VOICES: Venture to Overcome Intolerance and Counter Extremism in Schools
A professional development curriculum aimed to enable educators to promote and instill moral resilience, non- violence and social connectedness among their students.
Curriculum Competencies
Radicalization of thoughts and beliefs typically stems from marginalization, isolation, lack of belonging, and grievances. Following this course, participants will be able to...
Fostering Inclusivity and Tolerance
Lack of inclusivity and belonging in schools may cause negative educational and social outcomes for students. Fostering inclusivity improves educational outcomes as well as both student and teacher well-being.During this course, participants will ...
Increased Understanding of Muslim Beliefs and Values
Increasing knowledge of the values and beliefs of Islam can help to increase religious, ethnic, and racial tolerance towards those who practice not only this faith but all faiths.Educators cannot effectively mitigate bias...
Learning through Storytelling and Experience Sharing
Participants will learn through the experiences of scholars, writers, and educators in the fields of psychology, philosophy of education, and anti-bias scholarship.Following this, participants will...
Moral Resilience
To build moral resilience, as an educator, is to build a culture of courage in inquiry, openness in self-expression, and strength of character in the face of bias, witnessed or experienced.Moral resilience counters feelings of powerlessness ...
Non-Violent Problem-Solving
Violence appears in various forms and can similarly manifest in numerous ways within schools. During this course, participants will ...
Self-Awareness & Positionality
Personal positionality can impact how aware one is of biases that occur in schools and curriculums. Being aware of one’s implicit biases can help create an inclusive and open classroom environment.Through this course, participants will ...
Social Connectedness & Awareness
Social Connectedness can be fostered through community partnerships, mentorship, peer to peer bonds, and amplifying self-confidence. In the course, participants will ...
Our Mission
Voices aims to enable educators to promote and instill values of moral resilience, non-violent problem-solving, and social connectedness among their students in schools by acknowledging and mitigating their own biases. This project seeks to provide an online professional development training opportunity for educators which leverages storytelling and problem-based learning pedagogy to inspire and create agency among participants to combat biases at schools.
