ORLD 4065 Leading Change in a Democratic Society, offered every Spring term at TC,
aims to help participants learn about and understand how others have created revolutionary change within democratic societies and apply those methods to their own world. Adjunct Assistant Professor John Welch (Ed.D., Adult Learning and Leadership) has been passionate about democratic leadership in civil society since he was a doctoral student, so he is the perfect person to teach the class. Drawing practical inspiration from social and political change leaders, he encourages students to not only think and prepare for change but to also lead and sustain that change.

One student, Ron Ramirez-Rivera (M.A. Applied Linguistics), took the class in 2022 and recently used the lesson of finding common ground between political parties to create a policy brief in Nevada. As an elementary school world language educator, he identified issues in Nevada law that worked against that education and made an argument about changing those laws that appealed to both main parties. After creating a policy brief expounding on this assignment as part of his doctorate at Hopkins, he decided to reach out to a Nevada senator he knew to present the brief. It is now being championed by senators from both sides of the aisle.

There is still a lot of work ahead, but with the right class at Teachers College you have a chance to make a positive change in the world.