Reflection is an important component of professional practice in the field of policing. While reflection goes beyond a mere evaluation of officer behavior in police-citizen interaction based on legitimacy and functionality, deeper levels of reflections, where underlying assumptions are challenged do not automatically take place within the system…

Sci-fi has the power to open dialogue because its alternate world-building enables students to feel far enough from reality to discuss social problems unreservedly. In this essay, I review an assignment I developed using "Black Mirror" and "Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams" that present episodes in which militarized policing,…

This book highlights the work of Rise for Racial Justice, an organization that launched a public racial literacy campaign in 2020 when the nation's interest in exploring the history and present reality of anti-Black police violence was at a high. Protests following the murder of George Floyd focused the public's attention on anti-Black racism,…

Ryerson University theatre professor Natalie Alvarez is currently helming a large, interdisciplinary team in southern Ontario that is testing the power of Forum Theatre to build better, more responsive scenarios for police officer training in de-escalation and mental crisis response. In this interview, Alvarez sits down with issue editor Kim Solga…

What should teachers do on the days after major events, tragedies, and traumas, especially when injustice is involved? This beautifully written book features teacher narratives and youth-authored student spotlights that reveal what classrooms do and can look like in the wake of these critical moments. Dunn incisively argues for the importance of…

The way faith is formed depends upon the zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. Faith formation cannot happen in a vacuum. It is shaped and informed by all that is happening. In our time, the COVID-19 pandemic is happening. In this essay I reflect on faith formation amid the zeitgeist of the Coronavirus, considering ways that the pandemic requires…

This reflective essay highlights the importance of project structure when teaching highly controversial topics. I review research that shows differing approaches to teaching highly controversial subjects and the impact of the approaches on learning outcomes. I then reflect on the outcomes of deploying a non-directive, peacekeeping approach to…

Racism is a systemic issue that works alongside white privilege, a system of unearned benefits, such as obtaining financial breaks and loans, being reflected consistently in classroom curriculum, and being assumed as the "norm." Assumptions about people with light skin include their being honest, responsible, and safe. Thus, white…

The problem of police brutality in Black and Brown communities has become a very frustrating issue. Part of the reason for exasperation lies with the fact that the country is divided when it comes to the notion of responsible policing. This became apparent when the "Black Lives Matter" movement was quickly met by obstinate supporters of…

Regular incidents of police brutality towards African Americans, who continue to experience high poverty and incarceration rates, illustrate that the tragic and divisive effects of racism are still present, even 150 years after slavery in the United States was officially ended. In fact, ongoing struggles for racial justice in the United States and…

In India, sexual violence today is a routine form of violence directed against Dalit women--those from the most subordinated castes of India. Dalit is a socio-political identity affirmed by India's ex-untouchable communities, historically considered "service castes" and exploited based on their birth. While all Dalits are exploited for…

Despite the contemporary public's discourse regarding the embrace of human diversity within the United States, Black males still are perennially brutalized, killed, and negatively stereotyped. Recent events regarding police killings underscore the reality that even though Black males have the same constitutional and civil rights as all other…

In the course of PISA and TIMSS a lot of out-of-school lab days have been established; as non-formal extracurricular learning environments they shall provide an efficient addition to formal learning at school. The "ELKE" project is a non-formal extracurricular learning lab that aims at linking curricular content and competence-centred…

Online course delivery does not provide the same opportunity for role playing or discussion of controversial topics as traditional courses. Using a virtual organization to facilitate applied learning engages the student in group activities that foster discussion, investigation of root causes and critical analysis resulting in development of short…

In this reflective essay, Alan McCullough Jr., Felton Morrell Jr., Bernard Thomas III, Vincente Waugh, and Nicholas Shubert with their teacher, Amy Donofrio, share the youth self-authorship methods that empowered them to transform their labels from "at-risk youth" to "at-hope youth leaders" in Jacksonville, Florida. After…