Soo Hong

Diane Silvers Ravitch ’60 Professor of Public Education and the Common Good & Professor of Education

Contact
Phone:
+1 (781) 283-2965
Email:
shong@wellesley.edu
Department
Education

Explores school-community relationships in K-12 urban schools with an emphasis on race, immigration, and culture.

I am a sociologist of education who studies the relationships between schools and families/communities, exploring the role of race, culture, social history, and political life. While we may typically view educational change through school-centered efforts, I explore the central role of families and communities in school transformation through models that emphasize parent leadership, community organizing and democratic forms of participation.

My recently published book, Natural Allies: Hope and Possibility in Teacher-Family Partnerships (Harvard Education Press, 2019) explores the experiences of five urban teachers who have found innovative and authentic ways to engage their students' families and communities. The book features discussions of culture and community, the deep-rooted histories of the teacher-parent relationship and the necessity of confronting racism, distrust, and misunderstanding when partnership and collaboration is the goal.

My 2011 book, A Cord of Three Strands: A New Approach to Family Engagement in Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2011) explored the role of community organizing efforts to transform public education in Chicago and demonstrates how these participatory models can reframe our conceptualization of parent engagement in schools.

At Wellesley, I teach courses on youth and family studies, capstone seminars on urban education and immigration, as well as a first-year seminar that explores issues in K-12 education through an exploration of popular films and TV shows. I am also the director of the Wellesley Teacher Scholars program which supports students who are interested in classroom teaching. My own career in education began as an elementary and middle school teacher, so it feels special to be working with the next generation of teachers.

Given our close proximity to Boston and a guiding belief that the community is our most valuable classroom, my students often gain valuable experiences in schools and community organizations as part of their course learning. I feel fortunate to enjoy both the vibrant life of the city as a Boston resident and the serene beauty of this campus everyday. Outside of my research and teaching, I enjoy listening to audiobooks, taking walks in Franklin Park, and following the Boston Celtics.

Education

  • B.A., University of Virginia-Main Campus
  • M.A. or M.S. or M.B.A., University of Virginia-Main Campus
  • Ed.D., Harvard University

Current and upcoming courses

Ecologies of Education: Youth, Family, Community, and Power

EDUC214

School-age children and youth are often understood through the complex lives they lead in schools--academic achievers, behavioral misfits, and rebellious adolescents. Beyond the routine analyses of behavior, test scores and curriculum, what else can the lives of youth tell us about educational change? And who has power and agency to be part of educational decision-making? This course seeks to explore education by looking outside of schools: What are the experiences of students’ families and what do they want for their children? How do relationships with peers influence a student’s concept of self and sense of belonging in school? How do historical, political, and social encounters with race, class, and inequality shape families’ interactions with schools? Through an exploration of research, memoir, children’s literature and film as well as interactions with the course’s community-based educators (caregivers, parent organizers, and community leaders), this course seeks to understand young people through their complex relationships and encounters within families, peer groups and community institutions, all the while interrogating the ways schools can integrate the holistic lived experiences of children and youth into theories of educational change.

The course is open to First-Years, Sophomores and Juniors. Seniors who are interested in this course should fill out this Google Form.

  • Inquiry-Based Fieldwork and Evidence-Based Practice in Culturally Linguistically Sustaining Teaching

    EDUC341

    This course is inquiry-based and field-centered research practicum for students admitted into the practicum phase of Wellesley’s teacher certification program. The course is designed to guide and oversee the teacher candidate’s knowledge and implementation of action-oriented, inquiry-based fieldwork throughout their practicum experience. The course is guided by DESE’s Standards of Effective Teaching Practice and focus on a teacher’s ability to teach all students, engage families and communities, and engage in a professional culture shaped by reflective practice, collaborative decision-making, shared responsibility, and professional growth.

  • Practicum: Advanced Methods in Curriculum, Planning, and Assessment

    EDUC340

    This course is an advanced teaching methods practicum for students admitted into the practicum phase of Wellesley’s teacher certification program. The course is designed to guide and oversee the teacher candidate’s proficiency in curriculum development, planning, and assessment throughout their full-time practicum in the classroom. The student will work with the faculty instructor and the supervising practitioner in the school placement to develop their skills in curriculum planning and assessment during the 100 hours of required lead teaching during the practicum experience.

  • Practicum: Curriculum and Supervised Teaching

    EDUC303

    This course supports the supervised teaching internship and related curriculum development that is a required part of the Wellesley Teacher Scholars program. Participation in a full-time practicum at an appropriate school placement is required, with regular observations and conferencing between the student, faculty supervisor, and supervising practitioner.