GSE Partners with Facing History & Ourselves

This summer, Penn GSE entered into a partnership with Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO), a non-profit organization that prepares students for humane and engaged citizenship through the study of some of history's darkest days.

Believing that young people are "moral philosophers," FHAO connects history - particularly that of the Holocaust and other genocidal conflicts - to students' experiences and the choices they face in their own lives. In the process, students come to appreciate the need for civic participation and responsible decision-making.

According to Penn GSE Vice Dean Doug Lynch, "This collaboration gives us a great opportunity to work with a stellar program that changes teachers' lives by helping them contextualize history and encourage students to engage in civic society."

In its work with FHAO, Penn GSE has already conducted a two-day institute with GSE's second-year Teach For America corps members, held over summer. In October, the School's teacher education students participated in an intensive weekend seminar. For both groups, FHAO's online campus provides ongoing guidance in the form of extra lesson plans, opportunities to interact with fellow teachers, and monthly online forums.

Headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts, FHAO has five regional offices in the U.S. and, with its Penn GSE partnership, is expanding its reach into the tri-state area. Over the summer, Penn GSE helped publicize FHAO's online course offerings to 5,900 middle and high school teachers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Penn GSE is currently working to expand FHAO's presence in the tri-state region, with discussions underway to bring teachers from the Philadelphia public schools to FHAO summer institute programs. Another one-week course for the School's teacher ed students is planned for summer 2007.

In addition, to help FHAO staff imagine new approaches to online learning, Penn GSE Associate Professor Kathy Schultz will be sharing her research on using multimedia websites to represent teaching for new and experienced teachers.

Penn GSE is even producing a video tribute to the late Father Robert Bullock. An early inspiration for FHAO founder Margot Stern Strom, Bullock served as an early chair of the FHAO Board of Directors and was later chair of the Board of Scholars. The film, created by Amit Das, will be shown at a tribute to Father Bullock, scheduled for October 2007 at Boston College.

CONTACT: Jill DiSanto-Haines, News Officer, 215-898-4820, jdisanto@pobox.upenn.edu