Change of Course

“We are our own resource”

Essay by Bryant Odega, Ed.M.

“Know history, know self. No history, no self.” 

Those were the words projected on the wall in the beginning of Christina “V” Villarreal’s T004 Ethnic Studies and Education course. It is a saying written by revolutionary intellectual Jose Rizal, whose writings helped inspire Philippine resistance to Spanish colonization. It is a saying that I’ve often reflected upon throughout the fall semester of 2023, and my last semester this spring as I’ve been student-teaching ethnic studies at a high school in Boston’s southernmost neighborhood, the majority Black, Brown, and beautiful community of Hyde Park. 

From this course I’ve learned that in many aspects, we are our own resource and that by learning our history, we can better know ourselves. It is about being critically conscious of the narratives we are told about ourselves and uncovering counternarratives. Working with Dr. V’s teaching fellow and Ph.D. student Melina Melgoza, I am also reminded about the importance of helping students create new narratives. 

Throughout my student-teaching experience, I’ve had the honor to teach ethnic studies and be a witness to the wisdom and brilliance that my students possess. For example, my students learned about the five elements of hip-hop and, after reading Black Indians by William Katz, used them to showcase how Black and Indigenous people resisted European colonization in the Americas. Students illustrated concepts of resistance, community, and solidarity through powerful poems, songs, and graffiti art. Incorporating hip-hop studies in my practice was inspired by a lesson given by Dr. V’s teaching fellow and Ed.L.D. student, Justis “DJ Faro” Lopez. 

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned from T004 is grappling with what this knowledge compels me to do. I’ve learned that ethnic studies is more than content and curriculum, it is a way of being. As I continue on my teaching journey, I hope to build upon ways to co-create with my students’ classroom environments that humanizes them and helps them uncover their own power. 

After graduating from the Teaching and Teacher Leadership Program this spring, Bryant Odega plans on teaching high school ethnic studies in Los Angeles

"Serve students"

Essay by Douglas Mosher, Ph.D.

As a former first-grade teacher, I believe that the priority of teachers is to serve students. 

When I left the classroom to begin my graduate work at HGSE in 2018, I wanted this mindset to prevail. Yet that guiding north star faded as I dove into coursework. So much of academia at times can feel like we serve science and ourselves in the quest to acquire grants and publish journal articles, with our research collaborators and participants becoming relegated to a distant second. 

My adviser, Professor Jimmy Kim, however, provided me with an incredibly meaningful lesson during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools had closed and his research lab was in the final year of a three-year longitudinal study examining the effect of his literacy intervention on student outcomes. Initially, it seemed we should continue the study with treatment students receiving the intervention and control students receiving whatever the district provided. But the pandemic was an incredibly challenging time, and school districts were struggling to implement virtual instruction. Jimmy saw this need and decided to provide the intervention to both treatment and control conditions, serving all teachers and students, not just some. He threw a wrench into his study, not knowing how a decision like this might impact findings from a three-year investment. And still he put the needs of our district partners ahead of his goals as a researcher — something that seemed rare in the research world. 

This was a pivotal moment in my time as a Ph.D. student. I was reminded that regardless of our role in the field of education, our job is to serve students and teachers. This is our north star. As a researcher studying elementary school interventions, everything I do should be in service of students and teachers. In this case, providing teachers with a ready-to-use curriculum was what was needed, even if it altered the longitudinal study. 

Douglas Mosher is in his sixth and final year of the Ph.D. Program. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, he was a first-grade teacher with Metropolitan Nashville

"I truly belong"

Essay by Gabriela Dumancela, Ed.M.

“Students’ success is normally credited to institutions and lack of success to individual students.” 

This was the headline in one of the class sessions of Lecturer Alexis Redding’s College Student Development course, and it became a revelation to redefine my professional objectives and the meaning of success in postsecondary education. 

As Redding’s lecture unfolded, I was puzzled by the question: “If we aim for every student’s success, what actions are necessary?” In searching for answers, I found a personal connection to my own journey. Arriving at HGSE as a low-income, first-generation, international student, I faced numerous challenges and moments of uncertainty. My lack of connections made it difficult to establish a sense of community, and my unfamiliarity with the academic environment of an American college proved even more challenging. 

However, despite the obstacles I initially encountered, I found the resilience to persevere, thanks to the supportive community at HGSE. The relationships I formed with faculty, staff members, and peers served as vital support to connect me with student organizations, find guidance to complete coursework, and mentorship to enroll in courses and activities to further explore my academic interests. Reflecting on my journey, I realized that the people around me played a crucial role in fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment, reaffirming my conviction that I truly belong to the Ed School. 

I experienced a rewarding and exciting academic year, yet this enriching experience would not have been possible without the environment HGSE carefully created for me. As I look back on my journey, I am deeply thankful for the moments of inquiry and inspiration in Redding’s class. After radically challenging my thinking and assumptions, I circled back to my initial puzzle with the answer: If we aim for every student’s success, what we mainly need is a positive environment. When institutions involve stakeholders, like faculty and staff members, to promote students’ wellbeing as much as their learning, they create a system that provides a safe, equitable, and engaging climate, that each student needs for their academic and personal growth. 

Gabriela Dumancela, in the Human Development and Education Program, is specializing in process redesign to enhance college students’ experiences. Her goal is to create environments that nurture their development as “whole persons”

"Teach kindness"

Essay by Ezza Naveed, Ed.M.

Something I learned this year that really stayed with me happened during my Equity and Opportunity Foundation class. I learned about “social class” and how it shows up in educational spaces. 

I read about how isolating schools can be for people who “embody” a different class. I read about how a student, the son of immigrant parents from Ireland and Pakistan, grew up exposed to “high-class” activities. Instead of taking him to Pakistan or Ireland, his parents took him on expensive European vacations, trying to “culture” him. Yet, when this student showed up to an American boarding school, he felt deeply isolated from his peers. From the hidden curriculum of how the place ran to cultural references of the “upper class” students, it was difficult to relate.

This made me wonder — who were the peers in my elementary school who felt isolated because of class differences? I will never forget my classmate, Ehsan, who, on Parents’ Day, joined us in describing our parents: “Doctor, engineer, accountant, banker, army officer…” 

Ehsan said, “My father has a chicken shop.” 

“A CHICKEN shop?” the teacher asked, with surprise. 

“A chicken shop,” he said, beaming with pride. 

As 8-year-olds, we did what we knew best. We laughed at him. With time, I noticed that Ehsan started to shrink into the shadows, until one day, he left, and we never heard from him again. To this day, it breaks my heart to reflect on what happened. When we went to school, nobody thought about class. Nobody taught Ehsan to “perform” class. That “business owner” was the “right” way to describe his dad. But worst of all, nobody taught us how to accept someone who may be different. 

For 18 years, I sat with this incident, but never quite knew what went wrong. My Equity and Opportunity readings made me realize, Aha, that is what happened. My first interaction with classism during school. Now, as an educator, I’m beginning to think, how can I build a world that will teach kids to be kind, no matter what? To teach children about classism without making them aware of their class? 

Ezza Naveed is originally from Pakistan, where she built a tech fellowship for low-income students in her province of KPK, Pakistan. She is in the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology Program

"I must play"

Essay by Missy Arellano, Ed.M.

The most impactful lesson I have learned so far at HGSE is the importance of play. 

I embarked on my graduate school journey with the goal to research and implement arts curriculum for young children, and to explore how the arts can build social emotional learning skills. I spent the fall studying with Lecturer Louisa Penfold, creating a portfolio of arts workshops for preschoolers to shape the next generation of critical thinkers. I learned that materials do not need to come in the form of traditional art supplies, they can be found, natural, or recycled objects; and by providing children with everyday objects, I can make art more accessible and equitable.

One day after Louisa’s class I came home to my four-year-old son, Yee, playing with two paper bags from Trader Joe’s. I sat there in awe watching him transform bags into shoes, imagining himself as an alien from another planet. He began narrating a story rich with language, asking me questions about space and the solar system. I was fascinated by how quickly he scaffolded the activity, bringing me another bag and asking me to cut holes for eyes so he could create a mask, then grabbing markers to add color. He spent the rest of the evening coloring the bags and identifying colors to express his emotions. He embraced the true essence of learning through play via grocery bags! 

That night I reflected upon how what Louisa was teaching in the classroom unfolded in my own home. It left me wanting to further explore ways in which children can experience impactful arts learning. Over the last year, I have uncovered that effective early learning experiences come from creating interconnected relationships by all parties — teachers, families, administrators, communities, and policymakers, but most importantly the child. 

I am always learning, and I am grateful for my time at HGSE. Every day I remind myself that to grow I must play, just like Yee. 

Missy Arellano, from Long Beach, California, came to the Ed School to research early childhood theory and policy to develop effective and equitable practices that support early learners and their families. She is in the Education Policy Analysis Program

"Reflect on feedback"

Essay by King Adjei-Frimpong, Ed.M.

I recoiled whenever I received feedback. I had to emotionally brace myself because even when I received positive feedback, I prepared for its critical counterpart. What exacerbated my reaction was that I struggled with waiting until I thought a product was “done” before sharing it for feedback. When the feedback was critical, I was left vulnerable. 

That changed this fall semester when I took Real Talk: The Art and Practice of Brave Communication, taught by the esteemed Lecturer Tim McCarthy, with the support of teaching fellow Diego Garcia-Blum. I took the class expecting to improve my public speaking skills. Yes, that did happen, but what I did not expect was how the class would change my perspective and reactions to feedback. 

Tim uses a “learn, apply, reflect” framework. At the beginning of the week, you learn methods and structures for giving a speech. You then apply those learnings to your speech. After your speech, you receive feedback that you reflect on in order to improve your next speech. The structure of the class is all about feedback, and there are three distinct ways that can happen: 

1. Feedback from an impartial party: Teaching fellows from other sections host office hours. They are not grading you, nor do they see your speech, but they are available to talk through ideas or listen to an early version. 
2. Feedback from your classmates: After you give your speech, classmates offer on-the-spot feedback. They are also given time to type more detailed feedback. 
3. Feedback from the teaching team: The teaching team shares their feedback after classmates. Their feedback is incisive, robust, and thoughtful. 

Initially, I was nervous about the layers of feedback, but I experienced Tim’s method as caring. I felt comfortable evolving my approach to feedback and quickly reaped the benefits of doing so. The framework and the positive experience bled into other classes and advanced my personal and professional development — and all without the typical sting I felt when receiving feedback in the past. 

King Adjei-Frimpong is focused on leadership, communications, and andragogy. He is the host of the podcast What Keeps Us Going. He is in the Education Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship Program