San Diego Process Arts Network - Harvest from 10.15.09
Raffi welcomed me, Alannah, and Jackie with smiles and hugs as we settled into our patio table at the Big Kitchen…cool and shady, with crayons and paper at the ready!
Raring to go, we stopped for a moment to sit in silence and ground ourselves to our purpose. Breathe in, exhale, notice the warmth and pressure of the hands you are holding, smile, relax…
Coffee, tea, something like peppermint. A slice of coffee cake the size of Kansas. Sumptuous plates, settling in, then exploring what we want in the discussion—logistics, details, understanding, rationale. Fixing dates to clarifying purpose. Energy—unbridled yet focused. Crayons found their way into ready hands as ideas started to flow.
Snuggling up to the table, listening to stories of Oaks and Acorns, youth and seniors, shared meaning and growth, and new directions. Treasure chests of educational experience just waiting to be opened. Visions of how a World Café could be…and what we could create.
Initial Thoughts:
Quality of energy and presence
An authentic event – the facilitators need to be us
Leave the notes, acronyms and jargon at the door – this event and its ideas are accessible to all
Handcrafting invites to attract the people we want – people who come to the table ready to play
Empathy – put aside and listen
Everyone brings something to the table
Some Fears:
Energy drain
Steals away passion
Multitasking – not focused
Antagonism/Resistance
Participants Will Get:
A voice that’s heard and valued
Clarity of self
Connection to community
Resources to pursue the next level
Some Powerful Questions:
What are the wants and needs around education?
What is the education students receive?
What type of people do we want to produce?
What are our highest shared aspirations of how we want to work together?
Who are the people we want to travel with on this journey?
How else can the education system shift from a breakdown to a breakthrough?
How else can we engage people in talks about education…attracting change agents?
What would we like to see education look like in the next 50 years?
What kind of teachers do we want to see?
What if education were a community endeavor?
What was your most significant learning experience in school?
How do we know that students learned what we are teaching?
What do we want them to learn?
What do they need to learn that we aren’t teaching?
What if teachers were actually the facilitators of a student’s learning experience? What would education look like from that perspective?
What if we “unschooled” our students?
The Power of We
“We” are:
- Boards of directors
- Teachers
- Counselors
- Parents
- Students
- Elders
- Principles and academic administrators
- Businesses
- The entire community that has a stake in education and contribution to bring to the table
“We mentor and share what we have…just in a different playground!”
How do we create and sustain this “we”?
What is the field in which we are playing? What does the new playground look like?
The Gap between “Here” and “There” in Education:
Here—
Teacher “lost” the student because of the kid’s reality/resistance in class
Behavior that the teacher is unable to work with, for a variety of reasons
There—
Teacher suspends judgments
Reengage the student with empathy
Teacher and student come to believe in their respective abilities
Book and workshops are here to help teachers get unstuck
Target teachers to take their best dreams forward
Don't forget about assessment!
Possible Event Outcomes:
Participants go out to their communities and bring new people in to the next event/process
Exposure for forthcoming book and workshops
Community partnerships with education
Participants voice their preferences with their PTAs, etc.
Seniors mentor kids
Further connections with like minds and build community
??
Clothing that Baby! Giving initial form to the event:
Event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 21, from 9a – 1p at the Kroc Center on University Avenue
8:30a – 9a: Greet, check-in, coffee time
- Idea - Icebreaker Question on tables: “What was your most significant learning experience from school?”
9a – 11a: First Session – Community Café on Education in San Diego
- Opening Ceremony:a grounding moment of silence – 5 minutes total process
- Welcome guests, set stage for day by sharing general flow, thank Oaks and Acorns, housekeeping issues – 10 minutes
- Introduce World Café, explain process, set context – 15 minutes
- Café round 1 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 1?)
- Café round 2 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 2?)
- Café round 3 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 3?)
- Regroup, share key discoveries from each table, invite to write key insights on large post-it notes and post on wall, invite to create open space topic if desired – 15 minutes
- Invitation to Refreshment Break Activities – brief descriptions
11a – 11:30a: Refreshment Break
- Open space snack areas to continue really wicked discussions
- Gallery invitation – view tablecloths from discussions and post-its from group insights (“seeds for change”?)
11:30a – 12:30p: Second Session – Group Insights and Next Steps
- Reconnect with group as a whole, share thoughts post-lunch, add new insights as post-its to wall
- Connect the dots – what patterns do we see in the post-its? Group ideas together and check for new insights
- Where do the dots lead us? What are the next steps that have emerged from this process?
12:30p – 1p: Closing Circle – one word check-in: what’s the one word or phrase that best describes where you are right now at the end of our time today
- It could be something you’re grateful for, something you’re excited about, something that gives you hope, or even something you can do or take with you moving forward
