value that we hold.”

He envisions a future where childcare is seen as a right and advocates for a large, sustained public investment. He points to other countries, like Canada and Germany, that have successfully reformed their childcare systems, showing that change is possible. Haspel emphasizes the need for a cultural shift to prioritize childcare, which he believes will lead to broader societal benefits.

In this episode, Haspel discusses the challenges and potential solutions for universal childcare in the U.S. 

Drawing from her research and interviews with boys over the past three decades, Niobe Way, a professor of developmental psychology at New York University, reveals how boys in early adolescence express a strong desire for close, emotionally intimate friendships, but as they grow older, societal pressures cause them to suppress these feelings. She calls this a crisis of connection and it’s affecting all of us. 

“This crisis of connection is not just for boys and young men. It's with everybody where we're starting to disconnect from our emotional sensitivity, our need for relationships, our need for intimate relationships, not just with a romantic partner, but with friends, as we grow older…” Way says. “Even our notions of maturity, it's the same notions as manhood. It's about being independent, self-sufficient, autonomous, stoic. It's not about being emotional, being sensitive, being able to be mutually supportive with another person.”

This loss of connection along with a culture steeped in toxic masculinity leads to emotional isolation, and contributes to rising rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and even mass violence. Often times society blames mental illness for the latter, but Way contends that our need to individualize these problems, rather than seeing them as cultural issues creates a cycle of not listening and blame. 

“The point that we're not asking is, why are they having mental health problems? I mean, what's leading them to be that mentally ill? What is leading them to do that? What's causing that? And why are so many young men at this point-- because the numbers are almost every day that we have a mass shooting-- why are there so many high numbers of young men, white, privileged young boys have mental illness? Why?,” Way says. “Once you start asking why, then you start seeing a cultural story of the way we're raising our children. And I'm going to implicate everybody, including me. We are absolutely raising our children to go against their nature by only valuing one side, by valuing academic achievement over kindness.”

In the episode, Way advocates for a rethinking of not only how we raise boys, but all children, stressing the value of fostering emotional intelligence, empathy, and deep connections with others.

The explosion of artificial intelligence exposed many benefits and challenges for children interacting with AI, especially in educational and social contexts. 

“The big question becomes whether children can benefit from those AI interactions in a way that is similar to how they benefit from interacting with other people,” says Ying Xu, an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “So if we talk about learning first, my research, along with that of many others, show that children can actually learn effectively from AI, as long as the AI is designed with learning principles in mind.”

Xu studies the impact of AI on children’s development. She highlights that children can learn effectively from AI when it’s designed with proper learning principles. For instance, AI companions that ask questions during activities like reading can improve children's comprehension and vocabulary. However, Xu emphasizes that while AI can simulate some educational interactions, it cannot fully replicate the deeper engagement and relationship-building that come from human interaction, particularly when it comes to follow-up questions or personalized conversations that are important for language and social development.

“There is the excitement that AI has the potential for personalized learning and to help students develop skills for this AI-driven society. But like many of you, I share the same concerns about the outlook of this, what we call the "AI generation,’” she says. “There are so many questions, we don't have answers yet. When we talk about children's ability to actually find answers and learn on their own, and is using "hey" to command or activate AI makes kids forget about politeness. And perhaps the most worrisome to a lot of people is whether children would become more attached to AI than to the people around them.”

In this EdCast episode, Xu shares what we know so far about how AI impacts children’s development and the importance of AI literacy, where children are taught to understand the limitations and potential misinformation from AI, as well as the need for both developers and educators to promote critical evaluation of AI-generated content.

The 2024 Election is anything but easy to teach in a classroom today  where fears range from community backlash, restrictive state policies, and job security. For many teachers, the election is a topic to avoid, but Eric Soto-Shed, lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, insists we're missing a real opportunity by doing so.

“We’re at a crisis right now in terms of Americans belief in our fundamental democratic system – not for this candidate or that candidate but does the system work…” Soto-Shed says, noting a recent Gallup poll shows only 28 percent of Americans are satisfied with democracy. “I think that’s a tragic number. And I think schools are the place where we can get folks not only engaged in the process, but also connected to the process, believing in the process.”

He sees teacher expertise and classrooms as a place to create a nurturing learning environment for students. Teaching the election can foster civic engagement, as data shows students are more likely to vote and trust democratic processes when educated on them.

“We can't avoid these hard conversations because they're going to happen anyway. It's just a swipe away on a phone or click on the dial. And students are going to be exposed to these rhetoric charged topics, really disparaging comments, different points of view. Why don't we use our schools as a place where we can really have real meaningful deep conversation around differences, around important issues?” he says.

In this episode of the EdCast, Soto-Shed offers strategies for navigating these challenges, such as focusing on critical thinking skills, connecting election topics to broader course themes, and presenting issues factually without heavy bias. Finally, he highlights the emotional and logistical challenges of post-election classroom discussions, particularly during highly contentious election cycles.

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.