Roosevelt House’s Brownbag seminar series gives Hunter students and faculty the unique opportunity to participate in intimate seminars with experts in various fields related to public policy. On Wednesday, October 9th, Hunter’s own Distinguished Lecturer of Education Leadership, Ben Shuldiner, gave an illuminating presentation on education policy. Shuldiner described how two prominent, opposing schools of thought–one that attributes educational inequality to issues of class, race, and poverty and another that posits educational policy as the main driver of educational outcomes–both influence attempts to boost student achievement in America today, from programs like Head Start and school lunches that attempt to ameliorate the influence of poverty to the recent surge of the charter schools that experiment with the rules and format of education. Encouraging students to give their own ideas and analysis, Shuldiner also presided over a lively and thoughtful discussion about the role of federal, state, and local governments in public education. Attendees brought a wide range of experiences to the table, from majors in public policy to former school safety officers. Shuldiner, a Manhattan native with a Harvard pedigree and teaching experience ranging from posh English boarding schools to rough city high schools, made a name for himself running the High School for Public Service in Brooklyn.

By Rachel Jensen

Rachel Jensen is an undergraduate student at Hunter College studying film.