“Grounding a Community College Education in Social Justice and Civic Engagement,” an article written by Guttman’s Dr. Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, Area Coordinator, Writing Program; Dr. Daniel Collins, Program Coordinator, First-Year Experience; and Dr. Allyson Bregman, Director, First-Year Experience and Curriculum, was featured in the Fall 2021 edition of the Bringing Theory to Practice (BT2P) newsletter. The piece discusses the transformation of Guttman’s First-Year Experience (FYE) curriculum brought about as a response to both the recent movements for racial and social justice and Guttman students’ calls for curricular change and activism at the college. The work is informed by a broad and robust body of scholarship on culturally responsive pedagogy.
The two new American Studies courses, Introduction to Social Justice and Civic Engagement in a Global Society, the complementary changes to the writing curriculum, and the current review of remaining FYE courses are a reflection of Guttman’s dedication to being an academic institution grounded in educating for equity and social justice.
President Larry Johnson, Jr. said, “The Stella & Charles Guttman Community College faculty continue to reimagine pedagogical practices in support of a diverse student body. The modifications to the curriculum reflect culturally responsive learning practices that represent the burgeoning changes across higher education and reflect the ideals of a socially conscious institution. Students will benefit from engagement that challenges them to apply critical and analytical thinking, through a rhetorical mode that will be demonstrated in student course work. It is these aforementioned skills that will prepare students for successful matriculation into four-year institutions or their selected vocations.”
