Bold letters, a puzzling title, and the phrase, “Why it pays to break the rules in work and in life” are sprawled across the cover of Bellarmine seniors’ summer reading. Seniors taking Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Composition were assigned to read “Rebel Talent,” a self help book urging people to stray from societal norms.
Francesca Gino, a former Harvard Business school professor, is the author of the book “Rebel Talent” and included her research on behavioral science in the book. In early June of 2023, an article published by “The Chronicle of Higher Education” brought to surface a fabricated 2012 paper by Gino. Following this post, a blog run by three behavioral scientists posted detailed evidence that the results of several of Gino’s studies were tampered with on an Excel file. Gino is now under investigation by Harvard and has been placed on administrative leave.
When asked about her thoughts regarding the book before she found out about the scandal, senior Amaris Alstead said she found the book “boring and repetitive.” She stated, “it only included data that supported her argument so it felt very selective in that way.”
After she learned of the accusations, Alstead said, “I just laughed. It made me question the whole book. Is it less like fact and more like her opinion?”
Thoughts about Gino’s book continue on with the AP Language and Composition teachers. Jacob Singer, a Bellarmine English teacher, said, “it was absolutely shocking to find that [Gino] broke the basic ethical rules of research and publishing.”
Teacher Jeanne Hanigan shared similar thoughts when she said, “It is an understatement to say that I was shocked. Mr. Singer and I texted back and forth this summer about the situation. We decided that this could be a teachable moment about the importance of integrity and, of course, credibility aka ethos.”
Both teachers have slightly adjusted their class, giving students an opportunity to address the scandal in their writing. Singer additionally added that “Rebel Talent” will most likely not be next year’s summer reading assignment for seniors: “A few titles this writer would suggest as possible replacements are ‘Stop Being Reasonable’ by Eleanor Gordon-Smith, ‘How Minds Change’ by David McRaney, and ‘Belonging’ by Geoffrey L. Cohen.”
