Kathleen Cushman

Kathleen Cushman is a writer, journalist, and educator whose work focuses on adolescent learning, motivation, and school reform. She co-founded the nonprofit What Kids Can Do, which documents and shares young people’s perspectives on their lives and education. Cushman has written for publications including Harvard Education Letter, Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker, and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College.

Her books include Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students, Fires in the Mind: What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery, First in the Family: Advice About College from First-Generation Students, and The Real Boys’ Workbook, co-authored with William S. Pollack.