Why We Need the Peace Corps for Everyone

Jonathan Zimmerman
Professor of the History of Education, University of Pennsylvania

Americans live in an immensely polarized moment, lacking shared goals or even a shared narrative about who we are. Formal education has only made matters worse. Instead of uniting us, it has divided Americans into hostile camps, contends Jonathan Zimmerman, a former public school social studies teacher and Peace Corps volunteer, in Nepal. Zimmerman will advocate for required national service as a different educational experience: one that brings everyone together. His most recent books include Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools and The Amateur House: A History of College Teaching in America.