What boundaries should a school set on student speech, if any, in order to foster social-emotional learning, civil discourse, and friendship among students? How might they hold themselves and their students accountable for upholding school values, even when they are not reflected on the national political landscape?

We invite you to watch the 3rd episode of our video podcast series  “What Would YOU do?”, created in partnership with EdEthics of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

The episode “Walling Out or Welcoming In” explores the challenges posed by divisive political rhetoric for school classrooms and communities. Educators and parents of a School Culture Committee (SCC) at a K-8 school wrestle with a series of events that challenged their ability to maintain inclusive learning environments that are welcoming to all students. The SCC must determine where and how to draw boundaries between free political speech and offensive or harmful speech that qualifies as bullying or harassment. 

Each episode in this series includes a dramatization of an ethical dilemma that could be faced by educators along with a discussion of the case facilitated by Harvard professor Meira Levinson. They are free and a great resource for PD.

Watch it here.