The Harvard EdCast

00:00 Why families fixate on elite colleges—and the rise of the “panicking class” 01:15 How rankings shape decisions (and why they mislead) 03:10 The truth about differences between top-ranked schools 04:45 Why choosing a college feels so confusing 06:15 How test-optional, early decision, and the Common App changed everything 08:20 Inside the “black box” of holistic admissions 10:05 Who makes up the “panicking class” 11:40 Reality check: most colleges accept most students 13:00 Prestige pressure as a parenting culture problem 14:30 What “fit” really means—and where to start 16:00 When prestige leads to the wrong choice 17:10 How to decide after admissions disappointment 18:40 What should change in college admissions 20:10 Will parent attitudes shift in the future? 21:30 Closing thoughts

0:25 — Why reading scores still struggle 2:15 — Rise of the science of reading 5:00 — Aligning leadership to drive reform 7:30 — Consistency and long-term commitment 10:00 — Implementation matters more than policy 12:30 — Where literacy efforts break down 14:30 — What teachers need to do 17:00 — From percentages to individual students 19:00 — Why some states lose momentum. 20:30 — “Mays vs. shalls” in policy 22:00 — How long it takes to see results 23:30 — Third-grade retention 25:00 — Why early intervention matters most 26:01 — Mississippi Marathon / Closing thoughts      

0:00 — Introduction 1:05 — The three types of sex education most people receive 3:20 — What comprehensive sexuality education actually means 5:10 — Why consent alone isn't enough 7:00 — Why sexuality education shouldn't be siloed in health class 9:20 — Why conversations about sexuality should start early 11:30 — Teaching body awareness and safety 13:30 — Why kids ask questions about where babies come from 15:20 — The biggest challenges educators face today 17:30 — Why teachers often fear administrative backlash 19:00 — How school leaders can move forward despite resistance 21:00 — What progress would look like in 10 years. 22:30 — Closing thoughts

Harvard Graduate School of Education ProfessorKaren Brennan sees classrooms as magical spaces when we begin with curiosity, not just content. “When I think about design process, from the initial moments of young people working on projects, all the way to the end where they've gone through the highs, the lows, the emotional vicissitudes of bringing their ideas into the world, the messy middle through to the end, there is a role for questions in every moment,” she says. “Start with questions, for me, is really about an attitude of leading with student interests.” Drawing on a yearlong study of 25 teachers across elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, Brennan describes how powerful learning begins by asking genuine questions, or really questions teachers don’t already know the answers to. She is the co-author ofStarting with Questions: The Classroom as Design Studio, which explores what happens when educators take students’ ideas seriously. Rather than treating questions as a closing ritual at the end of a lesson, Brennan argues for an orientation shift: start with what learners are thinking about, what they care about, and what feels hard or exciting to them. Grounded in traditions of progressive education, this approach does not reject content knowledge. Instead, it reframes the role of teachers as expert guides, offering domain expertise, metacognitive scaffolding, affirmation, and structure within a classroom culture that values intellectual humility. Brennan comes to the classroom from a design studio background, a space that embraces tinkering and where self-directed learning happens in community. In studio-based environments, students pursue projects that matter to them while learning alongside peers and with the support of teachers. Self-direction, she explains, is not scriptless chaos but more structured, scaffolded, and deeply relational. That mindset also shapes her optimism about artificial intelligence. Brennan argues that AI is not about offloading thinking, but about expanding what learners can imagine and build. “I feel like we don’t give learners enough credit,” she says. “When there’s all this handwringing around AI stealing assignments, maybe we were asking students to do things that weren’t that important to begin with. If AI can do it, maybe we need to be looking for new opportunities for interestingness for learners. In this episode, Brennan pushes beyond traditional classroom approaches toward a powerful idea: how classrooms become transformative when we make space for students’ questions and trust their capacity to pursue them.

Suzanne Poole Patzelt, assistant professor focused on induction and mentoring, and Doug Larkin, professor researching teacher retention and school ecosystems, discuss what keeps teachers in schools. They highlight how strong colleague relationships, reduced isolation, meaningful induction, and supportive leadership shape retention. They also explore how pay interacts with culture and the idea of teacher embeddedness.

Julia Minson, Harvard Kennedy School professor who studies how people engage with opposing views and author of How to Disagree Better. She explains why we avoid conflict, how persuasion-focused talk fails, and introduces conversational receptiveness and the HEAR toolkit. Practical tips include practicing on low-stakes disagreements and using language to signal curiosity and keep conversations constructive.

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, how should schools teach this foundational document?Harvard lecturer Eric Soto-Shed joins The Harvard EdCast to discuss how civics education is evolving from patriotic education and action civics to media literacy and reflective patriotism. He explains why students should engage not only with the Declaration’s democratic ideals, but also with its contradictions.In a politically charged moment, Soto-Shed argues that classrooms shouldn’t just prepare students for civic life, they should function as civic spaces themselves. The goal isn’t memorization. It’s helping young people understand that democracy is a work in progress — and that they have a role in sustaining and strengthening it.

Gabrielle Oliveira, an associate professor and ethnographer, dives into the lives of migrant children in America. She reframes migration as an act of profound care, rooted in hope rather than fear. Oliveira shares her experiences living with migrant families, revealing how education serves as a motivator and stabilizer amidst their struggles. She highlights the sacrifices parents make for their children's schooling and the constraints teachers face in supporting these students. Ultimately, she calls for empathy-driven policies that prioritize children's well-being.

Jarvis Givens, a Harvard education professor and author specializing in race and education, explores the interconnected histories of Native and Black education in the U.S. He argues that public schooling is rooted in Native land dispossession and the economic engine of slavery. Givens introduces the concept of 'American Grammar,' highlighting how race, power, and knowledge are embedded in today's educational structures. He emphasizes the need for nuanced historical understanding to address current inequities and shape justice-oriented educational solutions.

Jal Mehta, a Harvard Graduate School of Education professor and co-director of the Deeper Learning Institute, dives deep into the intricate relationship between education research and political partisanship. He highlights how research reflects the current socio-political climate while maintaining methodological rigor. Mehta emphasizes the importance of bridging gaps between researchers and educators to ensure relevance in studies. He also warns about misinterpretations of research neutrality and discusses the impact of funding on study priorities, advocating for clarity and utility in research.