Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot is the Emily Hargroves Fisher Professor of Education at Harvard and the chair of the board of the MacArthur Foundation. As a sociologist, she examines the culture of schools, the patterns and structures of classroom life, socialization within families and communities, and the relationships between culture and learning styles. She is the author of eight books, including Worlds Apart: Relationships Between Families and Schools; Balm in Gilead: Journey of a Healer and The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn from Each Other.