Good Work for Brazilian Educators Featured on CNN

Professors Valéria Arantes and Ulisses Araújo of the University of São Paulo have for the past several years been working on an investigation of “good work” with Brazilian educators, part of The Good Project Brasil (link) initiative. Our team has been excited to observe how ideas from The Good Project have been applied in the Brazilian context.

Recently, this work appeared on CNN Brasil in two video features that highlighted ongoing research and implications for teachers, which we share below for our readers. (Note that the videos are in the original Portuguese.)

The first video spotlight described the investigation that Arantes and Araújo have done of “good teaching,” including the 3 Es of good work (excellence, ethics, and engagement). In interviews with 2,000 Brazilian public school teachers, participants were asked about their values and sense of purpose within education. Questions included:

1. What are your goals and plans for the coming years and a brighter future?

2. Tell us about your life purpose, describing in detail your thoughts, feelings, and actions about them.

83% of teachers in the sample described education as central to their vision of life. 88% commented on excellence, while 56% described a commitment to ethics and responsibility. Arantes, Araújo, and their colleagues conclude that teacher trainings should support educators to develop purpose and foster socioemotional skills.

The second feature includes teachers’ responses to a question regarding their “dream school,” with 97% of respondents desiring change from current educational models. Themes discussed by teachers included more democratic and inclusive institutions; active learning pedagogies; and a focus on citizenship.

We congratulate Valéria, Ulisses, and their team for this recognition of their work and look forward to continuing to follow their progress! 

Announcing Two Workbooks on Better Arguments and Good Work

At a time when divisions between people feel like they are deepening, we believe that encouraging Better Arguments can lead to Good Work.

Check out two new workbooks we created in partnership with the Better Arguments Project, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute, Facing History and Ourselves, and The Allstate Corporation.

The first workbook is intended to spark dialogue in workplaces, while the second is intended for educators and schools. Both workbooks use an original dilemma from The Good Project as a tool for exploring the five principles of better arguments and the three Es of good work.

We hope these resources will assist all people in learning how to have better, more productive arguments. Click the buttons below to access.

This resource and others can also be found at http://betterarguments.org.

Announcing: New Research Paper

We are excited to announce that we have added a new research paper to our collection:

Professions in the Age of Information Technologies and Artificial Intelligences:

The Case of Medicine, Law and Education in China by Xin Xiang

This paper, by Xin Xiang, examines “the possible futures of the professions in China: Will the Chinese professions be able to leapfrog over the professionalism stage and become global leaders in the age of information technologies and artificial intelligences, or will they be crippled by the under-development of professionalism throughout the 20th century?"

To read the paper, visit our publications page or click here.

Announcing: New Animated Dilemma Series

Elena is a high school student in New Jersey who immigrated with her parents to the United States from Mexico at a young age. She is proud of her Hispanic heritage, and she volunteers at a cultural center after school to share her culture with others. However, Elena notes that Hispanic people are treated unfairly in America, something she has witnessed personally with her father, who often has a difficult time staying employed in the construction industry. She is currently required by her school to take part in a senior internship experience, and she is applying for a few different opportunities. Elena is worried she will be discriminated against in her job search like she has seen happen to her father. She wonders if she should “hide” certain aspects of herself, such as her full name and experiences related to her ethnicity, from her resume when she is applying for the internships in order to eliminate the possibility that she will be discriminated against by hiring managers.

What would you do if you were Elena? If you were her friend, what would you advise Elena to do in this situation?

This dilemma and others are part of a new set of animated videos produced by The Good Project.

In the currently four-part series, we spotlight the following dilemmas from our collection, all of which are based on true stories from our research:

• Beyond the Science Club

• Tough Love

•   Money Troubles

• Hiding Your Heritage

Each of the stories concerns a central character who faces a challenging circumstance or difficult decision related to their work or an area of passion. For example, Tough Love is about a driven young gymnast who sometimes feels pressure to attend grueling practice sessions even when she is exhausted. Money Troubles is about a nonprofit leader who must decide whether to return donations to supporters after the promise of a matching grant falls through.

Intended for use with students ages 12 and up, educators can use these videos in a variety of ways in both in-person and virtual classrooms. For example, the videos can serve as:

• The basis of a group discussion or individual reflection, in real-time or on a discussion board, about the predicament or choice each character faces, taking into account the “3 Es of good work” (excellence, ethics, and engagement)

• A chance for students to make personal connections to similar situations that they may have encountered in their own lives, or an example that students can emulate as they make their own storyboards, comic strips, or videos about their own dilemma

• Inspiration for a role-playing game or debate, assigning students to play the parts of different interest groups in each dilemma and engage in perspective taking and conflict resolution

You can view all four of the videos in the slider below, and check back in the future for additional videos to be added to our resources under our Videos page.

Black Lives Matter

At The Good Project, we seek to help people engage in important but difficult conversations, to enhance their self-awareness, and to reflect on our obligations to one another. For two decades, we have encouraged the idea that good work must be ethical, excellent, and engaging.

While we know that our words and tools are not adequate, we cannot be silent in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. We believe, without qualification, that Black lives matter. Systemic racism has been and continues to be a reality in the United States. For us to do good work, we must all engage in the hard work of reflecting on our relationships with systemic racism.

We know this work can be challenging; good work is often challenging. And we want to help.

First, we encourage you to use the tools we have developed to aid in these conversations. As examples, our ethics of roles and neighborly morality may provide a useful framing for thinking about the current situation; the value sort tool can prompt conversations about your own action or inaction during this time; and our ethical dilemmas can help you think through the ways racism shows up in our schools and local communities.

We have also put together a list of resources for talking about racism and resistance, found below.

Finally, we want to share a thought-provoking excerpt from a message released by Dean Bridget Terry Long of the Harvard Graduate School of Education in response to the recent events:

So much of the discussion related to these recent events is tied up in this notion of what America is.  Simply put, America—or any society or community—is what individuals make it.  Yes, this country was founded on the important ideals of liberty, but we know those rights were narrowly defined by our founders to include only a subset of human beings.  And though we have taken steps forward through laws and policies, it’s crucial to question whether we, as a country, have really interrogated what equality and respect for all means in practice. 

Resources (links in titles):

7 Virtual Mental Health Resources Supporting Black People Right Now

31 Children's books to support conversations on race, racism and resistance

Black Youth Project

A Parent’s Guide to Discussing Racism

What White Parents Must Teach Our Kids About George Floyd, Christian Cooper & Ongoing Racism In America

Do the work: an anti-racist reading list

How to Be an Antiracist Educator

Teaching for Black Lives

Reflecting on George Floyd’s Death and Police Violence Towards Black Americans

Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action in Your Life