Have a Seat with the C-Suite, Vol. 3

Try: Working toward Work-Life Balance

This article, from author and researcher Emma Kell, offers both a realistic picture of the educator’s life and some reasonable ways to protect (at least a little bit of) balance in your life. It’s true that exhaustion and burnout account for a substantial amount of teacher attrition from the profession but I repeatedly encounter articles that preach self-care without accounting for the particular demands on a real teacher’s life. These articles suggest long bubble baths or turning off email after work but don’t acknowledge that educators are likely to be grading, fielding homework questions via text or email, or cultivating relationships with parents and families long after the school day ends. Or, you know, spending time with their own families. Dr. Kell offers a few reasonable suggestions to carve out just a little bit more sanity: learn from colleagues who manage their time well, take advantage of the time that’s structured into your daily schedule, and listen to the loved ones who suggest you curl up with them this evening rather than with one more stack of grading.

Read: How our education system undermines gender equality

This is a must-read for any K12 educator, but especially for those who teach or work in STEM. Dr. Joe Cimpian, a professor and researcher at New York University, summarizes here some of his recent research about how girls are treated in school - particularly in STEM fields. When children enter kindergarten, there is no gender gap in math achievement but by second or third grade, there is an achievement gap in which boys outperform girls by a quarter of a standard deviation (that’s almost the same pace and timing as the growth of the Black-White math achievement gap). Teachers’ beliefs - whether or not they think girls have to work hard while boys are innately good at math - account for about half of that achievement gap. For these reasons, Cimpian concludes, “typical K-12 policy mechanisms will likely have no real effect in improving equity for girls”. What will instigate real change? Educators who deal frankly and frequently with their own assumptions about how hard boys and girls have to work versus how naturally gifted they are. When we begin to chip away at the obstacles girls face in STEM fields in elementary school, we’ll be able to do the same at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

Share: Teacher Walkouts: A State by State Guide

In the past few weeks, there has been a lot to keep track of when it comes to teacher walkouts. NPR-Ed’s guide is a great resource, not only as a primer on what teachers nationwide want from their states but also as a place to get updated information as advocacy efforts continue. In some cases, such as Oklahoma, the walkouts are over but the issues have not been resolved. The bottom line in all of these cases is that teachers are treated as an expendable resource. Research is very clear that teachers who are underpaid, undervalued, and unsupported are likely to leave their districts and perhaps the profession. Schools and students will suffer as a result. If you’re in one of these states, call your legislators. No matter where you are, advocate for teachers and students in a way that’s meaningful to you.

Lead: Bridget Terry Long the next Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education

This is huge news. An educational economist and a renowned scholar worldwide, Dr. Bridget Terry Long will begin her new post as Dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education on July 1. Dr. Long’s research has long been concerned with questions of equity and access in higher education. One of her research strands investigates the ways in which information and assistance for things like college savings or completing financial aid forms help students transition to and succeed in college. If you’re interested in more of her work, check out Supporting College Student Access and Success: Making Sure Hard Work Pays Off or Helping Women Succeed in Higher Education: Supporting Student-Parents with Child Care. We found a couple of her conclusions applicable to a host of educational problems:

• Change the infrastructure to make the process easier (e.g., change financial aid forms)
• Use personalized information to simplify processes (e.g., link eligibility across programs)
• Change how practitioners focus their time and attention (e.g., on personalized information, not routine tasks)

Our comments are open! We’d love to hear what’s working or not working for you in these roundups. Or, if you have suggestions for what to cover, drop us a note.

- Lauren