Professionally, teaching informs my research; personally, it delights me. I had the opportunity to design and teach a seminar course on school segregation. The student landing page for that course and course description are included below.
In 1954, the Supreme Court ordered schools to integrate “with all deliberate speed.” 70 years later, in 2021, an alarming third of K-12 students were attending effectively segregated schools (defined as schools where 75\% or more of students are racially or ethnically homogenous) (GAO, 2022). How did the U.S. get here? What went wrong? Did anything go right?
Understanding school segregation today requires not only an understanding of the Civil Rights movement, but also an appreciation of the history of public education in the United States. The class will proceed chronologically, beginning with de jure segregation and ending with a review of across and within-school segregation today. Throughout, we will repeatedly visit themes inextricable from school segregation: legal institutions, residential segregation, and school finance. The goals of this class are two fold: to help students gain an understanding of the framework within which school segregation persists today and to give students the confidence to write compelling economic research papers on the origins and consequences of such segregation. Students will receive feedback on the research process at each step of the way. We will also build the researcher’s toolkit by reviewing some common empirical strategies used in this literature.
I take pride in creating a welcoming environment in my classroom. Consistent themes across my narrative course evaluations are:
“She held us to high standards and graded fairly, but offered generous support and flexibility in her office hours to help each student with their empirical research skills. Personally, I had a tough semester with academic and personal challenges which would sometimes affect my performance or attendance in our seminar–– Danielle was so accommodating and supportive while still expecting (and encouraging) a high work ethic from me.”
“This is a rigorous course but I think it is well–resourced.”
“I think the breadth of material covered in the course was impressive. Not only did I feel like I learned a ton about the history of school segregation, but I also found class to be very engaging. I think one of the strengths of this course was the selection of readings we were assigned.”
“This has been one of the most rewarding classes I’ve taken so far. Danielle is a phenomenal TF and dedicates a lot of her time to helping each of us in OH! I definitely have learned how to be a more critical thinker!”
“Teacher was very helpful and support and made time to help.”
“I think this is one of the most interesting classes I have taken. Very glad to have chosen this section!”
“I think this class was truly amazing. I learned a ton about the history of school integration, but also learned how various concepts have been proven empirically. I think this class gave me a new appreciation for research, but also the tools you can use in economics to understand history.”
“I wrote and presented my paper about a controversial topic, got great discussion and feedback from the class!”
“Open–mindedness is finite in the economics department, but the seminar format goes a long way towards combating that.”
“Great discussions.”