World-Class Speakers on our Block
At this week’s all-school meeting, our community heard from Dr. Joshua Goodman, a professor at BU’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Goodman studies economics and education policy, working with large data sets to analyze education-related questions. He shared his recent research – which you may have read about in the news – on trends in public school enrollment in the aftermath of the pandemic. The talk was fascinating; he walked us all through his data analysis, the conclusions, and the limitations of the study.
My favorite part was the question-and-answer period. For 15 minutes, our students asked sophisticated, thoughtful questions about the findings, bringing to bear both their personal experiences as young people educated during the pandemic and their critical thinking skills. It could have gone on much longer. Over the next several days, I received wonderful feedback about Dr. Goodman’s talk from faculty and students alike. One student shared how nice it was that he pitched it at a college or graduate-school level, not talking down to this crowd. Another described how interesting it was to explore a quantitative analysis of something that feels so relevant and connected to his personal experience. A third felt inspired to explore adjacent topics for her senior thesis. Dr. Goodman will be returning to BUA later this month for an opt-in lunch with students interested in talking more. I imagine there will be a crowd!
The talk, and the community’s reception, reminded me of how fortunate we are to have the special connection to BU. Beyond the hundreds of BU classes our students take each year and the dozens of professors who advise student senior theses, we are able to bring in remarkable speakers like Dr. Goodman; later in the year, we’ll hear from two leading BU professors on applications of AI in their respective fields. Our tenth-grade seminars feature opportunities for students to work with BU’s school of business, maker space, innovation center, and software engineering group. Students seek out opportunities in BU labs, leverage the archives for research, use the fitness and recreation center, and more. I’m glad to be able to open those doors for these kind and curious young people and grateful for the partnership with the University.
