Engaged citizens must be able to openly express ideas, critically analyze arguments, and find shared humanity with those who think differently. Penn GSE is committed to honing those skills in its students.
Writing the Book on Free Speech on Campus
MRMJJ Presidential Professor Sigal Ben-Porath studies schools and colleges as democratic institutions and wrote the book, Cancel Wars (University of Chicago Press, 2022), exploring how universities can foster free speech, promote inclusion, and renew democracy.
A Critical Reflection Tool for Educators
Ben-Porath and Associate Professor Abby Reisman co-teach a course, “Classroom Discourse,” in which students explore the emotional, practical, legal, and social obstacles to classroom discourse and participate actively in exercises that help them develop skills to foster and facilitate discussion.
Professor Jonathan Zimmerman speaks in front of a classroom.
Embracing Mindfulness When Facing Conflict
When faced with uncomfortable or hostile situations, the instinct to fight or flee often takes over. But there's a better option that can prepare you to have productive dialogue. Howard Stevenson, the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, developed a tool used by educators, students, and administrators to manage stress and regulate emotions through mindfulness and intentional practice. Stevenson heads Penn GSE’s Resilience Empowerment Collaborative and is the author of Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference.
Complex Issues Meet Intellectual Discussion
The One Book, One Penn GSE program brings students, staff, and faculty together through a shared reading experience, sparking conversations about complex issues and offering a common intellectual foundation for discussion. This year’s selection, Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Classrooms and Life, was a spark for a series of events exploring of how inquiry can bridge divides.
Shaping Education Through Politics & Social Movements
Jonathan Zimmerman, the Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education, is one of the foremost education historians. His work explores how political and social movements come to shape education, and he is the author of Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools (University of Chicago Press, 2022).
Our Work
We don’t just learn to know—we learn to do, because real progress happens when knowledge meets action.
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Coalition for Educational Excellence
The Coalition for Educational Excellence provides innovative resources, research-based training, and technical assistance and consultation to school district leaders throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
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Penn AHEAD
The Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD) is dedicated to advancing higher education policy and practice that helps colleges, universities, and university systems advance their public purposes and strengthen civil societies.
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Teaching Beyond September 11th
A multimodal curriculum for high school and college educators and students about the ongoing global impact of 9/11, focusing on the years 2001-2021.