Support of Academic Expression

Our collective understanding of how people learn is constantly evolving thanks to ongoing research in education. And because each child is unique, there is room for differing approaches to the shared goal of creating educational opportunities that enable all children to learn, grow, and thrive.

With differing approaches, we expect (and encourage) genuine, curious, and respectful debate and disagreement. Yet we are dismayed at the level of rancor that has crept into academic life in recent years. Increasingly, we see a destructive influence from outside the educational sphere—inflamed by extremist publications and self-interested politics and intensified by social media —that overshadows productive, civil discourse and undermines efforts to build a more just and effective educational system.

We see academic disagreements sliding into efforts to censor, personal confrontations, intimidation, bullying, and smear campaigns and we've turned a dangerous corner that imperils the safety and livelihood of targeted academics. We see damaged careers, lost appointments, and threats of violence to these academics and their families. Often, this harassment is aimed at women, people of color, and people in the LGTBQIA+ community. The goal of attacking these individuals – ostensibly for their actions, but in truth for who they are and what they stand for – is to silence, sideline, and marginalize those who are working to improve the status quo.

At Corwin, we denounce such behavior as harmful, both for academics and for students whose success is threatened when this needed scholarship is denied them. We must all speak out against such destructive efforts and ensure that a vocal minority does not do harm because it is louder. We stand with our authors and champion academic freedom, freedom from censorship, excellence in research, and civility in discourse and behavior. If we could channel the amount of energy spent to censor, smear, and extinguish the work of scholars and redirect this effort to helping students – imagine the good we could do.