Ismael Jimenez

Ismael Jimenez is a dedicated educator, who for the last seventeen years has worked with students in Philadelphia from preschool age to high school. For over a decade, Ismael has led professional development sessions for social studies instructors across the city of Philadelphia and the nation. He has facilitated professional development sessions at institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, Penn State University and Princeton University on issues ranging from structural racism to bridging the knowledge/skill gap between high school and postsecondary institutions. Currently, Ismael is the Director of Social Studies curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia and an adjunct professor for the University of Pennsylvania’s Urban Teacher Apprentice Program (UTAP). His teaching and activism is rooted in the theoretical educational framework developed by Paulo Freire which emphasizes the interconnected nature of education with participating in the transformation of the world.

Posts By Ismael Jimenez

Teaching

The War On Truth Begins In the Classroom

We live in an age when truth no longer anchors public life. The cost is not merely confusion but captivity, the quiet surrender of our capacity to know. Language is the first casualty. What once...

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activism

American Education Has Never Been Neutral Ground

In the quiet of a classroom, courage can take many forms. Sometimes it looks like a teacher sliding a worn clipping from the Chicago Defender across a desk, telling students about an activist or...

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Diversity

When Education Becomes the Battlefield

Education today is contested ground, just as it has always been. To teach honestly about race, history, and power is to confront realities that challenge the world as it is. Across the country, we...

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equity

What Malcolm X Taught Me About Education

Malcolm X would have turned 100 years old today, May 19, 2025. Worldwide, Malcolm’s birthday and legacy are being honored, and with it comes not only a moment of remembrance but an urgent invitation...

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Teaching

We’re Not Teaching to Survive the Moment. We’re Teaching to Restore the World.

Teaching The Now As Sacred Sometimes, when I walk into a classroom or sit in a circle with educators or students, I remind myself: This is sacred work. Not just because it’s important, but because...

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Black teachers

The Villain in the Classroom? A Black Teacher Who Dares to Teach Truth

Throughout American history, Black educators who dare to teach truth have found themselves thrust into the center of a societal storm, vilified as boogeymen intent on dismantling the very fabric of...

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