John Jay's Seven Principles

John Jay curriculum and teaching should reflect the following principles:

1. We center Critical Engagement - by forming learning communities that engage in critical (self) reflection, alongside empirical analysis, about how Anti-Black racism, institutional racism, and all forms of racism inform the subject matter of our courses and the interactions of members of our learning communities.
    
2. We grapple with evolving perspectives about Criminal Justice Education - by interrogating the origins, facts, and effects of institutional racism and individual acts of discrimination in the criminal justice system.
    
3. We normalize discussions about Complex Social Challenges - by anticipating and addressing the challenges of engaging with racism, institutional racism and exploitation, as well as social justice and racial equity in a diverse classroom through dialogue and reflection.
    
4. We practice Embodied Learning - by using trauma-informed pedagogy and strategies to incorporate the lived experiences of students and faculty, promote cultural competence, and increase social and emotional intelligence.
    
5. We use Diverse Content - throughout the learning experience through incorporating course materials that are diverse by author identity, form, medium, and/or voice.
    
6. We design for Equitable Assessment - by employing varied opportunities for students to demonstrate learning and self-assess their progress.
    
7. We promote Democratic Education - which affirms that education is participatory and non-hierarchical and that student learning is experiential, characterized by an on-going collaborative process of problem solving grounded in discussion, consultation, research, and debate as ways to engage in informed decision-making by people with diverse interests.

Adopted by College Council (4.8.21)