The Graduate School of Education • University of Pennsylvania Spring 2007
MAGAZINE
ANDANDYY PPORTERORTER STEPS IN Meet Penn GSE’GSE’ss new dean
Education in Wartime: GSE prof looks at Israel & America
From excellence to eminence— With these words, Penn President Amy Gutmann articulated her vision for the University’s future.
Called the PENN COMPACT, President Gutmann’s vision is built on principles integral to the mission of the Graduate School of Education— ® increasing access to education ® integrating knowledge across disciplines ® engaging locally and globally
A GIFT TO THE PENN GSE ANNUAL FUND SUPPORTS
® access for students through needs-based financial grants ® faculty research that cuts across disciplines and schools ® engagement with partners across the street and around the globe
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The Graduate School of Education • University of Pennsylvania MAGAZINE
FEATURES 8 14 Introducing Andy Porter One Leg in the Future Penn GSE News sits down with Andy Porter Thriving democracies accommodate diversity for a candid conversation about our soon-to- and dissent. But in times of war, when stark dis- be dean’s career, his research interests, tinctions are drawn between “them” and “us,” and what brought him to Penn. how can they sustain such civic ideals? Searching for answers, Penn GSE Assistant Professor Sigal Ben-Porath looks at the role education can play. By Ann de Forest
8
18 A Call to Work An international roster of experts share their thoughts on educational opportunities for women in the Middle East and North Africa. By Shiva Vakili On the cover: 20 Learning from History’s Andrew C. Porter will start as Penn GSE’s tenth dean in August 2007. Darkest Days He comes to GSE from Vanderbilt Penn GSE teams up with Facing History and University, where he serves as a professor Ourselves to teach tolerance through the historical in the Peabody College of Education and lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides. as the director of the university’s Learning Sciences Institute. 22 Best Practices Credit: Trevor Dixon Penn Alexander students post high test scores and attend the city’s most selective high schools. Can 14 their success be replicated for students nationwide?
DEPARTMENTS
2 Dean’s Letter
3 Noteworthy
26 Alumni Notes
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 1
FROM THE DEAN
Graduate School of Education Board of Overseers
Judith R. Berkowitz CW’64, Chair Lawrence C. Nussdorf, Esq. W’68, In 1914 Penn’s education program became a full-fledged School of Vice-Chair Education, with Frank Pierrepont Graves named as the first Dean. Today, 93 years later, what was a tiny undergraduate school has become one of the Madlyn K. Abramson Ed’57 GEd’60 nation’s renowned graduate schools of education. GSE works across many Dr. Benjamin M. Ashcom Gr’74 fields of education research and a leader in innovative academic programs Dr. Reina Marin Bassini CW’72 GEd’72 that prepare professionals for service in education, K-16 and beyond. Dr. Patricia Cayne CW’60 This year, we are very proud to announce the appointment of Andrew Susan Frier Danilow CW’74, G’74 Porter as Penn GSE’s tenth Dean. Without question, Andy is prepared to George E. Davis NAF’00 take the helm at this great school during this time of great opportunity and challenge. He has a stellar scholarly background, which prepares him to lead Lee Spelman Doty W’76 teaching and research initiatives that will engage the most critical issues of the Milton A. Feldman Esq. W’52, L’55 day. He has the energy and creativity to further strengthen GSE’s impressive Jay S. Fishman W’74 WG’94 local and global engagements. And he can draw on his extensive leadership John F. Gamba W’61 experience to position the School for even greater successes in teaching, Michael J. Glosserman Esq. W’68 research, and service. Emanuel A. Gonzalez-Revilla W’88 Andy will need our support moving GSE forward, and he will certainly Joel M. Greenblatt W’79 WG’80 want to hear insights and suggestions from you—our alumni, students, and Peter C. Madeja C’80 GEd’80 friends—about how GSE can best serve society through education and col- Gregory A. Milken C’95 laboration. As I look forward to working with him in the years ahead, I am Diana Riklis C’76 GEd’77 happy to report that GSE’s future is in extremely capable hands. Nancy Horwich Rothstein CW’75 With best regards and expectations for the brightest possible future for Leonard A. Shapiro W’64 Penn GSE, Molly D. Shepard GEd’79 Ellen Cohen Stein CW’69 Dr. Susan Taylor C’79 Merryl Tisch NAF’00 Seth T. Toney II WG’88 Amy Gutmann Allison Weiss Brady C’93 Jennifer Saul Yaffa C’92
The Graduate School of Education • University of Pennsylvania MAGAZINE
The Penn GSE Magazine is produced bi-annually by the University Nondiscrimination Statement of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, 3700 Walnut The University of Pennsylvania values diversity and seeks Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216. Reproduction of these talented students, faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds. articles requires the written permission of the editor. ©2007 by The University of Pennsylvania does not discriminate on the basis the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Please contact the of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, color, editor for references. national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or status as a Vietnam Era Veteran or disabled veteran in the administration of educa- Stanton Wortham Ann de Forest tional policies, programs, or activities; admissions policies; Interim Dean Janice Rafferty scholarship and loan awards; athletic, or University administered Shiva Vakili programs or employment. Questions or complaints regarding this Alexis Beshara Wolson Contributing Writers policy should be directed to: Assistant Dean, Development & Alumni Relations Kathy Downey Executive Director Elizabeth Hill Nancy Brokaw Office of Affirmative Action Production Assistants Editor Sansom Place East, Suite 228 3600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106 voice: (215) 898-6993; TDD: (215) 898-7803; fax: (215) 662-7862.
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NOTEWORTHY
Citizenship 101
arris Sokoloff, executive director of Penn then propose questions for the debate that HGSE’s Center for School Study Councils, night. The project will culminate with the has been working with university and city delivery of a citizen-generated Agenda for partners to give Philadelphia some valuable the Next Great City to the new mayor and lessons on civic engagement this year. council in 2008. As the city’s 2007 election year gets At the same time, Sokoloff was hard at underway, Sokoloff has been teaming up work on another civic engagement project— with the Project on Civic Engagement, based this one spearheaded by the School of at the Fels Institute, and the Philadelphia Design’s Penn Praxis. Called PlanPhilly, the Inquirer on a project titled “Great Expecta- project focused on the development of the tions: Citizen Voices on Philadelphia's city’s Delaware River waterfront. With Penn Future.” This collaborative effort initiated Praxis Director Harris Steinberg handling civic conversation about how to build on the the design issues, Sokoloff oversaw the civic city’s considerable strengths and how to engagement pieces of the project, including change a political culture all too often char- the series of public forums held throughout acterized by corruption. the winter to solicit citizen input. The project is sponsoring a series of In March, PlanPhilly sponsored a three- major election-related events – including day brainstorming session with citizens, city online, radio, and televised debates. Two planners, and architects to forge a new vision weeks before the May primary, Great for Philadelphia’s waterfront. Their conclu- Expectations sponsored “Deliberation Day,” sion was virtually unanimous: bury Interstate an all-day series of events culminating in a 95 and reestablish the connections between candidates’ TV debate. Questions for that city and river. debate were generated at ten neighborhood sessions where citizens had the chance to quiz representatives of the candidates and AMY SIANO
Can We Talk?
he 2007 GSE Faculty Research Fund for the Study of Race in Education will be supporting a project, directed by THoward Stevenson, to promote the academic engagement of black high school students through racial socializa- tion. Stevenson will be working with Penn GSE faculty members Vivian Gadsden and Duane Thomas on the project. Stevenson’s two-year project, called “Can We Talk?” will start with an in-depth survey and a series of focus groups designed to help researchers understand how black students make sense of racial dynamics at school and home. Students will then be randomly assigned to a six-week Race Relations Psychology mini-seminar, adapted for high school students from Stevenson’s GSE course on African-American psychology. To determine the efficacy of the course, researchers will administer a battery of measures to students from both the intervention group and the control. Established in the 2005-06 academic year, the Faculty Research Fund for the Study of Race in Education is intend- ed to help ensure that Penn GSE’s research addresses the intersection of race and education. With this fund, GSE is dedicating seed funding to collaborative faculty research projects that focus on teaching, learning, and the context of schooling for African-American and Latino students in American urban schools or institutions of higher education.
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 3
NOTEWORTHY
Penn GSE Partners in China’s First Ever EdD Program
orking with East China Normal Uni- Wversity (ECNU), Penn GSE Internation- al has been making history recently by help- ing in the creation of China’s first-ever doc- torate of education program. In recent years, GSE has been sharing its expertise on curriculum development with its Chinese colleagues and sending Penn faculty members and associates to Shanghai to lead intensive seminars. This fall, the program’s first cohort of stu- dents made its way to the Penn campus for an intensive 12-week course that introduced them to cutting-edge issues in American participants to tap into the experiences and education. Combined with site visits to area resources of Penn GSE and other leading schools and universities, the course at Penn players in American education, in order to was intended to expand the students’ under- improve the schools and universities they standing and introduce an international com- administer.”
Penn GSE Interim Dean Stanton Wortham (left) parative element to their doctoral research. Based in Shanghai, ECNU is one of China’s participated in a roundtable discussion “Penn GSE is breaking new ground inter- premier teachers’ colleges, and the joint EdD with students in the joint ECNU-GSE doctoral program. Fang Shoujiang (right), a student in nationally by working with ECNU,” said program has been developed in cooperation the program, works in the international Cheng Davis, vice dean for International Pro- with the Chinese Ministry of Education. Pro- program at Shanghai Finance University. grams and Development. “The program, a gram degrees will be issued by ECNU. practical departure from the more theoreti- cal PhD programs available in China, allows
Kudos . . . board of the Chester Upland School District in March. Chester Upland Penn GSE Professor Vivian Gadsden was on Capitol Hill in December had the second-lowest average score in Pennsylvania on state to testify at a Congressional Staff Briefing on Fatherhood. The discus- accountability tests last year.... The University of Chicago Alumni sion was organized by the National Fatherhood Leaders Group and Association has awarded Penn GSE Professor Diana Slaughter-Defoe Women in Fatherhood together with the offices of Senators Evan its Alumni Professional Achievement Citation. The Alumni Profession- Bayh and Barack Obama.... The Association for the Study of Higher al Achievement Citation recognizes alumni whose achievements in Education presented Penn GSE Assistant Professor Marybeth Gas- their vocational life, including but not limited to the arts and letters, man with its Promising Scholar/Early Career Achievement Award at industry and commerce, and the academic professions, have brought its fall meeting. This award is presented to an emerging scholar “for distinctions to themselves, credit to the university, and real benefit to a significant body of scholarship or a single extraordinary research their communities.... Vice Dean Doug Lynch is chairing the US dele- achievement by a higher education scholar and in recognition of gation to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ini- potential for future research.”... Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell tiative to develop standards in the field of non-public educational appointed Associate Professor Kathy Schultz to the empowerment services. Educational services, which encompass higher education
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Investing in Penn-Philly New Executive Program for Partnership School Counselors he William Penn Foundation has award- Ted a three-year, $600,000-dollar grant Penn GSE has introduced a new executive-style master’s-degree pro- to the University of Pennsylvania in support gram for working educators and professionals interested in working as of the Kids Integrated Data System (KIDS) school counselors. project. Created in partnership with the American School Counselor Associa- Drawing on individual databases main- tion (ASCA), the Professional School Counseling Program uses an execu- tained by separate municipal agencies, tive-learning format to enable students to earn their degree without giv- KIDS links the records of individual children ing up their current employment. to provide researchers with population- “We have found that mature educators with classroom experience as based information that enables them to well as mid-career counseling professionals are well suited to master identify critical needs, evaluate current pro- the school counselor’s skills for fostering students’ academic and per- grams, and develop improved services. The sonal success,” explains Howard Stevenson, chair of Penn GSE’s Applied product of an unprecedented collaboration Psychology and Human Development division. among the City of Philadelphia, the School Candidates will study psychology, counseling, and education theory and District of Philadelphia, and Penn, KIDS is practices to help enhance student development in school, at home, and one of the only fully integrated archival data in the community. The program will address issues of academic achieve- systems in the U.S. ment, personal and social development, and career planning. Penn GSE Professor John Fantuzzo co- The degree can be earned in two years of monthly weekend classes founded the KIDS database with Dennis and one week of intensive study each summer. Culhane, a professor in Penn’s School of Students who successfully complete this program may apply to the Social Policy and Practice, and Trevor Hadley, Pennsylvania Department of Education-approved Certification Program a professor in the School of Medicine. Says in School Counseling and receive the Educational Specialist-School Fantuzzo, “From the very beginning of this Counselor certificate. project, it has been our goal to institutionalize the KIDS database. With this grant, we’ll be able to establish KIDS as a sustainable resource within the city of Philadelphia and even as a replicable model for other urban municipalities.” The grant is designed to help strengthen the KIDS system so that, in time, it can pro- vide Philadelphia with a self-sustaining O and workforce training, are the nation’s resource that can inform services for chil- ARL fifth largest export. The ISO is a 142-nation dren. Among the anticipated outcomes are CE DIC membership body headquartered in Gene- A an increase in awareness among the larger Kathy Schultz va that facilitates the international coordi- AND research community of KIDS’ capacity; the C nation and unification of industrial stan- development of research projects from city dards.... Marissa Shapiro, a student in the Psychological Services agencies and of annual agency-specific data program, has been elected to serve as a member of the Provost's quality reports; the dissemination of Council on Arts and Culture.... The Kingsley Trust Association has research findings and recruitment of new awarded doctoral student Vernita Williams the A. Bartlett Giamatti KIDS researchers, and the creation of a com- Fellowship award, given annually to Yale College graduates engaged munity work group charged with developing in full-time doctoral studies in the humanities or social sciences. an access plan. William Penn also hopes to see the Penn team help replicate the system in other municipalities around the country.
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 5
NOTEWORTHY
Start Making Sense Fred Erickson delivers keynote at 28th Ethnography Forum
or 14 years—from 1986 to 1999—Fred task of ethnographic research is an inquiry FErickson’s name was virtually synony- into “the qualities of things, into what kinds mous with Penn GSE’s Ethnography in Edu- of things there are in local settings of prac- cation Forum. When Erickson took on the tice—what kind of people, things, and role of convenor, the Forum was a youngster, actions.” just six years old. By the time he left Penn for But identification alone isn’t enough. UCLA, the event was a strapping youth of 20. Ethnographic research must also create the This year—the Forum’s understanding that these local meanings 28th—Erickson came back to matter. “Meaning is causal,” Erickson Penn, and to the Forum, to explained. “People do things because those deliver a keynote address things make sense. When people don’t take titled “Keep Your Hands on their blood pressure medicine, they are mak- the Plow: Reflections on ing sense in some way. And once we under- Educational Ethnography in stand those meanings, we can begin to figure Times of Difficulty.” out what to do.” Equal parts cri de coeur Ignoring context, Erickson cautioned, has and cri de guerre, Erickson’s serious consequences. Calling randomized address outlined recent cri- trials “a fool’s gold standard,” he argued that tiques of ethnography—from “a monitoring system that leaves out local critics both inside and out- meanings makes it impossible to trace the side the field—and managed negative consequences that are not in the nonetheless to reach “an policy discourse because they’re not one of upbeat conclusion.” the variables.” The critique from within Erickson’s keynote kicked off two days’ the field is a familiar one, worth of paper sessions and data analysis arising from the difficulty discussions, in which participants brain- inherent to ethnography of stormed about analysis methods of sample Fred Erickson “writing about somebody data sets. This year’s Forum also featured a
STUART GOLDENBERG else and getting it right.” Of milestone anniversary—the 20th Practitioner more concern, though, are the charges lev- Inquiry presentation featuring Penn GSE eled by those outside the field. Associate Professor Susan Lytle and Boston This critique has picked up steam in College Professor Marilyn Cochran-Smith. recent years, Erickson explained, with the Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor of Cur- U.S. Department of Education declaring ran- riculum and Instruction and Educational Pol- domized field trials as the gold standard in icy Studies at the University of Wisconsin- educational research. Challenging the prima- Madison, presented the Friday evening cy of that standard, he argued that “treat- keynote, “The Ethnography of Misery: Teach- ments in education are ways of life that are ing in the Midst of Suffering.” locally constructed on the basis of local A student-run event, the Forum was meanings that vary between localities.... And coordinated by Educational Linguistics Ph.D. prediction is necessarily a local matter.” students David Cassels Johnson and Fran- For Erickson, the best response ethnogra- cis Hult. phers can make is, quite simply, to continue “to do well what we are best at.” The first
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On the Job Learning Program Sparks Kids’ Interest in Science his semester, executives from Sta- Network, Xerox, Constellation Energy, and Tples and JetBlue, Xerox and Chubb the Corporate University Exchange. n January 27, about 40 students from were on the Penn campus for a new pro- The public and non-profit sectors are Ofour Philadelphia schools gathered at gram offered jointly by Penn GSE and the also well represented, with participants Penn GSE for some close encounters with Wharton School. coming from the Planning Commission of some exotic animals—a chinchilla, a Great The first cohort in the Executive Program the City of Los Angeles, the Department of Horned Owl, and an Egyptian sand boa. in Work-Based Learning Leadership, the 17 Labor’s Career OneStop program, and the The students were on campus for the students have signed on for a program local Boys’ and Girls’ Club. kick-off of a new Penn GSE program, called unique among top-tier universities—one And on the global front, the program SPARK! (Science Projects Are Right for Kids). designed to provide formalized education has welcomed a former employee of the Funded by the National Science Foundation, for executives charged with improving and Bolivian government and the president of the three-year program is designed to enrich furthering workplace learning. the Philippines-based company Learning science education for students in grades four “Most adults learn on the job rather and Performance Partners. through eight from four public schools and than in a formal educational setting,” The program is executive in nature, two charter schools in Philadelphia. Students explains Doug Lynch, GSE vice dean and allowing students to continue working will meet after school, Saturdays, and in the the program’s academic director. “The while they study. Using a blend of on-site summer to complete activities that focus on average Fortune 1000 company spends 2.5 classes and distance learning, the pro- real-world engineering problems in biotech- percent of its operating budget on learn- gram will use the students’ expertise and nology, zoo habitats, and robotics. ing. For many of these companies, that experience to inform the curriculum. Doc- The kick-off introduced students to ani- amounts to tens of millions of dollars.” toral and master’s students are expected mals from the Philadelphia Zoo, and gave With so much at stake, it’s no surprise to ground their research in the workplace them their first lesson in biotechnology, mak- that response to the new program has rather than in academia. ing a complex molecular structure—slime— been so strong. The first cohort represents Participants may pursue a master’s or out of simple kitchen ingredients. From there, an array of businesses: vice presidents of doctoral degree—awarded through GSE— it was on to the School of Engineering and Staples and JetBlue have enrolled, as have or individual certificates awarded through Applied Science for a tour of the robotics lab executives from Chubb & Son Insurance, Wharton Executive Education. and then to the Annenberg Center, for a visit the Lehigh Valley Hospital & Health to the LEGO League Nanotechnology Tourna- ment—an annual robotics competition that program organizers hope that SPARK kids will be competing in next year. Learning Technologies Program Debuts As Associate Dean for Educational Prac- tice Nancy Streim explains, “We hope to From PowerPoint to podcasts, technology has inspire students in Penn’s partnership transformed the way the world lives—and schools to consider careers in science, math learns. This year, Penn GSE has introduced a and technology. By leveraging the expertise new program designed for students interested of the partners at Penn, Philadelphia Zoo, in exploring how these new technologies play and iPraxis, we expect to have a collective out in the classroom and beyond. impact on children’s academic and career The Learning Technologies in Education aspirations that is greater than what any of (LTE) master’s program focuses on emerging us could hope to accomplish individually.” technologies in educational settings and will The SPARK! grant will also provide insight prepare students for success in information- into how children learn science inside and rich environments. Students will learn how to outside the classroom. Researchers will be effectively assess, design, and implement technology in a wide range of learning able to investigate whether students learn environments—from individual distance education and instructional design to mass better when they study science and technolo- media and web-based information collection and dissemination. gy through real-world problem-solving. They Job opportunities for graduates should be found in a variety of institutions will also evaluate how mentors and individual (schools and colleges, school districts, government agencies, private voluntary attention affect student learning. organizations, and the private sector) and a variety of fields (instructional design, GSE’s partners in this program are Penn’s learning theory, communication, media, technology, and organizational systems). schools of Engineering and Applied Science The program, which culminates in a Master of Science in Education degree, and Social Policy and Practice, along with the requires completion of ten course units of graduate work, which can be completed School District of Philadelphia, iPraxis, and in one year. the Philadelphia Zoo.
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 7
Introducing Andy Porter
When Penn President Amy Gutmann announced the appointment of Andy Porter as Penn GSE’s tenth dean, she welcomed him as a prominent researcher, a seasoned administrator, an accomplished fundraiser, and an energetic collaborator who has won the respect of a wide range of educational researchers, scholars, and practitioners. Dr. Porter is currently the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of GSE News: Can you tell me something about your training? Leadership, Policy, and Organization at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody You were trained as a psychometrician and applied statistician. College of Education and the director of the Learning Sciences What drew you to that particular field? Institute, also at Vanderbilt. Before arriving at Vanderbilt in 2003, he Andy Porter: I went into college thinking I was going to was professor of Education Psychology at the University of Wisconsin be a chemist—I had a great high school chemistry teacher and director of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. From and I loved chemistry. But one year of college chemistry 1967 to 1988, he was on the faculty at Michigan State University, where was just so awful, so boring—which is too bad because it he also served as associate dean for Research and Graduate Study. could have been fun. In the mid-1970s, Dr. Porter signed on for a stint in Washington, DC, My undergraduate degree was at Indiana State and my at the National Institute of Education, where he served as a visiting major was special education and my minor was mathemat- scholar, chief of the Methodology and Measurement Division, and ics. How I began as an applied statistician—a psychometri- associate director in charge of the Basic Skills Group. A former cian—is a great story, to me anyway. I didn’t know what ed President of the American Educational Research Association, he was psych was, and I was recruited by Julian Stanley. He was a elected a member of the National Academy of Education in 1994, has very famous guy, an applied statistician then. He was at been Vice President of the Academy since 2005, and is a Lifetime Wisconsin at the time but ended up his career at Johns National Associate of the National Academies. Hopkins, where he became known for his Gifted and This spring, Penn GSE News sat down with Dr. Porter for a candid Talented programs. Anyway, he was a big fan of test scores, conversation about his career in education, his research interests, and and he recruited me into a master’s and doctoral program at what brought him to Penn. the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I took my first position at Michigan State back in the late 1960s—as an assistant professor in a tenure-line position—to teach statistics and measurement courses in a gargantuan college of education. I’m not sure how big it is now, but it was huge at that time. I think they were producing something like one hundred PhDs a year.
News: You worked at the National Institute of Education in several posts. How did that come about, and how did it influence your academic career? Porter: This is a long story, but it really shows how things unfolded for me. The American Educational Research Association offers small courses, pre- and post-
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Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 9
convention, and I taught one on non-parametric statistics couldn’t think, “Well, hey, I’ll create a division, with some buddies of mine, a colleague at Michigan State Measurement and Methodology.” I stayed on a year to set and a professor from UC Berkeley. One of our students up the program. In the second year, they asked me if I was a guy named Garry McDaniels, from the University would become the associate director in charge of the Basic of Maryland. He took a job in the government to do the Skills group, and then they asked Mike if he would become evaluation of the Follow Through Program. associate director for budget and management. I always Well, Garry grew up on a fruit farm in Michigan, and he thought I got a much better job than Mike. had a lot of people from Harvard working for him. He called Mike stayed and became the first chief of staff to the me up one night and said, “Do you remember me? I was a first secretary of education, Shirley Hufstedler. But I went student of yours.” Now, to be honest, I barely remembered back to Michigan State. I always knew I was going to be a him, but he said, “I’ve got a problem. I need somebody professor—my dad was a professor. And I stayed there all from the Midwest”—see, he was a Midwestern guy—“to told for 21 years. I was there a long time, with three years off in the government. But my experience in DC was transformative: for me, My experience in DC was transformative: for me, trained trained as a statistician, psychometrician, to end up run- as a statistician, to end up running [such a] wide portfolio ning the Basic Skills Group with its wide portfolio of work of work was probably the most intense educational was probably the most intense educational experience I had in my life. It got me thinking about larger things. experience I had in my life. News: At Wisconsin, you ran the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Can you tell me more about this? How keep these Harvard guys under control.” I joined him in did the Center’s program of research change and grow under that enterprise, and we had a great time. It turned out that your leadership? one of the Harvard guys was Mike Smith—later, he became Porter: The Center was founded in 1964, and I took over the dean at Stanford and the undersecretary of education. in 1989. But guess who had been directing it before I got I consulted for a while, and then the government created there? Mike Smith. But then he took a job at Stanford, and the National Institute of Education with a Visiting Scholars Carl Kaestle, who’s an education historian at Brown now, Program. Garry, who had moved from the Follow was their interim for a year. Then they recruited me. Through Program to the NIE and what became the divi- The Center was created back in the mid-1960s, back sion for research on teaching, nominated both Mike and before the NIE, back when there was an assistant secretary me to be visiting scholars. for education at Health, Education and Welfare. The Cambridge must be a lot closer to DC than East Lansing, department created a national infrastructure of research because Mike knew all the vocabulary, and I didn’t know centers and regional laboratories. The labs still exist, but anything. So fast-track Mike—he’s smart as sin—said, “I’m the centers don’t in quite the same form. The Hopkins going to create a new division.” Can you imagine in the gov- center, the Wisconsin center, the Learning Research and ernment? A new agency. In 1974. He created a division Development Center at Pittsburgh, CRESST at UCLA— called Essential Skills—with bipartisan support. they all started that way. And they all got sole-source fund- I’m obviously slower than Mike, but not so slow that I ing until about 1987 or so, when the government decided it
1910s 1930s 1940s In 1914, Frank Graves Dean John Minnick Under Dean Emit named first dean of launches graduate divi- Grizzell, whose tenure Penn’s newly established sion in 1931, and School lasts two decades, School of Education. confers first master’s School awards first degrees. doctoral degrees in 1941.
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wanted more competition and switched to a five-year I’m back to a sharper focus. The Learning Sciences funding model. Institute (LSI) is one of a number of what Vanderbilt calls When I arrived at the Wisconsin Center for Education trans-institutional centers that have been founded to Research, the budget was about $3.2 million a year. When I jumpstart interdisciplinary research in one sector or anoth- left, it was $30 million. It was good growth. Honestly, I er. One way to think about LSI is that human cognition is think the best thing that ever happened to that center was to at its core. We do very, very basic neuroscience—we stop get off sole-source funding from DOE and to let the entre- just short of animal research—but then we also do quite a preneurs start to take hold. It brought in more players. bit of applied research. LSI covers a big, long range of The center was a unit of the ed school, but I saw it as a research, from very basic to very applied—but all focused university resource. When I got there, probably nine out of on the idea that learning is integral. There are people in the ten PIs were from the ed school and when I left five out of learning sciences who would say that teaching doesn’t fit ten were. We opened it up to the rest of the university and into our mission, but we think it does. And curriculum. got a lot more interdisciplinary work going—especially in And policy. the sciences, both life and physical sciences, and mathemat- ics. For example, in my last year there, we had the biggest News: Let’s focus on one particular theme of your own work. payday in the history of the university. On one day, the cen- Much of your scholarship tries to understand teachers’ deci- ter brought in 49 million dollars worth of new work. sions of what to teach. The growth came from two sources, I think: first, open- Porter: The basic question that’s driven my work—the ing up the door to a lot of professors by getting off that one one line in my work for probably 25 years now—is how core grant, and then aggressively creating relationships do teachers decide what to teach? If you’re an elementary with the rest of the university. school teacher, how much time will you spend teaching mathematics? What topics will you cover within that News: What about the Learning Sciences Institute at time? Will you teach all students the same things, or will Vanderbilt? How does that compare to what you did in you differentiate the content across students in some way? Wisconsin? And to what standards of achievement will you be teach- Porter: At Wisconsin, we did not try to have a carefully ing your students? defined mission like, for example, the human cognition Obviously, these are decisions that influence students’ focus of the LRDC at Pitt. When we asked, “What are we opportunities to learn: we find over and over again that for?” we answered very broadly, “We’re for excellence in what is taught is the strongest predictor of gains in student education research and development.” I had come from achievement. So if you want to ask, why this teacher gets Michigan State, which had a very distinct mission: the big gains and this teacher does not, the bulk of the variance entire college of education was focused on teaching and will be explained by the fact that the first teacher is teach- teacher education, and that focused mission attracted ing what is being tested and the second is not. national and international recognition. But the down side How can that be? I’ll give you an example. Not that was that it could become constricting. many people study how teachers use textbooks, but we did So the pendulum swings. When I went to Wisconsin, I some of this work back a while ago. In elementary school, knew that I wanted to connect to the rest of the university, we found out that a common practice for teachers of math- that I didn’t want to put up any barriers. At Vanderbilt, ematics is to skip all the measurement and all the geome-
1960s As fourth dean, William Morris Viteles, named fifth Arnold leads School as it dean in 1963, recruits facul- is renamed Graduate ty in statistics, measure- School of Education and ment, and human learning moves to new building. and development.
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try. I don’t know whether it’s a result, but it’s not too curi- particular, this one guy says, “I just never thought about it. ous to find that the United States is tied with Zimbabwe in This is just huge to me.” eighth-grade mathematics achievement in geometry. The other reason I became interested in teachers’ deci- News: How did you get interested in this particular line of sion-making is that content, up until recently, was largely a inquiry? taken-for-granted part of schooling and all the emphasis Porter: When I was in the government on leave from was on pedagogy and studying how we can get better at Michigan State, Lee Shulman, who was at Michigan State teaching whatever it is that we’re teaching. Now, of course, then, was pushing the idea that it was time for research on with the days of content standards in every state and teaching to get out of the strict behaviorist model and into NCLB, content has become very important. teachers’ heads. In other words, teacher decision-making A Nation at Risk started the conversation about the rele- was important. The government was convinced and fund- vance of content to achievement. That report, which ed Michigan State for the Institute for Research on appeared in 1983, had some starter-up language, specifi- Teaching. It was five years, ten million bucks, and then cally about what would make a good high school curricu- there was another five years after that. They held a place lum—four years of math, four years of English, three years for me: when I came back, I was to run the statistics unit. of science. But I got to thinking, “I really don’t think this is what Then the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics these guys need. But I am interested in measurement: peo- came out with math standards, and President Bush senior ple say that teachers teach what’s on the test. So, if this held the NCTM standards up in some meeting and said, claim is true, what’s on the test must influence teachers’ “This is what we need.” Then people got interested in sci- decisions about what to teach.” ence content standards: the American Association for the Then other people told me that teachers teach what’s in Advancement of Science started its scientific literacy proj- the textbook, and I wondered if what was in the textbook ect, James Rutherford came out with Science for All was the same thing that was on the test. I wondered if Americans, and then the government asked the National either of these things was true. Couldn’t it be that there are Research Council to come up with science standards. other influences on teachers? It has really taken off with the NCLB law, where states I proposed a new study to Lee Shulman, and we formed don’t get Title I money unless they have challenging aca- a group called the Content Determinants Group. Bill demic content standards and aligned assessments. The Schmidt was in it and Jack Schwille and Bob Flodden— state response has been to revise content standards and they’re still at Michigan State. Also Don Freeman was in now NCTM has gone back to make their standards more it. The five of us started a set of studies and did it for about focused and the National Science Teachers Association is five or six years. Then I went off to Wisconsin, but I kept trying to do the same thing in science. So content is no going with that line of work. longer being taken for granted at the policy level. By the way, it’s also what got me into policy because one In the classroom, I’m still not sure. I’m teaching a of the things that can influence teachers’ decisions about course right now to EdD students at Vanderbilt on what to teach is policy, like mandated tests. Teachers and Teaching, and you won’t be surprised that one of the messages of the readings is that content is News: So what were your findings? Are they teaching to the important. Now I’ve got some principals in there and, in test? Or are they teaching to the texts?
1970s
Neal Gross takes the helm In 1975, Dell Hymes is in 1968, bringing expertise appointed dean, developing in grant-writing and begin- the School’s language-based ning tradition of winning educational programs. competitive grants.
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Porter: One thing we found was that there wasn’t as much overlap between the tests and textbooks as we would We know a lot about what the charac- expect. One of the most cited studies I’ve ever published is teristics of effective teaching are, on that very finding. But like most of these decisions, there’s a little bit of we know a lot about how to measure everything. Some teachers go through the textbook like learning, but we have a terribly diffi- Sherman through Georgia. The only thing that stops them cult time doing any of these things on is the end of the year. And others, as I said, skip the geom- etry and the measurement. a massive scale with quality. So the answer is: it all depends. But what does it depend on? Will they teach what’s on the test? Well, they might teach what’s on the test if they know what’s on the test. But how many teachers there are, but it’s probably more than if they don’t have any idea what’s on the test, it’s tough for three and a half million, K through 12. We know a lot them. A policy that is specific in its content message for about what the characteristics of effective teaching are, we teachers will have great impact. Well, is what’s on the test know a lot about how to measure learning, but we have a consistent with what other people want? Is it consistent terribly difficult time doing any of these things on a mas- with the norms? Is it consistent with the textbook? Is it sive scale with quality. So size is one. consistent with the professional development? Is it consis- Obviously the achievement gap is another. The gap in tent with what was taught last year? The more consistency achievement between students from affluent and poor with these other possible influences, the more impact it families or between students of color and white students will have. has been around for a long time. It’s very robust. Now the Are there rewards and sanctions attached to whether thing about the achievement gap is that it’s alive and well you do this or not? The more there are, the more likely before kids go to school, and the other thing is that to the you are to do it. Is it authoritative to you in a Weberian extent that it increases as kids go to school, it tends to do so sort of way? Is it backed by expertise? Is pushed by a in the summer time, not during the academic year. So charismatic individual? Is it consistent with norms? schools are not so much the problem—and that’s not Finally, is there any stability here? Has it been in place understood as well as it should be—but they’ve got to be long enough? Do people think it’s going to stay in place part of the solution. It’s very difficult to be part of the solu- long enough to be influential? tion for a problem you’re not creating. Out of a lot of work, we’ve evolved this theory that now guides the hypotheses stated in our studies: that tests could News: You’ve been doing policy-relevant research for years: be more or less influential as described by those attributes. do policymakers respond to the serious challenges in education gainfully? Can you give an example or two of positive News: What are your thoughts about the field of education changes that you’ve seen in American education? in general? From your perspective, what are the most pressing Porter: In terms of positive changes in American educa- issues facing American education? tion, you’ve got to love the increases in math achievement Porter: Probably, the biggest challenge to education that we’re seeing more now. They’re quite widespread, excellence is size. It’s such a huge enterprise. I don’t know continued on page 24
1980s 1990s 2000s
Marvin Lazerson is Under Susan Fuhrman, In 2007, Andrew C. named GSE’s eighth GSE’s first woman dean, Porter is named GSE’s dean in 1987, leaving School becomes known tenth dean. to serve as Penn’s as center for education interim provost. policy and research.
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One Leg Futurein the
During World War II, schoolchildren planted Victory democratic society are all issues Ben-Porath grapples with Gardens and collected old tires and cans to support the war in her study. A social and political philosopher with a BA effort. Baby boomers remember ducking under their school and MA in education, and years of experience teaching desks as air sirens blared, a Cold War drill to prepare them high school in Israel, Ben-Porath delivers an analysis that for future nuclear attack. And, to that same generation, math is “like its author, both far-ranging in its theorizing and Dand science studies took on patriotic urgency as Americans pragmatically focused,” says Penn President Amy competed with the Soviets for technological prowess. Gutmann, a political philosopher herself, and instrumental A few decades later, America responded to the terrorist in bringing Ben-Porath to the United States. “An original attacks of September 11 with similar displays of unity and thinker,” Gutmann calls her younger colleague, “she chal- urgency. In Nebraska, for instance, in October 2001, the lenges conventional wisdom on educational policy and state board of education unanimously endorsed a 1949 political philosophy.” state law requiring schools to teach lyrics to patriotic songs, Passionate and optimistic, Ben-Porath sees the most dif- reverence for the flag, and the dangers of communism. ficult challenge for societies in times of conflict as balanc- Many American high schools opened their corridors and ing the temporary, pressing needs of wartime with the classrooms to military recruiters. Unity, sacrifice, obedi- enduring need to preserve democratic values. In a culture ence. All are typical of the way democracies respond to war of warfare, where the need for solidarity and security take and conflict, asserts GSE researcher Sigal Ben-Porath, in precedence over other democratic values, peace remains a her thoughtful, provocative vague Utopian notion. Without a conscious effort to recog- By Ann de Forest new book Citizenship Under nize the problems inherent in belligerent citizenship, Ben- Fire: Democratic Education in Porath argues, war will repeat, generation after generation. Times of Conflict. Citing No sphere is more vulnerable to these changes than a examples from the United States and her native Israel, nation’s classrooms, where the values of belligerent citizen- Ben-Porath observes that in wartime, the very definition of ship are inculcated—intentionally or inadvertently—in what it means to be a citizen changes. Priorities shift. future citizens. Rather than take on the responsibilities of a Security takes precedence over individual rights; solidarity true civic education, teaching students to be active partici- overrides diversity. In short, a democracy in wartime often pants in the democratic process, public education compromises the values most cherished in times of peace. becomes, in Ben-Porath’s phrase, “war by other means.” To describe this phenomenon, Ben-Porath coins the term So what’s a democracy to do? “belligerent citizenship.” Fortunately, Ben-Porath does much more than present a The nature of these changes, the necessity for citizens to fascinating, if disturbing, analysis of the nature of “bel- make compromises in order to endure a period of conflict, ligerent citizenship” and then throw up her hands—leav- and the long-term effects of “belligerent citizenship” on a ing outraged readers to do the same. She offers a blueprint
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Thriving democracies accommodate diversity and dissent. But in times of war, when stark distinctions are drawn between “them” and “us,” how can they sustain such civic ideals? Searching for answers, Penn GSE Assistand Professor Sigal Ben-Porath looks at the role education can play.
DAVID H. WELLS/CORBIS
for change, with education as the vehicle. She advocates an in the broadest sense of the word,” she says, her hands In Tel Aviv, a first-grader tries on a gas mask on his approach she names “expansive education,” public educa- slicing the air for emphasis. “We do necessarily political first day back to school tion focused on engaging citizens in preserving democracy. work, and if we don’t do it reflectively and intentionally, during the Gulf War. “To fully respond to the psycho-social needs of society at we don’t do it right.” war,” Ben-Porath told an audience at the University of Promoting education as an agent for political change has Pennsylvania Bookstore, “we need to consider a public been the thrust of Sigal Ben-Porath’s career. As a young educational response … that would incorporate a nuanced social philosopher and educator in Israel, she participated understanding of the needs of society at war with an unwa- in an interdisciplinary study group funded by the Ford vering commitment to democratic values.” Foundation. Discussing social, environmental, economic, In Ben-Porath’s view education is always political. and educational issues, these Israeli scholars began hopeful “The main job of the public education system is political preparations for “The Morning After,” setting forth a pos-
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need to say what happened next. Every American knows. She smiles ruefully, “My husband’s a journalist, and friends back home joked that he wanted to keep life inter- esting.” Meanwhile, Ben-Porath “was in awe” as she watched a situation unfold that seemed eerily familiar. This time, with the benefit of an outsider’s perspective, she witnessed how quickly a democracy can change focus when national security is threatened. As Americans rallied round the flag and ballparks played “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch, Ben-Porath behaved like
BROOKS KRAFT/CORBIS an astute diagnostician charting the stages of a condition she recognized all too well. The U.S. had an acute case of In November 2001, itive agenda of actions and reforms their nation would be “belligerent citizenship.” Sergeant Johnson of free to address the day that peace arrived. “When the In Israel, the condition seemed chronic. As a teacher, the U.S. Army recruits at group first formed, peace seemed possible,” says Ben- she had noted how the belligerent stance pervaded the a high school football game in Boston. Porath wistfully. Instead, the week they started meeting, in education system. In the youngest grades, children cele- September 2000, the second intifada began. “Literally the brate Jewish holidays as historic military victories, “trans- last day of peace.” mitting a national message of a people perpetually at war,” Despite the group’s deflated hopes, the exchange of ideas she writes. History textbooks likewise emphasize militaris- lasted a year, with the final meeting taking place on tic themes and the story of Israel as a nation forged September 13, 2001. “Not the best time to talk about ‘the through constant struggle, “while projecting a uniform and morning after,’” she says. “Instead we ended up talking uncritical image of the people and state.” Suppression of about the way war affects the conception of citizenship in a dissent or debate is one of the most problematic character- democratic society,” the first seeds of Citizenship Under Fire. istics of a belligerent citizenship. Citizenship under Fire In the meantime, Ben-Porath, a mother with two opens with a telling anecdote of a final exam question babies, was finding life in Tel Aviv increasingly stressful. posed to Israeli high school students in 2002: “Explain “I know other people were suffering so much more; people why conscientious objection is subversive.” from the Occupied Territories had it even worse,” she says. Educators across America, hearing her ideas, have sent But in Tel Aviv, the most ordinary acts—the hour-long Ben-Porath examples from their own experiences in the drive to visit her mother in Jerusalem, a trip to the grocery wake of September 11 and the war in Iraq. Her “belligerent store—were fraught with anxiety. She and her husband education folder” is filled with “horrific examples,” she agonized over what route was least likely to be bombed or says. One high school teacher wrote about a flyer distrib- whether it was better to bring the children to the super- uted to all teachers from military recruiters, who offered to market or leave them home, better to be killed as a family “cover classes” and present a new, school district-approved or to leave the babies orphans. When Princeton University “self-esteem” curriculum. A state law requiring a certified offered her a post-doctoral fellowship, Ben-Porath and her teacher in every classroom was waived for these recruiters. journalist husband seized the opportunity, “thankful,” she “Recruiters visit weekly,” this teacher wrote. “… they says, “to leave these tensions behind and move to the safe- had office space. They develop relationships with students ty and comfort of life.” which obviously enhances their ability to recruit.” Just like Ben-Porath and her family arrived in the tranquil sub- the Israeli military, the US military portrays itself as urban New Jersey town at the end of August 2001. “unique” and “moral.” The recruiters not only stressed Whenever she tells this tale, to an audience at a book “service” but also “educational opportunity.” signing or an academic conference or to an interviewer in Rather than denounce the conservative, insular tenden- her office, Ben-Porath pauses at this point. She doesn’t cies of a democratic society under attack, Ben-Porath seeks
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“The main challenge we have—and the main hope—is in maintaining democratic principles. That will help us stem the tide.” Teaching democracy, she says, is “a more robust way of incorporating peace into the process.” More important, in times of war, preserving democracy becomes education’s most significant role. “Educational resources devoted to creating a commitment to democracy and peace in each country can support the endurance of democracy ways to respond to what she sees as the constructive aspects through war,” Ben-Porath writes in her book’s introduc- of “belligerent citizenship.” Wartime, much more than tion. “In this way, expansive education can… contribute to peacetime, provides the ideal opportunity to engage stu- creating democratically committed citizens who maintain a dents in the democratic process and to become more active realistic appreciation of peace even in times of conflict.” citizens. When a democracy is “under fire,” citizens should “Expansive education” then is civic education during be taught “it’s not just what you contribute—enlist in mili- wartime aimed at strengthening democratic values, skills, tary service, go out shopping to boost the economy—it’s and practices. She defines it as “the practical rendering of how you participate.” Recasting the patriotic emphasis on what Kant called ‘enlarged thought’ or putting oneself—in national identity into a notion of “shared fate,” for example, thought—in the place of everyone else.” In her vision, is one way of transforming the more harmful and destruc- expansive education reaches out to include more voices, tive tendencies of “belligerent citizenship” into a more more opinions, more citizens, especially those belonging to inclusive and active view of civic participation. groups marginalized in times of national solidarity. And public education is society’s best tool for effecting Ben-Porath seeks models for expansive education in the such transformations. Education, with “one leg in the pres- fields of peace education, feminist pedagogy, and multicul- ent and its other leg in the future,” she says, “is always, at least potentially, an agent for change.” Yet schools, Ben- Porath believes, don’t usually go far enough in their civics Expansive education reaches out to include more voices, lessons or take seriously enough their fundamental role in raising tomorrow’s citizenry. In October 2003, when more opinions, more citizens, especially those belonging “Operation Iraqi Freedom” no longer looked to be the to groups marginalized in times of national solidarity. quick, effective mission the U.S. government had declared, the districts around the country, she recalls, introduced an ad hoc unit on Iraq’s geography, history, and culture. Tips for reducing personal stress accompanied the unit. While tural education. She sees peace educators’ tools of conflict Ben-Porath commends school districts for attempting to resolution, anger management, and mediated dialogue as broaden students’ understanding of the world and to know useful for inter-personal and social relations, but less valuable more about the country their own nation was occupying as in the political sphere. More relevant are the lessons offered “better than nothing,” she mourns the “lost opportunity to by feminist and multiculturalist theories and practice. talk about political issues.” Drained of political content and The feminist struggle provides an especially compelling avoiding any controversy, the ad hoc unit in the end sent model. It was, and is, writes Ben-Porath, “pursued by students a message of disempowerment. The only way to peaceful means not to conquer social constructions but to cope with the strain and horror of war was to practice expand them so that they include further perspectives.” breathing and stretching exercises. “Talk back,” bell hooks’s rallying cry for “critical For similar reasons, Ben-Porath feels that peace education response to the social mainstream,” neatly sums up what often lulls students from taking meaningful political action. feminist pedagogy offers educators working for peace and “The work towards peace is very abstract because peace democracy. But feminist scholars, theorists, and educators itself is not tangible, right?” Ben-Porath’s eyes shine as she offer more than crucial lessons in resistance or recognizing speaks. “Children release doves into the air and it’s all very difference. Feminism also provides an important, alterna- nice,” she muses. “But balloons and butterflies and doves, tive narrative to the patriarchal paradigm, that even the that’s all about us [making ourselves feel good].” These ges- most liberal democratic society tends to adopt in times of tures may nurture hope in children’s impressionable minds, war, when men become soldiers while women tend the but they do not change political reality. Teaching children home front. The feminist emphasis on “creating a positive that they have a voice and a role as citizens is far more conception of the future self” translates to the social arena important than instilling Utopian dreams. continued on page 25
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One Leg in the Future, continued from page 17 as well. “A main aim of civic education for peace is to Under Fire, not everyone agrees wholeheartedly with her enable the formation of a positive vision of the future,” argument. Sharing the podium with Ben-Porath were writes Ben-Porath. Amy Gutmann, a longtime supporter; Rogers Smith, a But it is multicultural education that provides the professor of political science at Penn and author of the clearest template for expansive education. They share Pulitizer Prize-nominated Civic Ideals; and political essentially the same mission and differ, says Ben-Porath, philosopher Michael Walzer, author of Just and Unjust only in context. Multicultural education is dedicated to Wars and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies. “responding to social conflicts, tensions, and differences Gutmann, while enthusiastic about Ben-Porath’s analysis while creating democratic citizens,” while expansive edu- of “belligerent citizenship” and her antidote of “expansive cation responds to the tensions and differences of armed education,” criticized Ben-Porath for wavering on the conflicts. Multicultural education has already taught citi- moral threat that the compromises of “belligerent citizen- zens to reverse their perspective; where traditional patri- ship” entail. “I wish,” said Gutmann, “that Sigal distin- otic response in times of conflict sees “unwelcome diver- guished between merely perceived and real states of defen- sity,” multiculturalism sees instead “oppressive unity.” sive war. And therefore between necessary and unneces- Ben-Porath quotes Susan Muller Okin’s “compelling sary belligerence.” Gutmann also insisted a moral distinc- formulation” of multicultural education as “the radical tion be made between “protracted warfare that is aggres- idea that people in other cultures, foreign and domestic, sive rather than defensive.” are human beings too,” and finds in multicultural While Smith shared much of Ben-Porath’s perspective, thought especially valuable examples of how to acknowl- Walzer criticized Ben-Porath for downplaying the urgent edge past wrongs and incorporate forgiveness into the need to keep citizens secure in times of conflict. Relating political process. this discussion a month later, Ben-Porath eyes spark as she
Argument, questioning, conversation, and learning to acknowledge the opinions of those who disagree with one’s own is a key part of living in an engaged democracy.
While there are few active examples of the kind smiles, “One respondent said I gave far too much room to of politically engaged, expansive education she democratic considerations and not enough to security, and espouses in Citzenship Under Fire, Ben-Porath the other respondent said just the opposite.” does point to one example of educators working Ben-Porath does not shy away from controversy. to prevent the replication of war. In Israel and Argument, questioning, conversation, and learning to Palestine under the auspices of PRIME (Peace acknowledge the opinions of those who disagree with one’s Research Institute in the Middle East), teachers own is a key part of living in an engaged democracy. She from both sides of the conflict are “developing hopes her book will generate discussion, questions, and dual narratives of their common history.” The goal is even disagreement. Her hope is that Citizenship Under Fire not for students to agree on a common narrative, nor is it reaches an audience beyond her fellow scholars and will be to dismiss or even alter their own primary reading of his- read by teachers, policymakers, and school board mem- tory. “We don’t have to share our reading of the 1948 war. bers. “Even if they disagree with me,” she says, “it would There’s no chance of that,” says Ben-Porath pragmatical- help them re-think how conflict or war affects our demo- ly. “Each studies their own version, infused with how the cratic processes.” other side understands it.” Expanding one’s understand- Despite all she has witnessed in Israel and the United ing to include an alternative view, without ignoring it or States, she remains an optimist. “Political education is our denigrating it, broadens and enriches one’s understanding single most important hope for attaining this worthy goal,” of history. Ben-Porath addressed the bookstore audience. “And our Ben-Porath’s attempt to “grapple with the unique chal- schools—as underfunded, over-stretched, and underval- lenges of citizenship in wartime” has earned accolades ued as they are, are our best bet.” I from colleagues in the field of education and social philos- ophy. But, as demonstrated by a panel convened at the Citizenship Under Fire: Democratic Education in Times annual conference of the American Political Science of Conflict is published by Princeton University Press, 2006 Association to discuss the issues presented in Citizenship
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JACQUES PAVLOVSKY/SYGMA/CORBIS
Still, the perception that women in the region are denied A Call to Work the educational opportunities open to men isn’t a complete invention. For, at the same time that their countrymen argue for equal access, 65 percent of all Moroccan women An international roster of experts gather at Penn GSE are illiterate (as compared to 39 percent of men). And to share their thoughts on educational opportunities while Iranian women may be storming the Ivory Tower, for women in the Middle East and North Africa their counterparts are in a distinct minority at universities in Djibouti and Yemen. The situation is, needless to say, complicated. By Shiva Vakili On October 27, Penn GSE convened an international roundtable of distinguished scholars to shed a little light on some of those complexities by examining the state of women’s education in the Near East and North Africa. n the West, conventional wisdom maintains that women According to Penn GSE Vice Dean Doug Lynch—who Iin the Middle East are all relegated to life behind the first conceived of the event—the summit was meant as “a veil—confined to the home, constrained from participating call to work,” a means to kick off a fruitful conversation in public life, and, except perhaps in their earliest years, that will help us create a vision for next steps. discouraged even from attending school. It may come as something of a surprise then to learn Variation Is the Norm that 65 percent of all Iranian college students are women. Education is a fundamental indicator of a democratic Or that Moroccans overwhelmingly support the notion society and an imperative precondition of economic devel- Dressed in traditional that girls should enjoy the same right to education— opment. In calling this summit, GSE wanted first to learn chador, an Iraqi woman writes on a blackboard including higher education—as do boys. about the state of education for women in these coun- at an adult literacy class Clearly, Western preconceptions may require some tries—with the follow-up goal of determining how Penn for women in Baghdad. adjustment. can help support future educational equity in the region.
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Seven scholars were on hand to share their particular as an actor in the community and redefining the spousal expertise and, throughout, the message they had to deliver relationship (as women start earning income). was that the situation in the region is indeed complex. The presentations concluded on a more philosophical For instance, Farzaneh Roudi-Fahimi, a project director note, as Golbarg Bashi, a visiting scholar at Columbia at the Population Reference Bureau, pointed to recent University, issued an impassioned plea for what she called encouraging trends—like the growing rates of primary “transnational feminism.” Lodging her critique in the situ- school enrollment—but still cited high illiteracy rates, espe- ation of Iran and its expatriate community, Bashi argued cially among rural populations, that compromise economic for a brand of feminism that makes room for conceptual- development. Across the region, more than 75 million izations of empowerment beyond those espoused by secu- adults (and two thirds of all women) are illiterate, with only lar, Eurocentric thinkers. Charging the ex-patriate com- four countries—Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, and Yemen—mak- munity of feminists with encouraging false binaries (secu- ing up fully three quarters of that number. lar vs. religious, modern vs. traditionalist), Bashi The balance of the conference presentations confirmed explained, “At the core of Islamic feminism is a merging of the lesson behind such statistics: that is, regional variation religion and secularism—a breaking down of binaries.” is the norm. Thus, Niloofar Haeri, a professor at Johns Hopkins University specializing in anthropology and lin- What’s Next? guistic ethnography, described her analysis of Iranian Summing up, Lynch commended the participants for a textbooks. What she found in their pages was far more lively discussion that underscored “the incredible com- intellectually sophisticated than most Westerners might plexity of the tensions in the region—linguistic, theologi- expect, including material that many U.S. textbooks cal, philosophical, cultural.” And he raised the question of avoid—competing interpretations of secular and religious what steps should be next for GSE. Prime among the sug- views of science, for instance. gestions offered was an expansion of the conversation. Offering a similarly nuanced account, Margot Badran, a To that end, Penn GSE is planning a two-day confer- senior fellow at Georgetown University, shed some new ence, currently scheduled for February 2008, with the aim light on the opportunities afforded to women by drawing on of bringing together scholars and policymakers to share the example of Al Azhar University, Egypt’s major universi- practical knowledge and solutions. Designed to create a ty, which opened its doors to women in 1961. Al Azhar, bridge between theory and practice, the conference will Badran explained, has been an empowering force for include representatives from education ministries; experts Egyptian women, spreading the ideas of “Islamic feminism” from international organizations such as UNESCO, and providing higher education to generations of women. UNICEF, Working Group on Girls, and the U.S. Painting a more sobering picture, Alisa Tugberk, the Department of State; university researchers and scholars director of cultural programs at Georgetown’s Institute for from the U.S. and the Middle East; and practitioners. Turkish Studies, raised an issue that resonates with With so many key players involved, the event is intend- American educators: that is, equity. Tugberk focused on the ed to inspire dialogue around the issue of gender equity in roadblocks to schooling in Turkey and made particular note education in the Near East and North Africa—and, partic- of the class inequities, as revealed by the gaps between pri- ularly for the American educational community, to foster a vate and public schools and between urban and rural ones. deeper understanding of the issues that face these coun- Heather Sharkey, an assistant professor of Near Eastern tries. Drawing on the data from the United Nations’ Languages and Civilizations here at Penn and a scholar of Millennium Project to eradicate extreme poverty and on Islamic history, thought and culture, described a similar reports from the field, the conference will take a close look gap between rich and poor in Sudan, especially the rural at the current state of affairs for women and education and poor. In the last century, Sudan made enormous strides in begin envisioning ways that Penn might help. women’s education but, reported Sharkey, “it is unclear Under the leadership of President Amy Gutmann, Penn where these advances are taking place—most likely in has positioned itself as one of the nation’s most engaged Khartoum and towns along the Nile that have benefited universities. The Penn Compact, which articulates her from colonial and post-colonial growth.” vision for the university, embraces the three principles of Miriam Westheimer, the director of the Home increased access, integrated knowledge, and local and global Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), engagement. With its goal of opening up dialogue among added a practitioner’s perspective, suggesting some practical scholars, policymakers, and practitioners on an issue crucial ways forward for redressing educational inequalities. Israel’s to a critical region of the world, the International answer to Head Start, HIPPY is a home-based, early child- Conference on Women and Education in the Near East and hood literacy program serving the immigrant community North Africa perfectly embodies those principles. I (including Arabs, Russians, and Ethiopians). An in-depth ethnographic study of the program suggests that it is helping Shiva Vakili is director of Special and International Projects to empower women: by legitimizing the role of the mother at Penn GSE.
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OVERSET
BestPractices AIGE FRENCH P
The Penn Alexander School is an grand demonstration in creating a quality neighborhood public school in exemplary urban public elementary an urban setting, the Penn Alexander School has been a high-profile enter- school, with students posting high prise from the start. And virtually since opening its doors, PAS has been scores and graduating into some of Aproving that, given the right conditions, public schools can deliver a supe- rior education to all its students even in challenged urban neighborhoods. Philadelphia’s most selective high Like many urban schools, Penn Alexander boasts a diverse student body: 48 per- schools. But can that success be cent African-American, 28 percent Caucasian, 13 percent Asian, 6 percent Hispanic, replicated for other students in 5 percent other. What is more, that diversity extends to the school’s socioeconomic other cities? With some help from a mix, with 49 percent of its students qualifying for free and reduced-priced lunch. quartet of generous Penn alumni, GSE What’s been especially gratifying is that the academic track record of those stu- dents has been stellar. To take just one example, 70 percent of last year’s fifth-grade researchers are in the process of class—the first to include students that had been enrolled at PAS since the first answering that question. grade—performed at or above grade level in reading and 83 percent in math. Nancy Streim, associate dean for Educational Practice and Penn GSE’s point per- By Nancy Brokaw son with the School District of Philadelphia, speaks for her colleagues at PAS and at GSE when she says, “We’re extraordinarily proud that at the end of five years, Penn Alexander has earned a reputation as one of the best neighborhood elementary Middle School Math Teacher Arlene Brown helps schools in Philadelphia.” eighth-grader Zhané Dadson to solve a slope But Penn Alexander was meant to be more than an exemplary public school. equation using a graphing calculator. From the start, Streim explains, “our hope was to create a demonstration site for
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best practices in urban public education that could lever- Lessons Learned age improvements elsewhere.” The new research will be qualitative, but the study is In other words, GSE researchers want to understand designed to account for the copious quantitative data how and why Penn Alexander has achieved its success and already available about PAS. On state assessments, for what lessons from the PAS experience might be applied in example, students are consistently scoring at or above cities around the country. “Up until now,” says Streim, grade level in reading and math, and graduates are “we have been so busy implementing the school’s model, enrolling in some of the area’s most selective high schools. that we haven’t taken the time to document what faculty at (In 2005, 72 percent of the school’s first eighth-grade grad- the school are doing that is working well, and figure out uating class was admitted to one of the city’s selective pub- what’s making the difference. We’ve known for some time lic or private high schools.) that what’s called for is a best practices study that would The school’s success is undeniable and, while everyone enable other urban schools to learn from our experience. involved relishes the continued achievements of Penn And for some time, we’ve been hoping to undertake a Alexander’s students, Streim and her colleagues want study of the success factors at Penn Alexander.” more: they want to understand why the PAS model works and what lessons might be drawn from it—lessons that A Strong Urban Agenda could be applied in urban districts throughout the country. Enter a quartet of Penn alums who care passionately To answer those questions, she has engaged two independ- about public education in urban America. John Gamba ent educational researchers, H. Dickson Corbett and Bruce W’61 and his wife, Mary Anne Gamba HUP’65 G’84, L. Wilson, to conduct an in-depth investigation of success and Lawrence C. Nussdorf W’68 and his wife, Melanie factors at Penn Alexander. Franco Nussdorf CW’71. A comprehensive look at the school’s daily routines, the “We’ve always had a sweet spot for public education,” best practices study will feature interviews and surveys says John Gamba. A graduate of Penn’s nursing school, with teachers, administrators, students, and parents as well Mary Anne Gamba worked as a Head Start nurse early in as classroom observations and a review of school docu- her career and that experience inspired a lifelong concern ments. Corbett and Wilson will focus their data collection about poverty, race, and education. At the same time, John, a Wharton grad who was in senior leadership at Bell Atlantic before retiring, was serving on the public school board of the West Chester, Pennsylvania, Area School “We’ve known for some time that what’s called for is a District. Today, John sits on GSE’s Board of Overseers. best practices study that would enable other urban Larry Nussdorf, president and chief operating officer of schools to learn from our experience.” Clark Enterprises, is the vice chair of Penn GSE’s Board of Overseers and a member of the Advisory Board of Penn’s Urban Research Institute. A former member of Penn’s Board of Trustees, he has been involved with the Penn Alexander School from the very beginning. Melanie on the issues of teaching practices, professional develop- Nussdorf, a lawyer, sits on the Penn School of Nursing’s ment, instructional leadership, school culture and opera- Board of Overseers, a position that reflects her interest in tional arrangements. In the process, they’ll be looking at the delivery of health care services in urban settings. these practices with an eye to understanding whether the Residents of Washington, DC, the Nussdorfs direct factors that contribute to Penn Alexander’s success are much of their philanthropy to urban issues. “I’m a great potentially replicable. believer in cities,” explains Larry, adding, “I have a very The project is on the fast track: site visits took place in strong urban agenda, and Penn Alexander fits squarely the spring and data analysis will begin in the summer. The within that agenda.” final report, due at the end of this summer, will mine the And indeed, the best practices study offered the Gambas data for explanations for Penn Alexander’s success. Based and the Nussdorfs the perfect opportunity to advance their on these findings, Streim and her colleagues will determine commitment to urban education. The project provides an how to best share those elements of the PAS model that opportunity for Penn GSE to document what’s been might be applicable elsewhere. learned from the PAS experience so that urban districts For, as Larry Nussdorf puts it, “There is always the ten- throughout the country can apply those lessons. dency to become Philadelphia-centric. Philadelphia is cer- Says Larry Nussdorf, “Like all great educational insti- tainly important, but it’s important for us to expand tutions, Penn has education and research as its primary beyond Philadelphia. Penn Alexander can serve not only purpose. But, as a businessman, I’d like to add one more as a great public school but as a laboratory, and I’m hoping element to the mix and that is the Franklin approach of that its experience can be shared with others, not only in putting theory into practice.” the region, but in cities throughout the country.” I
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Penn GSE has teamed up with Facing History and Ourselves— an organization that aims to encourage tolerance by teaching students the historical lessons of the Holocaust Learning from History’s Darkest Days
participation and responsible decision-making. The heart of the program lies in professional development. Offered to middle- and high-school teachers, Facing History provides a rigorous program that prepares teachers to help their students develop a sense of civic responsibility and tol- erance by examining the troubled history of racism, preju- dice, and anti-Semitism. Says Penn GSE Vice Dean Doug Lynch, “Thanks to the Fifes’ generous support—particularly on the conceptual front—we’ve been given a great opportu- nity to enter into a relationship with a stellar program that changes teachers’ lives by helping them contextualize history and encourage students to engage in civic society. What’s more, the mission of Facing History and Ourselves aligns perfectly with President Gutmann’s Compact.” Representing Amy Gutmann’s vision for the University, the Penn Compact holds as one of its prime tenets a com- mitment to local and global engagement: “Through our collaborative engagement with communities all over the world, Penn is poised to advance the central values of
RA LEVESQUE democracy: life, liberty, opportunity, and mutual respect.” For Andrew Campbell, the Facing History program has nytime a class can make me cry I know it’s done some- been compelling. As he explains it, the training builds from “Athing impressive,” says Andrew Campbell. the personal out to the societal. “The topic was broached A Teach for America corps member assigned to Simon first by considering our own identities and experiences—so Gratz High School in North Philadelphia, Campbell is it was immediately accessible. Then we slowly related our describing a two-day summer institute he participated in as experience to the greater, international issues, specifically part of the Penn GSE/TFA master’s program last summer. the Holocaust. The magnitude of the topic and seeing its The institute was created by Facing History and relationship to my own experience was extremely powerful.” Ourselves, a non-profit organization that prepares stu- Facing History uses the Holocaust as a starting point for dents for humane and engaged citizenship through the its training. Mark Fife W’78, who sits on the organization’s study of some of history’s darkest days. Thanks to two board of trustees, explains, “One of the reasons that the generous Penn alumni—Mark and Lori Fife—Penn GSE Holocaust makes such a good backdrop is that it took many, is now partnering with Facing History to bring the pro- many years to develop. So there were so many situations gram to teachers in the Philadelphia area. where people had to make choices before you could go to the Believing that young people are “moral philosophers,” next step: first one law came into effect and then another. Facing History connects history—particularly that of the The ghettoes and the Star, the Jews being thrown out of the Holocaust and other genocidal conflicts—to students’ universities, Kristallnacht. People had to acquiesce.... There experiences and the choices they face in their own lives. In are so many things that students can study and see how their the process, students come to appreciate the need for civic choices really do make a difference.”
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Both of Lori’s parents are survivors: her father, born in ships with educational organizations around the world. Poland, was in “many, many” concentration camps, With its Penn GSE partnership, it is expanding its reach while her mother spent the war in hiding, outside into the tri-state area. Budapest. For Lori, Facing History’s focus seems cen- In addition to the two-day institute with GSE’s second- tered on that particular history: “One of the organiza- year Teach For America corps members, Penn GSE has tion’s goals,” she says, “is to make people who don’t partnered with Facing History in an intensive weekend sem- understand anything about the Holocaust aware of the inar for the School’s teacher education students in October fact that it actually happened.” 2006. For both the TFA corps members and the teacher ed But the history isn’t limited to the Holocaust. As Mark students, Facing History’s online campus provides ongoing Fife points out, “Unfortunately we have a lot of things to guidance in the form of extra lesson plans, opportunities to choose from. Just think about the last ten years. You have interact with fellow teachers, and monthly online forums. Rwanda, you have Yugoslavia, you have Sudan.” Plans don’t end there, however: a two-day course for the Indeed Andrew Campbell recounts that the single most School’s teacher ed students is planned for Fall 2007. affecting moment for him was watching a video of South (These courses qualify as part of the master’s degree and Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, estab- state certification requirements.) And, to help Facing lished in 1995 to investigate human rights violations History staff imagine new approaches to online learning, during the period of Apartheid. “Seeing the powerful Penn GSE Associate Professor Kathy Schultz will be shar- moments of confrontation and forgiveness between victims ing her research on using multimedia websites to represent and perpetrators brought many of us to tears,” he says. teaching for new and experienced teachers. “This work is urgent,” explains Facing History and As for Andrew Campbell, he is looking forward to draw- Ourselves Executive Director Margot Stern Strom, “and ing on what he learned in the institute, especially when his the strategic significance of the Fifes’ gift is that it values freshmen start discussing the Holocaust. “The techniques, two institutions and leverages their partnership to produce the videos, and the other materials are sure to be success- a greater impact.” ful,” he says, “because they are so engrossing.” I Headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts, Facing History has eight regional offices in the U.S. and partner-
Mark and Lori Fife
ori and I have always been interested in education and young people—and obviously we “Lhave an affinity for Penn since we both went there and we met there and our daughter goes there,” says Mark Fife W’78. Those twin commitments to young people and to Penn are the common threads that run through the couple’s philanthropy. At Penn, Lori Rutman Fife C’80, a partner in the New York law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, serves on The Board of Overseers of the School of Arts and Sciences and on the Trustee’s Council of Penn Women. Lori also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, the largest social services organization in New York. “Its great strength is in its men- tal health programs,” she explains, “but it spans the whole spectrum—from severe illness to learning disabilities to alcoholism. It’s a terrific organization, really well run, that provides services to people in the city who can’t afford regular hospitals.” It was Mark’s initiative that introduced Penn GSE to Facing History and Ourselves. A manag- ing partner and co-founder of EnTrust Capital, Mark sits on that the Facing History board of trustees. Again, what excites the couple about this project is its potential impact on young peo- ple. Says Mark, “The thing about Facing History is that it’s such a leveragable organization: teaching teachers who go back into the classroom and affect so many lives. And now that we have Penn on board, the leverage is just multiplied.” As if that weren’t enough, the couple has endowed four scholarship funds, currently sup- porting four students at Penn. The Fifes take the time to build relationships with their schol- The Fifes with their daughter, Elizabeth C’09. ars. As Mark explains, “We love following their progress and where their careers are after they leave Penn. Our first scholarship kid just got into Harvard Business School!”
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Introducing Andy Porter, continued from page 13
they’re quite robust. They’re not huge but they’re there ing of the quality of student must have been ridiculous and they’ve gone on for a while. between these courses, but the truth of the matter was that And the quality of the courses—at least by title—that the top kid in the basic math course would be at about the high school students are taking these days has dramatically 80th percentile in the college prep course. There was very improved. That’s the state-level response to A Nation at loose coupling in terms of who went into which course. Risk; they upped the high school graduation requirements. Here’s the big thing: if you get a good measure of what People hypothesized that it would affect the graduation rate, teachers actually teach—and I’ve got a way of quantita- but the graduation rate went up slightly when those policies tively measuring the degree of alignment between what were implemented. Then people said, well, they’ll take they teach and what’s on the test—and you enter that as a remedial courses, but that didn’t prove to be true either. mediating variable in your analysis, then what you’ll find Then the third hypothesis—we certainly are a bunch of is this: college prep, biggest gains in student achievement; nay-sayers, aren’t we?—is that they’ll dumb down the cur- transition math, next; remedial math, least. Stick in the riculum. I did a study where I went into high schools intervening variable of the alignment of what was taught to where states had increased the requirements and I looked the test, all the effects are gone. In short, the differences in at courses in math and science where the enrollment had achievement between these three types of courses was increased the most dramatically. I studied the nature of the entirely explained by the content covered in the courses. If curriculum to see if it had been dumbed-down and found, achievement is the goal, put students in the more content- rich courses. Remember when I said that what is taught is important? I’ve been in ed schools all my life. But this will be the best News: university I’ve ever been in. I think the ed school, more Let’s turn to Penn and your transition to the dean- ship here. You’re obviously an experienced, senior scholar than perhaps any other part of a university, profits from with a perfectly good job….Why Penn? the quality of its university. Porter: What could be more exciting? It’s a great univer- sity. Susan Fuhrman did a wonderful job with the School. It’s well positioned to get even better. It’s not a humon- gously large place—which I like. It’s in Philadelphia, with almost no exception, it hadn’t. It was a counter-intu- which is just a terrific city. I chaired a technical panel for itive finding, and it led to a lot of states requiring college the school board back when Hornbeck was superintend- algebra of all students. Louisiana was the first. I don’t ent. It’s a great town, and I’m very excited to be coming know whether those findings still stand today. To work, back in a permanent way. this reform asked teachers not to change what they’d been doing, not to dumb down the curriculum, and I don’t News: Why GSE? know whether, over time, they’ve been worn down or had Porter: I’ve been in three places, as you know. I’ve been in to accommodate influxes of weaker students. ed schools all my life. But this will be the best university I do know this: I did another study in which we com- I’ve ever been in. I think the ed school, more than perhaps pared students who took basic math to students who took any other part of a university, profits from the quality of its college prep math to students who took transition math. I university. My whole job at Vanderbilt and Wisconsin has took the public release items from the National been to promote interdisciplinary work. I intend to take the Assessment of Education Progress and made Andy wonderful connections that have already been built, Porter’s NCTM-like homemade test, and we went to strengthen them, develop new connections, and really schools in San Francisco, San Diego, Buffalo, and engage this university in education. The top leadership is Rochester. We gave the test in fall, winter, and spring ready for that. President Gutmann and Provost Daniels are because we were looking at fairly mobile student bodies. behind it. Almost everybody, if given a chance, will help What we found—it was clear as a bell—was that the out in education because people care so deeply about it. I biggest gains in student achievement were for the kids enrolled in college prep, even controlling for prior achieve- ment. The lowest gains were in the basic math and transi- tional math was in the middle. You say, well, the confound-
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One Leg in the Future, continued from page 17
as well. “A main aim of civic education for peace is to argument. Sharing the podium with Ben-Porath were enable the formation of a positive vision of the future,” Amy Gutmann, a longtime supporter; Rogers Smith, a writes Ben-Porath. professor of political science at Penn and author of the But it is multicultural education that provides the clear- Pulitizer Prize-nominated Civic Ideals; and political est template for expansive education. They share essential- philosopher Michael Walzer, author of Just and Unjust ly the same mission and differ, says Ben-Porath, only in Wars and fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies. context. Multicultural education is dedicated to “respond- Gutmann, while enthusiastic about Ben-Porath’s analysis ing to social conflicts, tensions, and differences while creat- of “belligerent citizenship” and her antidote of “expansive ing democratic citizens,” while expansive education education,” criticized Ben-Porath for wavering on the responds to the tensions and differences of armed conflicts. moral threat that the compromises of “belligerent citizen- Multicultural education has already taught citizens to ship” entail. “I wish,” said Gutmann, “that Sigal distin-
Argument, questioning, conversation, and learning to acknowledge the opinions of those who disagree with one’s own is a key part of living in an engaged democracy. reverse their perspective; where traditional patriotic guished between merely perceived and real states of response in times of conflict sees “unwelcome diversity,” defensive war. And therefore between necessary and multiculturalism sees instead “oppressive unity.” Ben- unnecessary belligerence.” Gutmann also insisted a Porath quotes Susan Muller Okin’s “compelling formula- moral distinction be made between “protracted warfare tion” of multicultural education as “the radical idea that that is aggressive rather than defensive.” people in other cultures, foreign and domestic, are human While Smith shared much of Ben-Porath’s perspective, beings too,” and finds in multicultural thought especially Walzer criticized Ben-Porath for downplaying the urgent valuable examples of how to acknowledge past wrongs and need to keep citizens secure in times of conflict. Relating incorporate forgiveness into the political process. this discussion a month later, Ben-Porath eyes spark as she While there are few active examples of the kind of polit- smiles, “One respondent said I gave far too much room to ically engaged, expansive education she espouses in democratic considerations and not enough to security, and Citzenship Under Fire, Ben-Porath does point to one the other respondent said just the opposite.” example of educators working to prevent the replication of Ben-Porath does not shy away from controversy. war. In Israel and Palestine under the auspices of PRIME Argument, questioning, conversation, and learning to (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East), teachers acknowledge the opinions of those who disagree with one’s from both sides of the conflict are “developing dual narra- own is a key part of living in an engaged democracy. She tives of their common history.” The goal is not for students hopes her book will generate discussion, questions, and to agree on a common narrative, nor is it to dismiss or even even disagreement. Her hope is that Citizenship Under Fire alter their own primary reading of history. “We don’t have reaches an audience beyond her fellow scholars and will be to share our reading of the 1948 war. There’s no chance of read by teachers, policymakers, and school board mem- that,” says Ben-Porath pragmatically. “Each studies their bers. “Even if they disagree with me,” she says, “it would own version, infused with how the other side understands help them re-think how conflict or war affects our demo- it.” Expanding one’s understanding to include an alterna- cratic processes.” tive view, without ignoring it or denigrating it, broadens Despite all she has witnessed in Israel and the United and enriches one’s understanding of history. States, she remains an optimist. “Political education is our Ben-Porath’s attempt to “grapple with the unique chal- single most important hope for attaining this worthy goal,” lenges of citizenship in wartime” has earned accolades Ben-Porath addressed the bookstore audience. “And our from colleagues in the field of education and social philos- schools, as underfunded, over-stretched, and undervalued ophy. But, as demonstrated by a panel convened at the as they are, are our best bet.” I annual conference of the American Political Science Association to discuss the issues presented in Citizenship Citizenship Under Fire: Democratic Education in Times Under Fire, not everyone agrees wholeheartedly with her of Conflict is published by Princeton University Press, 2006
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ALUMNI NOTES
1940s to Papua New Guinea with their children in the the increasing necessity to unite multiple disci- spring to assist native peoples there for four plines to best serve the needs and issues of the Arnold Rabin Ed’48 GEd’49 wrote The Sexu- months. The twin’s grandmother, Evelyn A. adopted child. The goals of our program are to al Guide to Written Intercourse, Fulfilling Humber, was secretary to Weightman Hall provide pre-adoption guidance and post-adop- Grammar, and Seductive Usage, published by coaches in the 1950s and 1960s. She departed tion services that will support both parents and Consortium Publishing last year. His radio this life in November 2005 at the age of 98.” children through all stages of development. Our play “Epilogue” was recorded by station multi-disciplinary team consists of myself, a KUNM at the University of New Mexico Emile Rocheleau GEd’61, now living in Jaf- developmental psychologist; we have two physi- and has been released for distribution in this frey, New Hampshire, writes, “We would love cal therapists, including Arlene Tota Verno country and abroad. to hear from some of the members of the class of SAMP’77.” 1961, who were at Penn as ‘guests’ of the 1950s National Science Foundation.” You can contact Valerie Thompson Broadie CW’74 GEd’74 him at [email protected]. writes, “I am a 1974 graduate of GSE and the Carl J. Giuranna Ed’50 has been a baseball College for Women—I participated in the coach on the high school (26 years) and colle- 1970s BA/MS program. Just wanted to provide a little giate level (26 years). When he returns to Fla- update.... After a fundraising career that includ- gler College for the 2007 season, it will mark his Michael Bentley GEd’72 has retired as associ- ed seven years at Penn and over 15 additional 53rd consecutive season as a baseball coach. ate professor of science education at the Univer- years at other colleges, universities, and non- sity of Tennessee, Knoxville. He will make his profits, I started my own development consult- Shirley Magitson Grallnick Ed’53 writes, home in Salem, Virginia. His latest book is ing firm in 2005. My clients include a variety of “After receiving my reading specialty degree from Teaching Constructivist Science K-8: Nurturing organizations in the Washington metropolitan Penn, I became a reading specialist for the Natural Investigators in the Standards-Based area, primarily. My family and I live in Silver Philadelphia School District Title I Program. Since Classroom (2007, Corwin Press). He also has a Spring, Maryland.” retirement, winters have been spent in Florida, chapter on community-connected learning in where I have volunteered for the past 12 years for The Manual of Museum Education (AltaMira John F. (Jeff) Claus GEd’74, associate profes- the South Palm Beach Elementary Schools, help- Press, 2007). sor of education at Ithaca College, has just been ing groups of children improve their reading and awarded a $70,000 Rockefeller Foundation writing skills. As an artist, I have had several one- Myrna Skobel Agris EdO JD, CW’63 grant to create a recording studio program for man shows, been juried into Art Leagues, and GEd’73 GrEd’79 is currently a financial advi- youth at the Southside Community Center, a won several awards. I also keep active in sports, sor with Smith Barney, Division of Citigroup, in historically African-American community cen- write poetry, and make dolls: busy in retirement.” Houston, Texas. Before joining Smith Barney ter in Ithaca, New York, where he’s on the several years ago, she practiced law in the area of board. 1960s estate planning. Barbara J. Lorry GEd’75 writes, “In 2003, Paul G. Humber C’64 GEd’65
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Alumni Profile works for Cora Services as a full-time counselor at Archbishop Ryan High School, outside Dr. Robert M. Aiken / Ed’64, GEd’66 Philadelphia; previously she taught Latin at Springside School, and served as director of Orphaned at the age of seven, Dr. Robert M. Aiken was sent to Girard College in 1929. admission and development at the Meadow- It was at Girard that he discovered he wanted to become a teacher. While he was brook School. She and her husband, Joseph working as an apprentice, his supervisor suggested that he should teach woodwork- Yohlin C’76, are the parents of Elizabeth Yohlin ing. And so his story begins. C’08 and Hilary, who graduated in 2004 with Dr. Aiken graduated in January 1940; married his lovely wife, Bertha Smith, of dual degrees from Columbia University and the Germantown, in 1942; and then enlisted in the Navy. In January 1947, he entered Jewish Theological Seminary. Penn GSE as a first-time freshman, beginning his incredible story of sheer persever- ance. Aiken spent the next 17 years completing his bachelor’s degree from the 1980s School of Education on a part-time basis while supporting a growing family and working full time as a vocational arts teacher. Marsha Kline Pruett C’82 GEd’ 82 He spent his last year an “accelerated” schedule in order to was recently appointed the Maconda graduate before his son, Robert M. Aiken, Jr. W’65. The father Brown O’Connor Professor of Social jokes that when the two had a class together, “I would try to Work at Smith College. Previously get the better grades.” He then went on to complete a master’s she served on the faculty of the Yale from GSE in 1966 and later an EdD from Temple University. University School of Medicine, with a Aiken’s entire life has been about the pursuit of excellence in joint appointment at the Yale Child teaching. He served as the principal of an Ocean City, New Jer- Study Center. She specializes in inter- sey, school from 1966 to 1972. This experience prepared him ventions for families dealing with for the post of superintendent of the brand-new Kittatinny divorce and child custody. Regional School District in northern New Jersey. Starting in 1972, he created the district from the “ground up” and, during Barbara D. Acosta GEd’84 received her PhD his six-year tenure, he transformed it to receive the State Medallion for excellence. in Multilingual/ Multicultural Education from He and his wife were “wooed back” to the Philadelphia area by the opportunity to George Mason University in 2005. She has become the superintendent of New Hope-Solesbury School. He retired, for the first won the 2007 AERA outstanding dissertation time, in 1983 but, in 1988, was lured out of retirement to serve as acting superin- award from the Bilingual Education SIG. Her tendent for six months for the Deer Lakes School District near Pittsburgh. research examines the influence of early literacy The Aikens are very active in the Penn community and have “an ongoing connection instructional practices on the long-term to Penn and remain well-informed on current Penn events.” For decades, he has vol- achievement of English language learners in unteered to both GSE and the University as a telephone solicitor for phon-a-thons and two-way bilingual immersion programs. She other activities. What’s more, he adds, “we never miss a home Penn basketball game!” was recently appointed Senior Research Scien- In 2005, Aiken received the first Ethel Carruth Sustained Leadership in Education tist/ELL Specialist at the George Washington Award from GSE. The recipient is a Philadelphia-area educator who serves as an University Center for Equity and Excellence in inspiration to others, and through his/her leadership provides opportunities for oth- Education. She also continues to teach adjunct ers pursuing careers in the profession. courses at George Mason University in Multi- Aiken represents what it means to be a Penn GSE alumnus: he is a living example of cultural Education, working with pre-service the significant impact a GSE education can have on one person, and he has a genuine and in-service teachers to examine issues of commitment to teaching and a belief in the importance of sustaining Penn for the bene- race, social class, gender, culture, and language fit of future generations—both he and his wife have named Penn as beneficiary of their within a multicultural social justice framework. estate. If Aiken could give words of wisdom to teachers and students he would tell them She and husband Francisco continue in their “maintain perseverance, always believe in one’s self and help anyone that needs it.” lifelong pursuit of social justice as trustees of Aiken jokes that “he probably has outlived many GSE faculty members, but he is the Monsignor Oscar Romero University in El tremendously proud to be a part of GSE’s past as well as its future. He will continue Salvador. Daughter Margarita (20) is in her to support the school which always will play a large part in his life.” second year at Bryn Mawr, where she is build- ing on her own multilingualism to pursue a —Janice Rafferty degree in Linguistics and Spanish. Gabriela
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(17) is a junior in high school and will be per- Paula Benner GEd’88 tenham High School, where I have been since forming this spring in a production of City at
Executive Doctorate
Alumni Weekend, Exec-Doc Style
n January, Penn GSE hosted an alumni weekend for four Icohorts’ worth of Executive Doctorate in Higher Education Man- agement graduates.
More than 30 alumni were joined by faculty, current students, JULIA GORDON and other members of the Exec Doc community. This year’s Members of Cohort 5 at this year’s Exec Doc alumni reception: left to right, Raj Bellani, Dean of the Sophomore Experience, Colgate University; theme, The Future of Higher Education, gave participants the Bill Kiehl, Executive Director, Public Diplomacy Council; Jim Garvey, perfect opportunity to mull over the implications of the recently Associate Dean for Development, University of Pennsylvania; and Michele released Spellings Commission Report on the Future of Higher Perkins, Interim President, New England College. Education. The diverse group of guest speakers addressed issues central to the report, namely, accessibility, affordability, and offerings, and faculty research expectations as major drivers of accountability. cost. She then suggested some innovative strategies for address- Lucie Lapovsky, former president of Mercy College and educa- ing this problem—introducing year-round classes and assessing tional consultant on the AGB Cost Project, looked at the issue of where technology can lead to savings. access and the barriers created by price. Making sure to differen- Next on the docket was Doug Lederman, senior editor of Inside tiate between price (what students pay) and cost (what schools Higher Education. In his discussion of the role of the media, Led- spend), she looked at program growth, breadth-of-degree erman offered up his thoughts about why stories on the Spellings
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We want to hear from you! Please send your news to: Editor, Penn GSE News, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, 3700 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216. Or you may send them via e-mail to [email protected]. Please include your degree and year of graduation. The deadline for Alumni Notes submissions for the fall 2007 issue of the Penn GSE Magazine is August 30, 2007.
and do research in Portugal this spring. I will be Kelly Larsen Baughman C’98 GEd’99 and cipal and headmaster positions. She is also teaching graduate and undergraduate education Michael Baughman L’96 are thrilled to excited to announce the publication of her sec- students about learning disabilities and doing announce the birth of their daughter, Charlotte ond novel, entitled No More Lies, which research on cross-cultural models of Campbell, on May 24, 2006. Mike is a partner became available through nationwide book- inclusion of children with special needs.” at Dechert LLP in Philadelphia, and Kelly is sellers in January. More information can be currently staying home with Charlotte. They found on
Arielle McGovern GEd’01 writes, “I got mar- ried on November 11, 2006, to Shaun McGov- ern (Drexel ‘01) in New Haven, Connecticut. Commission resonated with such a wide audience. He also posed the interesting ques- We will be living in New Haven. I also earned tion of whether change for higher education is most effectively done at the national or my sixth-year degree from Fairfield University local level. in special education. I’m still teaching ESL in Shifting the discussion to professional development, Katherine Jacobs, senior execu- Trumbull, Connecticut, and I love it!” tive at Isaacson, Miller, led a presentation on what to expect when working with an exec- utive search firm. “Keep in touch, but be patient too,” she advised her audience, also Derya Erice GEd’03 reports from Ankara, reminding them not to get discouraged. Perhaps the most interesting insight she had to Turkey, that she is currently on the education offer came in response to an audience question about how the EdD looks on a resume. faculty of Abant Izzet Baysal University, in the According to Jacobs, the degree is looked on favorably: “It means you’re out there,” she department of English Language Teaching. said, “you have a clear career path, and you’re intentional about your education.” She works as an ELT instructor teaching Last up was Michael Goldstein, JD of Dow Lohnes, PLLC, and former associate vice courses and is pursuing her PhD at Gazi Uni- chancellor for Urban and Governmental Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. versity’s ELT department. Her dissertation Focusing his remarks on the international scene, Goldstein argued that few Americans addresses the in-service training of English know about the system of higher education abroad. And, he cautioned, with competitive teachers in Turkey, with a special focus on their institutions are on the rise internationally, leaders in this country need to develop a strat- professional needs and providing a training egy based on whether they see their foreign competition as a threat or an opportunity. framework. In 2006, Derya presented at a By all accounts, this year’s event was the most successful ever. Those who missed it number of conferences, including a “Tips and should mark their calendars for next year’s: January 17-19, 2008. Tricks for Teaching English to Young Learn- ers” workshop at the International Postgradu-
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 29
ate Conference in Linguistics and Language ness West, The Springfield Reminder, and The sions a “scaffolded instructional model,” linking Teaching, held in Adana, Turkey; a paper Republican. Since becoming president of Ameri- programs of what will become two institutions titled “Implications of Content and Language can International College in Springfield, Massa- at Franklin Towne Charter School. If approved Integrated Learning (CLIL) at School in chusetts, in July 2005, Vince has been credited by the city’s School Reform Commission, the Europe” at the International INGED ELT with turning the school’s extreme deficit into new Franklin Towne Charter Grade School Conference, in Konya, Turkey; and a paper on a surplus. would be separate from, but work in coordina- “Aggression Levels of English Language tion with, the high school. The grade school Teaching Department Students” at the Inter- Gary Raisl GrEd’03 recently became vice would operate alongside the high school in the national Violence in Schools Symposium, in president for Finance & Administration at the Frankford Arsenal business complex. Istanbul. She also participated in the European University for Systems Biology in Seattle, Standards in Language Assessment Confer- Washington. Gary was formerly the vice presi- Brett Sherman GrEd’05 recently became the ence, held in Budapest. dent for Finance & Administration at the Uni- director of Academic Support Services at Empire versity of the Sciences in Philadelphia. State College in New York, New York. Brett was Meghan Leary Essman C’99 GEd’03 mar- formerly the director of Adult and Continuing ried Matt Essman GEd’03 on July 15 at the Sarah Jordan C’03 GEd’04 writes, “I am Education at Pace University in Brooklyn. Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. thrilled to announce my engagement to Jonathan Included in the bridal party were Adia Wiley Rosenson on June 11. We are planning a wed- Devon Skerritt GEd’05 (from the higher ed Molloy EAS’99, Gwynee Givot Johnson ding next September in Pittsburgh. Janet Kang management cohort) writes, “I just accepted a job C’99, and Lindi Sabloff C’00, and Bob C’03 will be my maid of honor. I am currently as assistant director of Admissions at the Harvard Harscheid GEd’03 was a reader. Guests working as a proofreader and editor in the University Graduate School of Education starting included Ana Mendes Mann C’99 and Ted Department of University Marketing Commu- February 20. I’m moving to Groton, Massachu- Mann C’99, Koey Pirouz C’99, Gabe nications at the University of Pittsburgh. Jon setts, with my fiancee as we plan our June wed- Aherne C’99, Craig McGettigan CGS’98, and I were recently in Philadelphia (his first visit ding. My email is [email protected].” Parisa Mousavi C’99, Matthew Molloy to Penn!) while I was auditioning for Jeopardy!” EAS’99, Paul Staudt EAS’99. Brian Walter Dan Martin GrEd’06 accepted the position of GEd’03, Monica McCasland Scheinler Jennie Salwen C’01 GEd’04 married Brian president of Mount Vernon Nazarene University GEd’02, Laura Borden C’97, and Neha Rosenzweig C’01 on July 16, 2006, at Temple in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Dan, who previously Champaneria W’99 WG’06, and Justin B’nai Sholom in Rockville Centre, New York. served as the vice president for University Markle WG’06. Meghan and Matt live in Jon De Virgilio GEd’04 was among the guests. Advancement at Point Loma Nazarene Univer- Philadelphia, where she heads the fan-develop- Jennie and Brian honeymooned in Hawaii and sity in San Diego, California, began presidential ment and educational-programs department for now live in Manhattan. She teaches fifth grade duties at MVNU in February. the Phillies and he works as an associated direc- on Long Island, and he is an associate at Dewey tor of admissions at Haverford College. Ballantine LLP in New York. They can be Jim Pellow GrEd’06 began teaching Discovery reached at
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for Business Affairs and Chief Financial Offi- During World War II, he served as a member Harry began his career with the district as a cer at Colorado Christian University in Lake- of the U.S. Army’s 154th Medical Unit. Sta- teacher in 1933. After being named principal of wood, Colorado. tioned in both the U.S. and Europe, he was a Elverson Elementary School, he became the first lieutenant in charge of a prisoner-of-war first principal of the newly opened Wanamaker Bill Kiehl GrEd’07 is the editor of America’s camp in Tullahoma, Tennessee, which housed Junior High School in 1959. He later served as Dialogue with the World, published by the Pub- more than 10,000 German prisoners. He principal of Olney High School. In the 1960s, lic Diplomacy Council. The book, released in received the European-African-Mid Eastern he became human relations coordinator for the November, is a collection of a dozen essays by Service Medal and the American Service Medal. district. In 1970, he retired as superintendent of scholars and practitioners of public diplomacy. Ken was curator of the Indian Steps Museum schools for District 2. Bill is the executive director of the Public for 31 years. He served as a national director Active in the Boys Scouts for 81 years, Harry Diplomacy Council in Washington, DC. of the Izaak Walton League, a conservation received the Silver Beaver Award in the 1980s. organization. In Island Heights, he served on the boards of Mary Mazzola GrEd’07 will be co-presenting education and the library. a session on Leadership Development programs 1940s in Higher Education at a seminar sponsored by Lillian Zimmerman Bangs Ed’42 GEd’43, Robert S. Marshall Ed’49 GEd’54, June 16, the Council on Social Work Education. Mary is March 29, 2006, Southampton, Pennsylvania. 2006, Toms River, New Jersey. the Director of Admissions and Recruitment at A physical education teacher until her retire- At Penn, Robert performed radio shows for the Penn School of Social Policy and Practice. ment in 1991, Lillian was a high school teacher WXPN and later worked with the writer Pearl in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and later a sub- Buck and Oscar Hammerstein’s son-in-law in stitute teacher in the Centennial School District. theater productions at the Bucks County Play- OBITUARIES During the 1960s, she became a full-time physi- house. 1930s cal education teacher in the district. Along with a He served as the head of the English depart- J. Henry Hitz GEd’39, March 15, 2007, Lan- physical therapist, she developed an adapted ment at Central Regional High School, where he caster, Pennsylvania. phys-ed program to identify and work with stu- also coached and officiated for track and field Born near Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, on dents with posture and coordination problems. events. He was an adjunct professor of English at August 10, 1905, Henry was a 1923 graduate of Lillian was an adventuresome traveler who, Ocean County College and taught at Trenton Hershey High School and graduated from Penn at age 80, went hang-gliding off a mountain top State College and State Police Academy, Sea Girt, State University School of Architecture in 1928. in New Zealand. New Jersey. He received his master’s degree in education For 40 summers he was a staff supervisor at from the University of Pennsylvania in 1939. Dr. Raymond A. Biswanger Jr. C’44 GEd’48 Island Beach State Park, where he was known as For the past five years, he has been GSE’s oldest G’50 Gr’51, February 4, 2006, Slippery Rock, “Mr. Island Beach” for his extensive knowledge living alumnus. Pennsylvania. of park history. He continued volunteering at Henry began his 35-year teaching career as a A teacher of English literature for more than the nature center there for many years after his math teacher at Yeadon High School and later 30 years, Raymond taught at Cortland State retirement. During World War II, he served in taught for 27 years in the vocational technical Teachers College in New York from 1951 to the 7th U.S. Air Force. department of Lansdale High School. He 1954 and at the University of Georgia from retired in 1970. 1954 to 1961. At that time, he began teaching at 1950s He was married for 23 years to the late Min- Slippery Rock University, where he stayed until William H. Boucher GEd’50, July 8, 2006, nie Funk Baldwin Hitz, who died in 2005. His his retirement in 1984. Mendenhall, Pennsylvania. first wife, Philomena Alfonso, died in 1980. During World War II, he served in the U.S. William worked as a mathematics teacher at Navy on LSM-9, which participated in the Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Dr. Kenneth A. Shultz GEd’36, February 14, beach assault at Okinawa and was damaged Delaware, for 35 years. One of his Mount Pleas- 2006, York, Pennsylvania. when it became stuck on a reef. He later served ant students, James Griffin, later established an A teacher and the director of business educa- as captain of LSM-538. academic chair in his honor at Indiana Universi- tion at William Penn High School for 40 years, ty in Bloomington. Ken retired in 1974. In 1966, he was selected as Harry M. Roth GEd’47, April 2006, Island While teaching, William began various busi- Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Business Educator Heights, New Jersey. nesses, including two land-development com- of the Year. From 1930 to 1943, he was a teacher A teacher, principal, and administrator with panies. One partnership, B&B Company, in the Camden, New Jersey, school system. the School District of Philadelphia for 36 years, established in 1968, developed many residen-
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 31
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
tial subdivisions throughout southeastern city, where he taught general equivalency Pennsylvania and New Castle County, diploma requirements. Delaware. After retiring from teaching in 1983, A skilled carpenter and plumber, he built a September 20, 2007 he continued to be active with B&B and also house for his mother and remodeled his own Reed Stevens ran a firewood business. home. He was also a dedicated fisherman and, Associate Professor in Educational William served on numerous boards, includ- according to family lore, caught a record-breaking Psychology, University of Washington ing the Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, catfish in a local creek when he was 12 years old. Based on his comparative research and the Delaware Mutual Insurance Co. He was He is survived by his daughter, Hon. Carol S. of cognitive activity in classrooms, a devoted trustee of West Chester University Wells L’85. workplaces, and science museums, and, in 1995, received an honorary doctorate Dr. Stevens is exploring new ways to there and was elected to the Sturzebecker Hall Faculty conceptualize cognition and experi- George Keller menting with new ways to organize of Fame in 1999. The campus science center , February 28, 2007, Baltimore. learning environments. there is named after him and his wife. Chairman of Penn GSE’s higher education division from 1988 to 1994, George had a varied Robert R. Murphy GEd’50, July 3, 2006, career in education before coming to Penn. He September 20, 2007 Philadelphia. served as a strategic planner for the Barton-Gillet Nessa Wolfson Colloquium Fall 2007 A science and physical-education teacher at Co., as assistant to the chancellor of the Universi- Rebecca Freeman Field George Washington High School, Robert devel- ty of Maryland system and of the State Universi- Founder/Director, Language Education oped special equipment to help students with ty of New York system, as assistant dean of the Division, Caslon Publishing and Consulting minor physical problems. He also coached the college at Columbia University and editor of A specialist in bilingual education, tennis team before retiring in 1980. When not Columbia College Today, and as academic director English as a second language, and teaching during the day, he taught night school for the Great Books Foundation in Chicago. world language education in the Unit- and worked at summer camps. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson pre- ed States and internationally, Rebecca During World War II, he served as a lieu- sented him with the U.S. Steel Foundation Freeman Field has conducted action- oriented research in bilingual schools tenant on the destroyer escort Waterman, which Award for distinguished service to higher edu- and communities since 1986. saw action in the Pacific. He was a founding cation. Newsweek magazine recognized him for member of the Philadelphia chapter of the excellence in education reporting in 1967, and SAVE THE DATE ! Destroyer Escort Sailors Association. the next year, Atlantic Monthly named him edu- cation writer of the year. October 19-21, 2007 1960s After retiring from Penn, George worked as a Homecoming 2007 Joseph Dinkins GEd’63, April 27, 2006, writer and educational consultant to institutions Root for the Penn Quakers take on Springhouse, Pennsylvania. and governments throughout the nation. He the Yale Bulldogs! As a student at Abington High School, was the author of Academic Strategy: The Man- Joseph competed in the Penn Relays and won agement Revolution in Higher Education and medals for the track team. In college, he served Transforming a College, both published by the January 17-19, 2008 as co-captain of the Cheyney University foot- Johns Hopkins University Press, and Prologue Executive Doctorate in Higher Educa- ball team. to Prominence, published by Lutheran Universi- tion Management Alumni Weekend In 1958, he joined the staff of Anna B. Pratt ty Press. His last book, Colleges, Universities, School in North Philadelphia, where he intro- and the New Society, will be published next year duced chess and foreign cultures to his fourth-, by Hopkins Press. fifth-, and sixth-grade students. Born in Union City, New Jersey, the son of Keep in touch... For five years before his retirement in 1998, immigrants from Germany and Latvia, he he taught second-graders and loved telling earned a bachelor’s degree in government and ...at the Penn GSE Alumni & Friends website them stories. Indeed, his love of storytelling political science from Columbia University in http://www.gse.upenn.edu/alumni_friends/ was such that he regularly attended the Nation- 1951 and a master’s degree in political science in al Black Storytellers conventions. He was also 1954, also from Columbia. active with the World Affairs Council of He is survived by his wife, the former Jane Philadelphia and, during the 1970s, with the Eblen; a son, the Rev. Bayard Faithfull; a Opportunities Industrialization Centers in the daughter, Coby Keller; and two grandsons.
32 | Penn GSE | Spring 2007
Breaking News
GSE Alum Leaves a Legacy
ecently Penn GSE got the surprise news that a long- Rago alumna had left the School a multi-million legacy— one of the largest in its history—that would help ensure that a GSE education won’t be out of reach to the next generation of educational leaders. Dr. M. Elaine Duffy Stinner Ed’45 GrEd’51, who died in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in August 2006, made a surprise bequest to endow graduate student scholarships here. She was the widow of another GSE grad, John M. Stinner GEd’49, who passed away in 2001. Dr. Stinner devoted her life to education. First as a science major in the School of Education and later as a graduate student, she dedicated herself Dr. M. Elaine Duffy Stinner, to teaching. Her doctoral dissertation, which focused on curriculum devel- Ed’45, GrEd’51, who died in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on opment, is ample evidence that, like her alma mater, she believed that the August 29, 2006, made a highest purpose of scholarship is the improvement of practice. surprise bequest to endow By all accounts, she was an exemplary student—and a genial young graduate student scholarships woman. Professors praised her “unusual intellectual ability,” “unquestion- at Penn GSE. able scholarship,” and “superior initiative and originality.” They also noticed her affability, describing her as “a woman of charm and poise,” with a “ready smile and sympathetic understanding.” After graduating, Dr. Stinner went on to a career that enabled her to apply her scholarship to the real world. She worked as a science teacher of gifted students at Dobbins Vocational-Technical School in Philadelphia, where she was considered one of the “top teachers,” and later at Chel- tenham Township High School in nearby Wyncote. At Cheltenham, she initi- ated a college-level biology class and provided key support for the Mathe- matics Science Seminar for gifted students. Reflecting the strength of her commitment to education, Dr. Stinner’s surprise bequest is directed to endowing student scholarships at GSE. This generous gift will enable the School to increase its financial aid offerings, thereby helping to ensure that highly qualified students from all back- grounds have the opportunity to attend the School. With this gift, she extends her legacy of service to education by enabling the next generation of idealistic young people to devote their lives to the vital work of teaching in and improving the nation’s schools. Just as Elaine Duffy Stinner did.
In the Fall 2007 issue of Penn GSE News, we’ll be telling our readers more about Dr. Stinner’s extraordinary gift and the need it addresses.
Spring 2007 | Penn GSE | 33
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