Equity of Advanced Learning Opportunities

By Xinyi Zhang

Director of Diversity and Equity at Harvard Alumni for Education, Boston Chapter

In November 2020, the Harvard Club of Dallas sponsored a virtual event, also supported by Harvard Alumni for Education, titled Equity of Advanced Learning Opportunities: Improving Diversity and Enacting Justice in Public Education Gifted and Talented Programming and Services. Around 50 people attended the event. 

A panel of Texas-based experts discussed the definition, history and impact of Gifted and Talented Education (GT) programs and services. While the definition of "gifted and talented" and legal requirements vary from state to state, in general, GT programs involve research-based curricula and instruction needed by students with above-level ability in order to achieve their full potential. Speakers shared research on underrepresentation of Black and Latinx students in GT programs and the solutions to improve the status quo. It is essential for educators, researchers, community leaders, and policy makers to achieve educational equity for all students.  

Emily Villamar-Robbins, HLS ‘03, moderated the discussion. Emily is a parent of two GT-identified public school students and a volunteer for local and state organizations supporting public education and GT education. The panelists included Dr. Kristina Henry Collins, core faculty for Talent Development at Texas State University, Dr. Fred A. Bonner II, Professor and Endowed Chair of Educational Leadership and Counseling in the Whitlowe R. Green College of Education at Prairie View A&M University, Dr. Todd Kettler, Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology in the School of Education at Baylor University, and Dr. Jaret Hodges, Assistant Professor of Gifted Education at the University of North Texas. More information about the panelists can be found here. 

Dr. Todd Kettler first introduced the definition of gifted education and the reasons why gifted programs are critical for equity in Texas public schools. A strong gifted education program has four elements: grouping, the use of acceleration, an established curriculum, and measurable goals and outcomes. Dr. Kettler suggested that the reasons some schools do not have these four elements are due to excessive local control and minimal accountability.  Dr. Fred A. Bonner II added that it is important to look at the context (people, places, situations) when examining what it means to have equity in gifted programs in both rural and urban areas. 

Next round of questions and discussion focused on underrepresentation in gifted programs. Black and Latinx students are underrepresented in many gifted programs in Texas and across the country. The panelists shared with the audience the causes of this problem and its long-term impact on the students that miss out on these educational opportunities. Dr. Kristina Henry Collins offered Frasier’s “4 As” to explain the overwhelming barriers: Attitude (who gets to be gifted?), Access (who knows about these opportunities, and to what extent are they available?), Assessment (are evaluation tools designed to “see” them?), and Accommodation (is programming culturally responsive?). Dr. Bonner argued that this problem is not going to be solved if we do not examine the systemic pipeline between PreK-12 education and higher education, and he explained the importance of bridging the gap between PreK-12 and post-secondary education.   

At the end, the panelists shared their thoughts surrounding the solutions of inequity in GT programs. Dr. Collins emphasized the importance of framing the work before starting the work. First, we need to understand that giftedness is a social construct just like race. Next, we need to understand the differences between diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice, and what each word means for social action. The third step is reframing and differentiating between the terms discrimination and racism. As we engage in anti-racism work, we need to examine the historical positions of racialized groups in America that have been historically marginalized. Dr. Hodges shared some advocacy steps to make changes. He stressed the importance of individual advocacy for state-level changes through face to face meetings with state representatives, senators, and members of their staff. He suggested that parents share their stories as parents, and that they share the personal impact of a policy on themselves, on their children, and on their community. Another way is to be involved locally. He recommended that parents go to their school board meetings and invite other parents to go together as a group.  

“Texas policy right now – and it has for 30 years – defines gifted students as those who are performing at a remarkably high level, as well as those who show the potential for performing at a remarkably high level,” Dr. Kettler said.  “Most school districts’ identification systems exclusively focus on the performing side, not the potential side…  the students who are already performing more often are performing because of educational opportunity, which is tightly associated with socioeconomic status… you can come up with ways to look for potential. That is different than looking for performance...  even if we just got it to be 50-50, half and half, we would make drastic improvements.”

The author wants to thank Emily Villamar-Robbins for additional information shared.

Radical Hope for the Chinese Children--A Trauma-Informed Education for all

by Shu Cao Mo HGSE EdM ’15 and Zijun Wang 

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, affects many people, and children in particular, are most vulnerable to trauma. In China, millions of children have been victims of sexual assault. Those who are exposed to chronic trauma suffer the impact of subsequent trauma, leading to longer-term health issues. Given the rise of domestic violence during the overall high stress environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the recent high-profile case on child sexual abuse, HAEd Greater China Chapter’s Co-Chairs Weiqi Zhang (HC BA ‘10) and Shu Cao Mo (HGSE EdM ‘15) decided to use the occasion of International Children’s Holiday in China to host a virtual conference on PTSD and Sexual Health Education. The conference was co-organized with Splash Institute, a community health imitative that aims to destigmatize trauma and pleasure in female sexuality, and sponsored by Global Changemakers, a nonprofit based in Switzerland. 

Dr. Aldrich Chan, clinical neuropsychologist and founder of the Center for Neuropsychology and Consciousness (CNC) based in Miami, gave a keynote address that offered an introduction to PTSD and the impact of trauma on the brain. Based in Hawaii, Singaporean musician and storyteller Jasmine Chin (HGSE AIE 16’) harnessed the power of stories, inspiring the audience to reflect on collective cultural trauma. The conference ended with a workshop on Sexual Health Education by Nicole Inglis, a health promotion facilitator on the Sexual and Reproductive Health Promotion team for Alberta Health Services based in Alberta, Canada. 

Here we’ve selected some key points to share with the Harvard Alumni for Education community:

You can’t just let the sleeping dogs lie Trauma doesn’t go away when those who have suffered ignore, forget or even push the original traumatic event away. When children repress traumatic memories, their brain structures—affected and molded by past experiences—will still dictate their PTSD behaviors, driven by their nonconscious memory. Some cultures place a high value on social harmony and trauma is not openly discussed. It is critical for people living in these cultures to seek help from mental health professionals. In almost every PTSD study, hyperactivity is found in the amygdala, part of the sympathetic nervous system which activates the fight and flight mode in our bodies. Psychotherapy allows these individuals to heal the damage in the hippocampus and amygdala by developing different interpretations and reducing the negative emotional impact associated with the experience.  

In general, symptoms of PTSD include Intrusions, Avoidance, Hyperarousal and Negative Mood and Cognitions. These individuals experience high incidences of violence, abuse, relational difficulties and suicide in later life. To suffer from PTSD does not necessarily require past physical or sexual trauma: emotional trauma such as neglect can cause an equal amount of disorder on the brain. The brain structure and function are damaged to varying degrees based on the impact of trauma. 

Dr. Chan shared different medical interventions with the audience, from psychosomatic therapies to the latest Stellate Ganglion Block. One account described curing a male patient of sexual abuse PTSD and how the process of re-balancing the nervous system takes time and patience. He concluded with a discussion of his current research focus on the Default Mode Network, which has the potential for effective diagnosis and intervention strategies of PTSD in the near future. 

Storytelling gives me my power back How to face trauma in the immediate loss of one’s power? Jasmine Chin (HGSE EdM‘15) comes from a family lineage of hardy Hakka women, who did not bind their feet and fought alongside men as warriors. However, as a child in school and at home, she had grown accustomed to remaining silent so as to be liked and to escape the shame of disapproving authority figures around her. Jasmin Chin shared the story of how she moved courageously from the horror of a silenced and devastating experience to regaining her voice and strength in her early adulthood. She wielded her superpower of a caring personality to fight for justice, with the aspiration of preventing future gender-based violence.  

Below is the sharing of her story’s final chapter. 

“It’s been exactly 9 years since I first told this story, and I’m still telling it today. I’ve told it so many times, in so many ways, but it always makes me feel vulnerable, heartbroken, outraged, and empowered altogether.It sees and listens to The Child.It heals and believes The Survivor.It breaks and strengthens The Warrior.This is The Power of storytelling, not just for me, but for all of us.”

After watching Jasmine’s performance, the audience was left with a sense of “awe,” “catharsis,” and feelings of “swirling powerful” (quoted directly from the audience). One audience member even said: “you have been kissed by pain in your life, and as a response, you sing songs to it.” 

It’s important for parents to talk early about sex with their children 

Sexual health education expert Nicole Inglis, who has taught at public and religious schools in Calgary, Canada, framed her workshop around the following questions: Why do we need to talk about sex and sexuality at home? What do we talk about? How do we talk about it? Children begin touching their genitals as early as four-years-old. It’s a result of natural curiosity, feel-good sensations as well as about our inherent sexuality as humans. Moreover, since modern day media is so saturated with sex, the question of sex inevitably comes up between children and their caregivers. Studies have shown that when children receive good sexual education, they start having sex at a later age, have fewer partners, and are less likely to contract Sexually Transmitted diseases. 

She emphasized the importance of knowledge in reducing shame around sexual health education and in sexual violence prevention. Nicole Inglis told the story of a child going through physical changes before learning anything about what happens during puberty, and that she got so terrified thinking that she might have developed breast cancer. Many girls, if they do not receive any sexuality education, think that they are dying when they see that they start bleeding. The emotional and social changes that accompany physical changes are equally massive.  

Nicole Inglis also warned current and prospective parents of the danger of not using correct names when teaching children about their private body parts. She shared a sad incident from her own teacher training workshop where a female student of one of her trainees had a few years earlier disclosed being sexually abused by her uncle, but since she couldn’t find the proper word for her private parts, the teacher had missed the incident and failed to take any follow-up action. 

The key in sexual health education is for parents to be open to sex-related conversations, which include, but are not limited to: for whom pornography is made; what age-appropriate sexual behavior means; how family religious tradition influences sex. Instead of making sex conversation with their children into one big thing, parents should catch little teachable moments in life to inform and enlighten children about sexual health over the years.

After the conference, HAEd Greater China Chapter and Splash Institute created WeChat discussion groups that enable participants to have ongoing interactions around the topic. If you are interested in being part of the conversation, please reach out to Shu Cao (shucao@splash-institute.org) or Zijun (zijun@splash-institute.org).