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Primary Education

Talking to your kids about the election
Two handmade signs in a window that read VOTE NOVEMBER 3 and PLAN YOUR VOTE.

Talking to your kids about the election

Penn GSE’s Caroline Watts offers advice on how to realistically support children during uncertainty. “Don't try to pretend there isn’t uncertainty in the country,” she says. “Be reassuring. No matter what is happening in the outside world, you will take care of the family.”

From Penn GSE

Two key questions teachers should ask students after the election

Two key questions teachers should ask students after the election

Sigal Ben-Porath of the Graduate School of Education wrote about how teachers can address questions that arise after the polls close and votes are counted. “Emotionally charged moments can be at the foundation of powerful learning experiences,” she said. “Teachers can use these moments to help their students develop their voices and direct them toward possible action, regardless of the students’ political views.”

Three educators celebrated at Penn GSE as winners of the McGraw Prize in Education 
Penn President Amy Gutmann stands with three other people.

Penn President Amy Gutmann (left), Suzanne McGraw, Harold McGraw III, and GSE Dean Pam Grossman, at the McGraw Prize launch event on Feb. 13.

Three educators celebrated at Penn GSE as winners of the McGraw Prize in Education 

In the first celebration of the McGraw Prize in Education since the Graduate School of Education became its home, President Amy Gutmann said this year’s three winners are among the “great minds devoted to improving education through innovation."
Wanted: A Civilian Coronavirus Corps

Wanted: A Civilian Coronavirus Corps

Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education advocated for a program that would enlist college students and other young adults to support school-aged children with online learning and extracurricular activities in exchange for a small stipend during the pandemic.

Children’s literature as ‘seed work’
Ebony standing along Locust Walk Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, associate professor of literacy, culture, and international education in the Graduate School of Education.

Children’s literature as ‘seed work’

Penn GSE’s Ebony Elizabeth Thomas discusses the importance of more diverse books for kids and the challenges that continue to stifle early anti-racist learning. She also shares a curated list of recommended books for youth catered to this particular moment.

Lauren Hertzler

The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually
A person standing in front of a lab bench full of bones. On the wall hangs a poster that reads: "Dougal Dixon's Dinosaurs."

Aja Carter (seen here in May 2018) recently earned her doctorate from the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the School of Arts & Sciences. In the lab of Peter Dodson, she studied how the structure of the vertebrae in the spinal column changed over time and how that affected the way animals move. As most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so did her thesis defense and that of so many others.

The joys and trials of defending a dissertation virtually

When most aspects of university life moved online because of COVID-19, so, too, did the thesis defense for Ph.D. candidates. Despite some challenges, the shift had unexpected benefits.

Michele W. Berger