Recipe for children’s success spelled out by expert panelists
Pathways exist for children to succeed in life, confirmed a group of researchers, policymakers, lawyers, and educators gathered at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). However, they acknowledged that obstacles such as poverty, achievement gaps, health issues, and a broken juvenile justice and immigration system may stand in the way. HGSE’s Askwith Forum “Leveling the Playing Field for Education” sparked the April 10 discussion. For 40 years, Children’s Defense Fund founder and President Marian Wright Edelman, one of the forum’s headline speakers, has been a powerful and driving force fighting for struggling children. Among those children was Deval Patrick, a kid from Chicago’s South Side who used education to open his eyes to the opportunities available to him. Today, Patrick is the governor of Massachusetts. “We have a persistent achievement gap and the kids stuck in that gap are poor,” Patrick said during his introductory remarks. “They speak English as a second...