Harvard Ed School students help local teachers counter racism
Race and socioeconomic status are often predictors of future advantage or disadvantages in life. K‒12 education can be another. To raise the floor and help teach school leaders how to confront and counteract racism in their classrooms, two students at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education recently created a program on race and equity in education and offered it to teachers in Boston and Cambridge. In a recent email exchange, the Gazette asked both of the students, Soraya Ramos and Cassandra St. Vil, to explain the program. They did so in their written responses, together and individually. Q&A Soraya Ramos & Cassandra St. Vil GAZETTE: What motivated you to develop this? RAMOS AND ST. VIL: We had both been teachers before coming to Harvard, and we recognized the importance of preparing coherent and effective sessions around the uncomfortable topics of race and racism. How do we discuss racism in a color-blind society? How can we push for...