Cultivating Curiosity, Respect, and Joy at the Social Justice Teach-in

Every February GDS hosts Social Justice Teach-In Days at the Middle School and High School, for which students forgo their regular classes in order to lead and participate in workshops and seminars to a theme related to social justice. This year’s was “Cultivating Curiosity and Respect: Unlocking the Power of Civil Discourse in Education,” with a focus on underscoring the importance of engaging in open and thoughtful conversations.             

Both days began with an assembly featuring keynote speaker Allan Carey, Director of Sphere Education Initiatives, who gave a brief presentation and then provided tools for critical thinking and listening to students to encourage fair-minded civil discourse. 

Many social justice-related workshops followed, and each day wrapped up with assemblies: a musical performance at the High School by Heru The Trap Violinist, and poetry by Omekongo Dibinga at the Middle School. 

To practice engaging in open and thoughtful conversations, 6th Graders Ari Arora and Benjamin Kligerman led a workshop entitled More About Climate Change. 

“We spoke about what climate change is, that it is real, and what we can do as a community to stop it,” said Ari, who shared his thanks for his science teacher Vi Deane-Polyak, and his mother, Sheetal Thakkar, a global private equity investor with an environmental organization with whom he credits helping him with ideas for the workshop.

“We talked about electric buses and direct air capture and a lot of other things,” he said, noting that the student participation in the workshop went well, with a lot of brainstorming and sharing of ideas. 

High schoolers also led workshops and seminars at the High School and at the Middle School. 

“Each year it's been encouraged,” said Alexa Gillespie '25 of the participation of high schoolers in the Middle School portion of the teach-in. “But I think this is one of the first years teachers encouraged all of the affinity groups to participate.” Alexa and Molly Kurtzer-Ellenbogen '26 are part of the High School Affinity group Feminisms for those Marginalized by Gender.

Through their involvement with the group, they led a workshop entitled Empathy in Action: Caring for Victims of Domestic Violence.

“The goal was to discuss the issues of domestic violence in the country and the importance of women's shelters, but then it led into a more active component, which is writing letters and assembling care packages that were then going to be delivered to a local shelter,” said Alexa. 

Take a look at this year’s list of other workshops:                                           

• All Schools are not Created Equal
• Birthright Citizenship: What Will Trump's Agenda Mean for Native Americans?
• Borders Redrawn: The Mexican Cession's Legacy on Culture and Identity
• Bridging Brotherhood - How to build healthy and diverse male friendships
• Cartoons, Characters, and Identity: Exploring LGBT Representation
• Closing the Gender Gap in Women's Sports
• Confederate symbols - Why are they controversial?
• Conversations Across the Aisle: Unlocking the Secret to Talking at the Table with Those You Disagree With
• Empowering Change for Women of Color
• Family Matters: Redefining What Makes a Family
• Gender Representation in Animated Films
• Incarcerated: The Impact of Race In our Legal System
• More About Climate Change
• Orientalism Then, Orientalism Now: A Centuries-Old Entanglement
• Where are you from? Who are your people? A Discursive Exploration Place, Community, and Identity 
• Reproductive Rights in the U.S. and Globally after Dobbs 
• Rhymes and Resistance: Utilizing Poetry and Rap for Social Change
• State of the Student; How Drugs and Mental Illness affect Student Graduation
• Student Diversity Leadership Cohort
• Body Image Terminology and its Effect on Society
• Challah Making & Jewish Identity
• Consent and Socially Constructed Masculinity in Today's Society
• Curiosity Versus Invalidation: Trans Representation in the Media 
• Empathy in Action: Caring for Victims of Domestic Violence
• Family Matters: Redefining What Makes a Family
• The Immigrant Stories Around Us 
• The Middle East Beyond Media: An Analysis of How News and Popular Culture Shape Stereotypes
• All Schools are not Created Equal
• Cartoons, Characters, and Identity: Exploring LGBT Representation
• Gender Representation in Animated Films
• Dropping Bias: How different races and socioeconomic classes affect our democracy and presidential elections.
• How to Queer Rep: LGBTQ+ Representation in Media.
• LGBTQ+ People and Their Mental Health in Our World
• Understanding the Impact of Social Media on Teen Mental Well-Being
• Understanding Zionism: Jewish Self-Determination in the Jewish Ancestral Homeland
• Women In Opera and Classical Music

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