Educating the whole person

Asked to give a favorite quote about nature, Elizabeth Main, sustainability coordinator for Penn Sustainability, refers to a Chinese Proverb. "The best time to plan a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now." Implicit in the quote is the urgency of our response to deforestation and climate change more generally. Equally implicit, however, is the hope that by the single, clear, definable action of “planting a tree,” we can be part of positive change.Read More

The past few months—from the protracted 2020 election, to the insurrection at the US Capitol building, to the change in tone and direction of the new Biden administration—have led to a range of emotional reactions. The SNF Paideia Program, in collaboration with Penn Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Wellness at Penn, Fox Leadership, and PORES created a wellness focused event to acknowledge the emotional toil and find ways to think about accountability and action as the country moves forward into 2021. Giving attention to individual and community wellness moment may need to foreground dialogue across political difference in this particularly intense political moment. The discussion relied on psychological insights from Dr. Batsirai Bvunzawabaya, director of outreach at CAPS, polling and leadership from Andrew Arenge and Sandy Vogel from the Fox Leadership and the PORES programs; and political science insights from Dr. Lia Howard at the SNF Paideia program.Read More

A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. ~Maya Angelou According to Maya Angelou birds sing not to solve life’s mysteries but simply because they have a song to share. Yet even though birds may not intend to provide answers when they sing, often they do.Read More