GCI LEAD Challenge 2021 on the Good Blog

Lynn Barendsen, Project Director at Project Zero, writes "Questioning Identity and Discrimination with GCI's Newest Ambassadors" on August 19, 2021. Lynn Barendsen was an Inspirational Speaker for the GCI LEAD Challenge 2021 and has conducted research on GCI's methodologies for Project Zero.

"Asked to consider what these facts [from the ethical dilemma about discrimination] made them think, students identified with Elena in multiple ways. They asserted that she is at an age where she will begin to question “everything,” and if she is finding herself ready to compromise her values, she should perhaps also ask herself why she is working in the first place, questioning “Is it for money, or for something else?” Some recognized that she and her family might be struggling financially, and if this were the case, some students suggested that hiding her identity might be the more prudent choice. Asserting that the inherent inequities in society made the situation difficult, one student wrote, “In my opinion either option is commendable because they both have their hardships.” Although most students were behind Elena’s decision to be true to herself, several explained that they would understand if she felt she needed to make a different choice."

Read Barendsen's entire post on The Good Project Blog. The Good Project is one of the research initiatives housed at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero.