News
HOS Blog: Seeing our Full Humanity in Difference
On Tuesday evening, BUA welcomed Dr. Claude Steele for a Zoom talk as part of our Parent Education Series. Dr. Steele is one of the world’s leading social psychologists, best known for his 2010 book exploring stereotype threat, Whistling Vivaldi. It is one of a handful of books that has had a lasting impact on me as an educator. In it, Dr. Steele summarizes years of research to show the very real impact of negative stereotypes on student performance. Just knowing that there is a negative stereotype associated with that person’s identity as they engage in a particular activity can independently lower performance. The implications for girls in math and science, boys in arts and language, and students of color broadly are enormous.
During Tuesday’s talk, Dr. Steele focused on a different kind of stereotype threat. He described a hypothetical parent-teacher conference with a White teacher and two Black parents. How much of the teacher’s energy would be directed to a worry about being perceived as racist and fulfilling a societal stereotype? How much of the parents’ energy would go toward combating a stereotype of low expectations? In American society – with its racial diversity and where the history of slavery and racial discrimination is still very present – we bring the threat of being stereotyped with us during so many interactions across racial difference, imposing a tax on those engagements and perpetuating what Dr. Steele called a trust gap.
In the latter part of his talk, he offered a solution to this trust gap, both interpersonally and at a systems level: seeing our full humanity in difference. What if we viewed interactions across racial lines as opportunities to learn – focusing less on combating stereotypes and more on humbly understanding how that person experiences society? We can appreciate difference while also taking the time to develop a deep understanding of the individual and appreciate our common humanity. For a problem that can feel intractable and sometimes unsafe, Dr. Steele provided a hopeful, practical, common-sense set of strategies we can all adopt and aspire to.
HOS Blog: Putting the Right Teachers in the Classroom
A friend who is a long-time head of school told me years ago that the most important part of leading a school is putting the right teachers in the classroom. She was right.
The magic happens in the classroom, in the studio, in the theater, on the court, and wherever students find themselves with caring, inspiring adult mentors. Everything else we do – fundraising, facilities enhancement, strategic planning, curricular innovation, professional development – is in service of facilitating those experiences between students and teachers. We are blessed with a cohort of teachers who love their subject and love these students even more. They are the ones who work with students to create that magic.
With a handful of teacher openings for the fall, we are in the midst of hiring season. By design, it’s an inclusive process; finalists meet with teachers, staff, and students, all of whom offer their feedback; they teach a class; and they observe a class to witness what makes this place so special. It is heartening (and not surprising) that we have hundreds of qualified applicants for each teaching position; this is a place that teachers want to be, largely for the chance to work with these remarkable young people. And we ensure that the teachers we invite to join us embody the values that have defined this faculty and culture for decades: challenge, scholarship, passion, joy, partnership, and love.
HOS Blog: Weaving Black History throughout the Curriculum
One of the sacred obligations of any great school is to produce culturally competent citizens – people who leave our halls with deep empathy, with an understanding of the excellence that comes from diverse communities, and with a desire to tackle the inequities in our society linked to historical prejudices and structural disadvantages. In my experience, one of the reasons why this work does not always take root in schools is that it is solely framed as an extra: a talk in assembly, a conversation in a club meeting, language in a handbook. It becomes too easy for some students to think that this is not about them – that it is not important to them or to the institution. For this work to take hold, I have found that the best approach is to embed cultural competency where the real work happens: in the classroom.
Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing stories of teachers and students partnering on classroom work linked to Black History Month: studying Black chemists who have made contributions to their field, analyzing the perspectives of black classicists and classical historians who have questioned and reinterpreted the canon; reading James Baldwin, Robert Hayden, and Gwendolyn Brooks in English class. And while we have a long way to go, you will read about ways that we are working to weave this and other threads through the curriculum year-round so that the work we do in classes speaks to the lived experiences of our students and prepares them to shape the communities they will lead some day.
BUA Students Win Congressional App Challenge
BUA's Tanay Nambiar '22 and Rohan Biju '23 won the Congressional App Challenge for Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District, represented by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, with their Ping app. Ping centralizes all flood-related communication through the use of a map; users can mark the location of a flood, an obstruction, or flood relief camps or can request resources like shelter, boat transportation, or food. Watch Tanay and Rohan explain their Ping app in this video.
Winners of the Congressional App Challenge will have their app displayed US Capitol Building and featured on the House of Representatives website. Rep. Pressley tweeted: "Congratulations to Boston University Academy's Tanay Nambiar & Rohan Biju, the creators of the Ping App, for winning the #MA7 Congressional App Challenge! Your visionary & important concept will help countless people navigate disaster flooding." Read the official press release from Congresswoman Pressley's office here.
HOS Blog: Talking to Teens
This week, we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Lisa Damour, an internationally renowned psychologist and best-selling author whose work explores the emotional lives of teens. She spoke to our parents in an evening session; to students in an all-school meeting; and to our faculty and staff during a professional learning session. One of the things I appreciate most about Dr. Damour is her deeply practical approach, filling her talks with actionable advice, with just enough of the science and research to provide context and confidence. I think that’s why so many folks were scribbling notes while she was talking!
Some of the most compelling insights for me have to do with how to talk to teens. Dr. Damour suggests avoiding the instinct to problem solve – not easy for teachers or parents. Instead, she advises leading with curiosity and listening to understand (rather than respond), particularly with a young person working through some kind of socio-emotional challenge: “Tell me more.” The next step is empathy, which can be as simple as, “That stinks.” For most teens who are experiencing healthy anxiety or stress, having an adult listen with curiosity and empathy is often enough and just what they need. And it never hurts to have something else to focus on while you’re having that conversation – maybe taking a drive, tossing a football, playing cards, folding laundry, or baking together.
7 BUA Seniors Identified as Presidential Scholar Candidates
Seven members of the BUA Class of 2022 have been identified as candidates for the US Presidential Scholars Program. Each candidate has the opportunity to complete an application for further consideration.
The US Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of the nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.
Kudos to the candidates on this well-earned recognition!
BUA Wins Accolades in 2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
BUA senior Sitarah Lakhani '22 won a Regional Gold Key in the 2021-2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her piece entitled “She's Golden” in the category of Digital Art. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens, and is presented in partnership with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University and the Boston Globe Foundation. Since 1923, the Awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated artists while they were teenagers, including: Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Idelle Weber, Ken Burns, Paul Chan, and Kay WalkingStick.
"She's Golden" will be exhibited virtually on the Massachusetts Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Regional Online Exhibition in March 2022. In addition, Sitarah's Gold Key work will be reviewed at the national level in New York City by panels of creative professionals and will be considered for National Medalist status.
Rohan Biju '23, received two Regional Silver Keys for his entries "Aim High" and "Raindrop Art," and two Honorable Mentions for "Nature Wins" and "Spot a Face?," all in the Photography category. He also received Honorable Mention for his essay "My Appuppa" in the Personal Essay and Memoir category.
Congratulations to Sitarah and Rohan on these impressive accolades! View their award-winning work in the slideshow below.
HOS Blog: High Expectations
A few days ago, I mentioned to someone outside of BUA that I work at a high school and that we were still learning in person during this new phase of the pandemic. He immediately offered some well intentioned sympathy: “It must be impossible to keep the students doing the right thing. This has been going on for so long, and they must be sick of all the sacrifices and rules. They are young and healthy; there’s no way they will keep wearing masks and being careful, especially when nobody’s looking.”
I felt badly for him. What he didn’t understand is that for our kids, and for so many other young people out there, doing the right things through this crisis has never been just about them. The reason to sacrifice is for the good of others: a friend who lives with a grandparent or an immunocompromised family member; a staff member with an unvaccinated young child at home. And it’s for the good of the community; our students’ thoughtfulness is what has made it possible for us to be learning in person all these months.
My experience has always been that teenagers, like most adults, respond best when expectations are high, especially when they have a chance to contribute to something beyond themselves. I worry, as does William Damon in Greater Expectations, that our society often thinks too little of teenagers and does them a disservice in the process. I’m proud to be at a school where our students know that to whom much is given, much is expected.
HOS Blog: Helping Without Being Asked
Earlier this week, I walked down to our gym right before lunchtime. We recently created some new lunch protocols, given the omicron wave and knowing from the research that mealtimes pose higher risk of transmission: we are asking students to spread out at 20 long tables spaced across the gym. The trick is that we need to set up and strike those tables daily. For the first few days after break, a group of my colleagues went to the gym before lunch and enlisted some student volunteers to help with the setup. When I went to the gym before lunch early this week, all the tables and chairs were already in place. I asked two students about it; they told me they had some extra time so they had come to the gym early to do the work themselves, and that several of their classmates had joined in. No adult asked them to do it. There was no extra credit. These students just decided to help.
I love working at a school where students do their part without being asked. We are just finishing our second week of in-person classes. In the most challenging chapter of the past twenty-two months, we are able to maintain joyful in-person learning because of these kids’ remarkable resilience and their insistence on doing their part to keep us together. That’s why I have so much confidence that we’ll ride this out safely and joyfully.
HOS Blog: Staying Focused on DEI in the Pandemic
We will be away from school on Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, we will begin a new tradition: an annual MLK Day Speaker Series. I’m delighted to announce that our inaugural speaker will be Angela Onwuachi-Willig, the dean of BU School of Law. Dean Onwuachi-Willig’s fascinating research explores the intersection of race and law, and she will be addressing our students, faculty, and staff at an all-school meeting on February 8.
As challenging as things are right now, the pandemic can’t distract us from the other critical work we do in school. This school, like many others, has a mission commitment to inclusion and preparing culturally competent citizens; that is not a luxury, it’s a promise. Our 9th and 10th graders are all engaged in a weekly seminar exploring identity, stereotype, bias, and privilege. Our alums work with our students in race-based affinity spaces. Students and faculty partner in our DEI committee to grow as individuals and think about how best to move our community forward. The work is never done, but we keep at it so that we can give our students the tools they will need and so that every student and family can feel like BUA is home.