“Mr. Vilson, I’m in a doctoral program, just like you.”
One of my former students posted a picture of a quad at an established university. I inquired about her current work there. She said she was studying engineering. As she passed through undergrad, she’d check in about milestones: her applications to big universities, her matriculation into grad, then doctoral programs. By the time Columbia University conferred my degree back in October of 2024, she was well into her doctoral journey.
As I’ve recounted to her a few times, our first interaction back in her eighth grade year wasn’t as heartening. In fact, when she first walked into my classroom, she made a face that even Peppa Pig would consider cross. My deadpan face didn’t give it away, but internally, I did a “Oh, here we go.” After that moment, I recognized she had a preternatural gift for numeracy and making meaning of the math in front of her. I often found her explaining the work to her fellow students. Among gifted students, she shone brightly. I’m glad I kept reading the book beyond the cover, metaphorically speaking.
Furthermore, after she graduated from my class, one of her high school teachers is a good friend and colleague (shout out Sendy Keenan) whose insights pushed my thinking about my doctoral work. I’ve said how academia could do a better job of naming the teachers and other adults who we learn from and publish about. Academics and people with larger platforms have a responsibility to share how they acquired their frameworks. On the one hand, research methods must allow for a level of anonymity and generalizability. Naming people and places introduces all sorts of risks. At the same time, when people name ideas, they often attribute it to the writer, not the practitioner.
But a question: what do we owe students in our funds of knowledge? In particular, how do students teach us about the phenomena we’re putting out in the world?
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