That's her!

During my last week of classroom observations, as I walked into the classroom, one of my students yelled, “That’s her! She’s the one from Harvard!” She had brought a friend to meet me. Apparently she has been telling all her friends about the Harvard student in her class, and they are all jealous.

It’s hard to know what kind of effect you have on an environment when you study it, even after an incident like this one. Theoretically, after 7 weeks I start becoming a normal presence in the class, but the Harvard name is hard to get past. As much as it opens doors, I must also be mindful of how it influences my interviewees.

A good researcher must also think about how their subjects affect them in return. I was rejected from a swanky downtown nightspot a few weeks ago for not dressing well enough. It came as a surprise until I took a good look at the others in line. Most of my time is spent in high schools in working class neighborhoods, so jeans and sneakers are all I wear anymore. Not exactly made for clubbing.

As if I cared what nightclubs thought of my clothes.