“The American cultural ideal of the self-made man, of everyone standing on his own feet, is as tragic a picture as the initiative-destroying dependence on a benevolent despot. We all need each other. This type of interdependence is the greatest challenge to the maturity of individual and group functioning.”—Kurt Lewin, The Practical Theorist: The Life and Work of Kurt Lewin

Teaching is, fundamentally, about community. My goal as an educator is to build community with my students to create understanding, share knowledge, grow our minds and outlooks together. In times of political and social upheaval, I am heartened by my fellow educators and have hope in our interdependence.

In our winter issue, we will reflect on Teaching and Mentoring as well as amplify and celebrate our recent SPSSI Teaching and Mentoring award winners. SPSSI President Kimberly Barsamian Kahn reflects on SPSSI’s Lewinian roots and issues a call to bring learning out of the classroom and into the world. In her presidential column, she celebrates SPSSI’s Teaching Award winners and the tradition of “action teaching,” where field experiences, community partnerships, and student-led interventions translate psychological science into real-world change.  

Incoming JSI coeditors Elizabeth R. Cole and Patrick R. Grzanka situate scholarship in a moment of both precarity and possibility. They outline a vision for JSI that deepens inter and intradisciplinary engagement to tackle pressing social issues. Our Teaching & Mentoring Committee (Emily Fisher, Morgan Jerald, Angela Bahns, Azenett Garza Caballero, Michele Schlehofer, and Carolyn Weisz) shares their efforts to overhaul SPSSI’s online teaching and mentoring resources and invite SPSSI members to join them at their programming at this summer’s SPSSI Conference. Harold Takooshian offers a snapshot of four decades of SPSSI New York programming that blends scholarship, public engagement, and student pipeline building.

Finally, we feature four timely contributions from our recent Teaching and Mentoring award winners:

Outstanding Teaching & Mentoring Award winner Simon Howard discusses how DEI-centered instruction is an ethical and educational necessity in the face of mounting political backlash.

Innovative Teaching Award winner Allison L. Skinner describes a graduate course designed to deepen understanding of systemic privilege and oppression with applied anti-bias projects.

Action Teaching Grant winner Desdamona Rios highlights a community-based response to DEI rollbacks through a culturally grounded summer program with Latinx youth that blends history, art, and storytelling. 

Development Teaching Grant winners Delila Owens and Fawn Gordon showcase their inter-institutional advocacy training for counseling students and share general outcomes of the program.

Together, this issue reminds us that in precarious times, teaching is a vehicle for social action and community that can sustain cultures of learning and hope.