The Spaces Between Us Podcast
The official podcast for Harvard Alumni for Education, where we explore stories that connect us and yet make us unique across the global field of education. It is a gathering place for alumni to share meaningful work, and to connect with ourselves and with one another.
One of the most influential and creative scholars in medical anthropology takes stock of his recent intellectual odysseys in this collection of essays. Arthur Kleinman, an anthropologist and psychiatrist who has studied in Taiwan, China, and North America since 1968, draws upon his bicultural, multidisciplinary background to propose alternative strategies for thinking about how, in the postmodern world, the social and medical relate.
Writing at the Margin: Discourse Between Anthropology and Medicine (U California Press, 1997). explores the border between medical and social problems, the boundary between health and social change. Kleinman studies the body as the mediator between individual and collective experience, finding that many health problems—for example the trauma of violence or depression in the course of chronic pain—are less individual medical problems than interpersonal experiences of social suffering. He argues for an ethnographic approach to moral practice in medicine, one that embraces the infrapolitical context of illness, the responses to it, the social institutions relating to it, and the way it is configured in medical ethics. Previously published in various journals, these essays have been revised, updated, and brought together with an introduction, an essay on violence and the politics of post-traumatic stress disorder, and a new chapter that examines the contemporary ethnographic literature of medical anthropology.
A copy of the transcript can be found here.
5:41 - World Mental Health: Problems and Priorities in Low-Income Countries: https://www.amazon.com/World-Mental-Health-Priorities-Low-Income/dp/0195095405/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
7:42 - The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780942299892/the-expressiveness-of-the-body-and-the-divergence-of-greek-and
10:03 - Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples: India, China, Tibet, Japan: https://www.amazon.com/Ways-Thinking-Eastern-Peoples-Translation/dp/0824800788
11:49 - The Tanner Lecture at Stanford: https://tannerlectures.utah.edu/_resources/documents/a-to-z/k/Kleinman99.pdf
20:19 - How bodies remember: Social memory and bodily experience of criticism, resistance and delegitimation following China's Cultural Revolution: https://www.jstor.org/stable/469474
17:53 - Nie Jing-Bao: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jing-Bao-Nie
19:03 - Amartya Sen: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/1998/sen/facts/
"I want to see teachers, creating the conditions for students to own their own learning, to self-regulate their own learning, to have their own goals, to be self monitoring, and self-regulating their strategies for learning against the target that is shared."
Today’s episode comes from an event our NYC Chapter Co-Chair Rana Hafiz hosted last year with Javier Arguello, founder of COGx and Richard Lemons, a faculty member at Yale University’s Education Studies Program. They discuss the implications of structural inequality on learning, and what changes learning organizations can undertake to make improvements on schools—from re-focusing on student learning outcomes to re-aligning leadership goals.
Interviewer: Susanna Brock
Click here for the interview transcript.
COGx: https://cogx.info/
26:10 - James Stigler, Teaching is a Cultural Activity: https://www.kentuckymathematics.org/docs/Teaching_Is_A_Cultural_Activity_Teaching-Winter_98-Stigler.pdf
26:14 - TIMSS study: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999074.pdf
29:01 - Richard Elmore: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty/richard-elmore
“...we need to give children more agency, more voice, in how their own data is being used to personalize experiences for them.”
Professor and writer Natalia Kucirkova speaks to us about her journey in studying the role of personalization in children’s learning, and reflects on her dual process of writing as an academic and as a poet. Highlighting key concepts in her latest published work “The Future of the Self: Understanding Personalization in Childhood and Beyond”, she discusses the social and psychological consequences of the ubiquitous presence of modern technology in our lives. She also calls for more awareness of the bigger picture, greater agency and slowing down for both children and adults. Do stay till the end, where she shares her poem “Oranges are the Only Fruit” with us!
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
02:54 - Professor Kathy Sylvia, Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology at Oxford University
07:13 - An early study on personalized books by Donald F. DeMoulin
13:55 - "The Future of the Self", a different book of the same title by Professor of Psychology Jay Friedenberg
15:36 - Black Mirror, a Netflix anthology series
43:51 - “Love Algorithm”, a poetry collection published by Black Spring Press
“...we're moving to a future where impact is going to be baked into everybody's job description. That means that the call for educators is to make sure that every person that they work with or they teach, is prepared to make an impact in the world, and hopefully the book can help to show them how.”
Impact leader, social entrepreneur and author Roshan Paul - who has a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School - gets us thinking about why impact matters in the work we do and the world we live in, and how we can all create meaningful impact individually and collectively. Using personal experiences to illuminate key concepts that appear in The New Reason to Work, the newly published book which he co-authored with fellow Amani Institute co-founder Ilaina Rabbat, Roshan takes us on a journey from his childhood in Bangalore to pivotal career moments in his life across various continents, and leaves us with an optimistic view of the future to come.
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
02:57 - Amani Institute, a global non-profit organization that develops individuals and organizations who lead social impact
03:33 - Roshan Paul’s and Ilaina Rabbat’s book The New Reason to Work
03:41 - EVS: Environmental Studies program in India developed by the late Gloria de Souza, a former teacher who is known for her visionary efforts in educational reform and social entrepreneurship.
04:53 - Ashoka, a global network of social entrepreneurs
06:16 - Green School Bali, an international school along the Ayung River, the longest river in Bali, which provides a holistic and green education.
21:33 - Ilaina Rabbat
22:27 - Teddy Roosevelt (26th US President) quote about the man in the arena.
26:32 - Parker Palmer, American author, educator and activist
36:53 - Yuval Noah Harari, Israeli public intellectual, historian and a professor, and his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
39:57 - Margaret Mead, American cultural anthropologist
42:09 - THNK School of Creative Leadership, an international leadership organisation headquartered in Amsterdam
44:44 - Susan Sontag, American intellectual and writer, and her book Regarding the Pain of Others
“...one of my goals, as a public intellectual, is to really push this...push people to say...I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight for values. And in fact, you know, if I get pushback, so be it, because the fight is worth it.”
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership Jennie Weiner (Ed.M.’03, Ed.D’12) shares her insights on equity and inclusion work in schools, the role of educators as public actors and activists, and re-imagining educational leadership and community engagement with equity, love and humanity at the core. In this conversation, critical questions are raised regarding making changes while navigating bureaucracy, the importance of fundamental systems work beyond inter and intra-personal work, and how efforts to be inclusive are still done through a perspective of privilege.
Interviewer: Rana Arshed Hafiz
Click here for the transcript.
00:01:24 - Dr. Isobel Stevenson, Director of Organizational Learning at Partners for Educational Leadership
00:01:26 - the Strategy Playbook for Educational Leaders, the book co-authored by Weiner and Stevenson
00:08:31 - Dr. Weiner’s New York Times article “I Refuse to Run a Coronavirus Home School”
00:09:49 - Carla Shalaby, Coordinator of Social Justice Initiatives and Community Internships at University of Michigan
00:12:33 - Individualized Education Program (IEP)
00:14:37 - Neag School of Education
00:17:30 - Chris Argyris, late business theorist and former HGSE faculty member who theorised single-loop and double-loop learning.
00:21:09 - PD - Professional Development
00:23:47 - Shannon Holder, doctoral candidate in the Learning, Leadership, and Education Policy Ph.D. program in the Educational Leadership Department at the University of Connecticut.
00:23:49 - Tracking, ability-based streaming or phasing of students in schools
00:34:06 - Chantal Francois, author and Assistant Professor at Towson University
00:34:17 - BIPOC, abbreviation for Black, Indigenous (and) People of Colour. A nuanced discussion of the complications and limitations of terms like this can be found in this vox article.
00:37:00 - Nearpod, an online tool for more interactive teaching and learning
00:40:07 - the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed by President Obama in 2015
“...if we could take it a step further, to think about how we can make learning by creating, learning by caring more widespread, because it's one thing to raise the bar for yourself, constantly improve your own standards, but it's an entirely different thing to... make sure that, you know, that makes a difference to those around you.”
Educator, storyteller and innovator Matthew Ong (Ed.M.’13) takes us on a trip to Singapore, to see the world of learning from his perspective. We gain insights on why social responsibility and innovation matter to him, what learning in Singapore is like from past to present, how he draws inspiration from the classical Chinese military treatise The Art of War and the Japanese concept of ikigai… and how it all leads him to his latest role: the co-founder of a business that centers on experiential learning.
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
Related links:
01:22 - Learning Playground , the experiential learning business that Matt co-founded with his father
04:54 - Student Learning Space - a student-centric digital learning platform in Singapore
08:53 - old folks home - a common term for retirement/elderly homes in Singapore
10:24 - Character and Citizenship - The Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) framework was first introduced in 2011 in Singapore, which marked a shift in Singapore’s educational development at the time from focusing on the nation to focusing on the individual:
“The goal of CCE is to inculcate values and build competencies in our students to develop them to be good individuals and useful citizens.”
23:34 - The Art of Education - a book written by Matt, containing “stories and inspiration for educators’
23:40 - The Art of War, the famous ancient military treatise from approximately 5th century China, which continues to bear global influence on strategic thinking across various fields such as warfare, business, law, lifestyle, etc. It is most commonly attributed to Sun Tzi (“Master Sun”), whose historical background and even existence continue to be an unsolved mystery amongst historians.
33:37 - Ikigai - a Japanese concept, which has no direct English translation, that embodies the notion of happiness in living. This article clarifies what ikigai truly is, away from the Westernised interpretation commonly depicted with the venn diagram of four overlapping characteristics.
“I think that like every other infant in the world, I was born a researcher, and wanted to stay a researcher. And the kinds of things that I wanted to understand were better understood, I think, by artistic means. Or at least that’s where I had some capacity.”
We continue our conversation with Steve Seidel (Ed.M.'89, Ed.D.'95), Faculty Director of the Arts in Education program at HGSE, as he opens up about pivotal moments and pedagogical puzzles across his 50 year career in education as a teacher, researcher and artist 𑁋 and what awaits him as he nears formal retirement.
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
Related links:
09:11 - Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, author and visual artist:
“I live in another world where life and death are memorized, where the earth is strung with lover's pearls and all I see are dark eyes.” From the song Dark Eyes (1985).
09:40 - Sherman Alexie, Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Native American novelist, short story writer, poet, and filmmaker.
The quote, “There is another world, but it is in this one.” is by Irish poet and writer William Butler Yeats, and it was included by Sherman Alexie in his novel “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”.
11:33 - The Silk Road Ensemble, a loose collective of musicians, visual artists and storytellers from Eurasian cultures that aims to advance global understanding and promote cross cultural collaboration. It was founded by American cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
13:25 - Peter Elbow, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Elbow’s essay “The Doubting Game and The Believing Game 𑁋 An Analysis of The Intellectual Enterprise” appears in his book Writing Without Teachers (1973).
17:21 - Project Zero, an educational research center at HGSE
23:50 - Pablo Casals, Catalan and Puerto Rican cellist, composer and conductor
27:10 - Eric Booth, American teaching artist, actor and author
30:23 - James Baldwin, American essayist, novelist, playwright and activist.
His essay “The Creative Process” is from his book Creative America (1962).
“So that teaching acting, really -- although it took me a long time to see this -- is much more about helping people learn to listen.”
It’s not every day that you get to host your teacher for a chat, years after graduating, and what a joy it was for us to hold space for Steve Seidel (Ed.M.'89, Ed.D.'95), Faculty Director of the Arts in Education program at HGSE. In this conversation, we learn more about Steve’s past as a high school teacher and theater professional, and understand how his approach to listening as an artist and educator has been shaped over the years. Steve also shares about how an undiagnosed disability has impacted his life, and how - in his own words - it has turned out to be one of his strongest abilities. Do stay tuned for Part II!
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
Related links:
00:11 - Arts in Education program at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE)
11:13 - American Repertory Theater
11:20 - Claire Conceison, American scholar, translator and director, focusing on Chinese Culture and Theater Arts
11:26 - Yu Rongjun, Chinese playwright and Director of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center
11:42 - Heartbreak - The title of the play is actually Heartquake (2008). This is what the playwright Yu has said about it in an interview: “China's Sichuan province also experienced a massive earthquake in 2008, and many were killed. I wrote a play after the earthquake, and this had a long run in Shanghai. It was about what people felt after the earthquake, how we helped each other, and about the many people who were lost in the disaster. We as artists tried to figure out how we could help people in the disaster stricken areas.”
17:06 - Frederick Douglass, African-American abolitionist leader, orator, and writer
32:07 - Gertrude Stein, Jewish-American writer and art collector
“Honestly, I think education’s in my blood.”
HAEd’s podcast has officially opened a new chapter, and this is our debut episode!
We speak to Rin Heise (Ed.M. ’20) on what it’s like working with college students during the pandemic, how a passion for learning runs in her family, and why she challenges herself to consider messages in stories that she does not necessarily agree with. At the time of this recording, Rin was working for MIT’s Office of Minority Education as the Program Coordinator for Academic Excellence. She is also a published poet, and kindly closes the conversation with a beautiful poem of hers.
Interviewers: Jasmine Chin, Shu Cao Mo
Click here for the transcript.
Related Links:
02:33 - Higher Education Program at Harvard Graduation School of Education (HGSE)
02:33 - MIT’s Office of Minority Education
03:23 - PE/NE, an alternative grading practice at MIT
05:37 - Junior Rotary and Interact Clubs
05:59 - College Possible through AmeriCorps
07:33 - Charlotte’s Web; Julie of the Wolves; 13 Reasons Why
From HAEd Archive:
a conversation with Tony shu and connor schoen from breaktime
Listen to a podcast interview with Tony Shu and Connor Schoen about their social venture, Breaktime. Breaktime's mission is to bridge the gap between education/training and employment for homeless young adults, by working very closely with direct service organizations and various employers. Their partners refer young adults to Breaktime for transitonal employment and coaching. Breaktime then supports and prepares participants for sustainable employment at a local business.
Featuring: Tony Shu, Connor Shoen, and Emily Pope.
Release Date: August 2019
each one teach one: connecting graduating students and alumni
Listen to a podcast recording of our Cambridge Each One Teach One mentoring event. We celebrated graduating students and connected with alumni for an evening of short, inspiring speeches and speed networking with experienced mentors.
Featuring: Alejandra Iglesias, Claudia Bach, James Donald, Heyang Yin, Crystal Rose and Emily Pope.
Release Date: July 2019
A Conversation with Gerard Robinson, Executive Director for the Center for Advancing Opportunity
Vanessa E. Beary (Ed.D. 2014, Ed.M. 2011), President of Harvard Alumni for Education Shared Interest Group sat down with Gerard Robinson (Ed.M. 1995), Executive Director for the Center for Advancing Opportunity to discuss his career in Education, and his path since graduating from Harvard. Robinson draws on his many experiences, from founding a charter school in New Jersey to serving as Virginia's Secretary of Education, and shares practical advice on how to improve educational opportunities for children.
Interviewer: Vanessa E. Beary, President
Release Date: February 19, 2018
On Starting CommonLit: A Conversation with Michelle Brown
In this episode, Michelle Brown (EdM, 2014) describes her journey from Harvard to founding an award-winning, nonprofit education technology company that is dedicated to improving adolescent literacy rates. Learn more at commonlit.org. (And PS, they're hiring! Head on over to their Career page to browse through their exciting opportunities).
Interviewer: Vanessa E. Beary, President
Release Date: December 21, 2017
CHILDREN THE FRINGES: A CONVERSATION WITH TWO RABBITS ABOUT EDUCATION IN CAMEROON AND MYANMAR
How can you ensure that children who are excluded from school due to war, ethnic violence, distance, or poverty still receive high quality, relevant education? In this episode, the four HGSE students behind Two Rabbits share with us how their new low cost, mp3-based program is helping children in Cameroon and Myanmar to learn. Learn more at chasingtworabbits.org.
Interviewer: Nell O'Donnell, Vice President
Release Date: December 21, 2016
EDUCATION EQUITY FOR ALL IN KOREA: A CONVERSATION WITH DOYEON KIM
What does it take to grow an education social enterprise in South Korea? In this episode, Doyeon Kim, Co-Founder of the Korean education social enterprise, JUMP, talks about the organization's history and milestones--from humble beginnings in May 2011 to becoming a Top 10 Finalist of the 2016 Google Impact Challenge in Korea.
Interviewer: Rufina Park, Director of International Engagement
Release Date: November 17, 2016
MOVING FROM IDEAS TO REALITY: BREAKING BARRIERS TO SOLVE A PROBLEM WITH SWATI SAHNI
A conversation with Swati Sahni about her experiences creating her recent start-up in India, Curozo. this episode touches on important questions on breaking barriers and Swati's personal experiences in the Indian EdTech space.
Interviewer: Matthew Williams, Director of Membership and Data of HAEd
Release Date: November 10, 2016
Bringing Design Thinking to Philippine Schools: Stories from Habi Education with Gerson Abesamis
How can we leverage design thinking to enhance education quality in resource-starved, developing communities such as those in the Philippines? In this episode, Habi Education Lab Founder Gerson Abesamis talks about how the start-up uses small design thinking workshops and collaborative lesson prototyping in a professional development program for teachers, resulting in innovative learning experiences in classrooms across the Philippines.
Interviewer: Michi Ferreol, Director of Marketing and Communications of HAEd
Release Date: October 30, 2016
BEYOND START-UP: THE STORY OF AIDCHILD FOUNDER AND CEO DR. NATHANIEL DUNIGAN
How can we move beyond focusing on the early-stages of entrepreneurship to discussions about building sustainable ventures? In this episode, Dr. Nathaniel Dunigan, who is also HAEd’s Co-President of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chapter, talks about the importance of the space beyond start-up and his work in founding and leading AidChild, which was the first organization in Uganda to provide free anti-retroviral therapy for children living with HIV.
Interviewer: Rufina Park, Director of International Engagement of HAEd
Release Date: October 22, 2016