Klingbrief

According to Jill Lepore of The New Yorker, the ubiquity of data – the word, what it contains, and what it signifies – is not just a marvel but also a phenomenon long in the making. What exactly data encompasses, how it can and should be used to inform human decision-making, and where it fits into the larger continuum of human knowledge can be confounding; however, in “The Data Delusion,” Lepore provides both a helpful analogy and an overview of recent history to help us understand the information age of “big data” in which we currently live. “Imagine,” she says, “that all the world’s knowledge is stored, and organized, in a single vertical Steelcase filing cabinet” with four drawers labeled mysteries, facts, numbers, and data. Immediately, said cabinet snaps into focus in our minds, and we can’t help but notice how the simple act of putting “big data” into a cabinet-shaped context is calming. Through definition, Lepore further clarifies the role of data as “knowledge that humans can’t know directly” and for which we need a computer to gather, and which has one main purpose: to help us to make predictions by recognizing patterns. The data drawer used to be empty, but, she says, in the last hundred years, it has filled up to the point of overflowing. Lepore’s look at the historical sweep of the last century, like her analogy of the four-drawer cabinet, both dispels the mystery of data’s current ubiquity and establishes its logic. Ultimately, she draws our attention to the top drawer where the real and not yet answered mysteries, like how to create equitable, engaging learning experiences for every child around the world, wait to be solved.

How do you change the world? According to Ruha Benjamin, one person at a time. Benjamin is an internationally recognized writer, speaker, and professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and is the award-winning author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. In Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want, Benjamin delivers a compelling personal narrative and manifest that expertly weaves her experiences into an illuminating fabric of transformative solutions to social and racial injustices. “We can’t just critique the world as it is,” she writes, “but build the world as it should be to make justice irresistible.” She challenges readers to individually confront how we participate in systems that are unjust and asserts that we all must first look within ourselves to accomplish meaningful, collective change. Using the 2020 pandemic and racial reckoning in the U.S. as a lens, Benjamin describes “viral justice” as a way to create communities of care by rethinking the impact of small individual actions. We are all a thread within our social ecosystems, and our individual actions can elevate awareness around social and economic inequalities.

In this moment of renewing ourselves in the wake of the pandemic's impact on education, a book on self-care by the Center for Spiritual and Ethical Education could not be more welcome. The daily dilemma we face appears poignantly on the first page: "Our job entails an outpouring of giving, and when it's done well, something magical happens." Yet independent schools are now filled with "tired faculties, teachers[,] and administrators wondering how long they can sustain the pace." Every independent school educator can feel seen in this compendium of nine essays by teachers, consultants, and writers – whether through chapters on neuroscience, grief work, administrative support, or being an educator of color. Along with reminders of the importance of self-care practices such as sleep, exercise, breathing, meditation, and time in nature, the authors also offer practical suggestions on school-specific topics, such as honoring the power of ritual, building relationships on campus, and anchoring new teachers. Educators will want to keep this gem on the shelf, pulling it out at moments of uncertainty to find solace from voices who understand what we do and why we do it.

In Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work, Ruchika Tulshyan sets out to answer the following question: "If we believe in inclusion morally, ethically, and as a way to drive profitability and productivity, then why are we so terrible at it?” Her response: folks in leadership positions, the majority of whom are white and/or male, have not been taught how to create inclusive professional spaces. While inclusion may seem like a self-explanatory concept, Tulshyan compellingly argues that it is not enough to acknowledge it simply – it must be consciously practiced by all members of an organization. The author explores the experiences of women who have faced gender, color, and racial bias in the workplace, highlighting the urgent need for greater awareness and action toward building more inclusive and diverse teams. Moreover, Tulshyan emphasizes the importance of creating a psychologically safe workplace where individuals feel valued and supported regardless of their background or identity. The text defines inclusive practices, each increasing in scope and complexity, from the individual to the organizational. Included in these sections are helpful acronyms for action as well as questions for reflection. These individual competencies are followed in later chapters by an interrogation of common professional practices that can perpetuate inequity and how to combat these tendencies with inclusive action. Ultimately, Tulshyan's message is one of hope and possibility. She argues that with the right mindset, attitudes, and practices, it is possible to create workplaces where everyone can thrive and succeed, regardless of their background.

It is worthy and timely to consider how the Holocaust is taught in our schools, as well as how educators should engage this topic within the broader curriculum of media literacy. “Rather than teaching the Holocaust as an isolated event,” Alan Marcus contends, “educators must grapple with how it connects to antisemitism past and present. That means adapting to how people learn and live today: online.” Much has been written about the bedeviling uses and misuses of artificial intelligence and apps like TikTok, including how these tools are factories of bigotry. Yet these same technologies and others, like virtual reality, have productively expanded the scope of Holocaust education, at a time when the need is urgent with the rise of antisemitism and the ongoing passing of survivors. By connecting Holocaust education to media literacy, Marcus calls on educators to have their students grapple with the horrors of the past while equipping themselves with the tools to grasp their ever-changing technological present. Like the Holocaust, media literacy is a topic that transcends a single discipline or grade level, making this combination a lesson that can be tailored and applied throughout our schools.

A welcome rejoinder to some of the most alarmist coverage of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, this article explores the promise and potential of this technology. While acknowledging that the “initial panic from the education sector was understandable,” tech columnist Will Douglas Heaven is lining up with the “many teachers [who] now believe ChatGPT could actually help make education better.” As such, Heaven and others maintain that “banning [these tools] is futile, possibly even counterproductive” and instead amplifies calls from the likes of Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), who argues that “we need to be asking what we need to do to prepare young people – learners – for a future world that’s not that far in the future.” Previous iterations of educational technology have offered similar potential to revolutionize education, but it does seem like generative AI’s promise is real; the key will be to be open to the ways this technology can enhance and transform teaching and learning while not sacrificing educational values. Moreover, teachers and schools that resist this technology may find themselves lagging behind. Indeed, Heaven cites a study in which “a majority of teachers and students surveyed also agreed with this statement: ‘ChatGPT is just another example of why we can’t keep doing things the old way for schools in the modern world.’” Perhaps most helpfully, Heaven then profiles several educators using generative AI tools to improve their teaching and accelerate students’ learning outcomes. Notably, these practitioners are using these tools to enhance “traditional” curriculum goals like writing, research, and critical thinking. While it’s clear that “teachers have been thrown into a radical new experiment,” this article is a helpful reflection on the fact that “this is not the end of education. It’s a new beginning.”

“Kids are adaptable. They were born into the digital era,” we say. Digital consumption in all different media has skyrocketed and is now a reality in our learning institutions as well. The prolonged use of media is now becoming a greater concern among teachers, doctors, and parents. In the book Screen Damage: The Dangers of Digital Media for Children, Demurget, a neuroscientist explains the negative influences of current digital usage on child development. Demurget's essay aims to present an emotional and persuasive account of his own experience and to provide readers with a sincere synthesis of the current scientific knowledge that exists in this relatively new area of study. Through continuous questions and an argumentative voice, the author confirms that some of his considerations are strong and may be flawed. However, he provides the reader with a truly eye-opening perspective and sets a sense of urgency and alertness that we, as educators, should become aware of regarding the digital world and its impact on our students. As educators, having an awareness of how to effectively teach digital literacy, will be vital in combating possible long-term consequences that can arise.

How do independent schools understand and amplify student voices? For researchers, leaders, teachers, and students, Marc Brasof and Joseph Levitan’s Student Voice Research offers an approachable and comprehensive collection of resources for those seeking to emphasize student voice within a school community. In a concise and digestible manner, chapters span diverse topics like reflexivity, intersubjectivity, research framework, power dynamics, meaning-making, analysis, and methods. Brasof and Levitan carefully include realistic views of the complexities, pitfalls, and stubborn resistance that can arise when young people participate in the research process. If your school is curious about engaging students in research, suggest a careful and critical read of this text by a faculty, administration, or student leadership group. If educators genuinely seek to understand how students experience school, this text provides a toolkit necessary for the journey.