Good morning, Jane. I read this with interest as it relates, I believe, to a lot of the work and reading I've been doing. First, People links directly to the relational issues that are at the center of all learning and teaching. Second, it reminds me of, and may be an excellent adjoiner to the issues raised in this article (which I think I may have shared with you a few years ago...or maybe you shared with me?? Or maybe Will Richardson pointed it out. Oh! Who knows. Regardless, there's a lot of resonance here with your your thoughts and those of Dr. Michalec regarding sacred spaces, "A great thing" (Parker Palmer) and, perhaps, the notion of a classroom as a congregation of sorts.
Of course, to create such a space is an act of intentional design, and it has to be designed WITH the students, not merely for them (hopefully that Empathy train has left the station and we're all on board with the prepositional switch). My students and I have done a lot of work this year towards this end, and most of it stemmed from the issues I had last year with cell phone usage. I wrote about this to A.J. Julianni after he posted recently about how one might think about cell phones in the classroom in a more human centered way (the entreaty to just "be present").
I've created an infographic that tracks how we went about the culture building upon which the community is founded. If you'd like, I can send you that and some other sorts. While Cell Phones were part of the issue, the real impetus for the work was my insistence that we can't go back to "normal" and the need to, therefore, create a culture of learning that recognized "different" as a necessity.
Thanks again for publishing this and helping me think through my own thoughts.
Thank you for this thoughtful reply! All the visionaries (including you!) are the light on this path for me. I would love to read, see, experience these resonant pieces you mention!
Jane, always insightful and a reach beyond a simple concept. There are so many ways to reach children that would be more effective than what we are doing now. The PBL approach will always be more effective than the Cattle-Based Approach.
I love this, and very much believe we learn best from each other. I see this in my children who opt out of 'normal school' and who pick up so much from their surroundings.
Personally I advocate for Community Based Learning, which has similarities with the people focus, but includes many other community related factors. I guess I would see People Based Learning as a subset of Community Based Learning, or something along those lines.
We are hosting a conversation campaign on People Based Learning. Conversations happen in small groups (4-6) and are recorded, transcribed and then we’re engaging in sensemaking with them. They will be used to inform our resource creation. The goal is to collect stories and insights that contribute to resources for people on how to engage people as resources. Would LOVE to have you join a chat if you are interested! Form is here: https://forms.gle/nTHSNpwg6SR1j8Tm9 OR I’d be thrilled to zoom to chat more on this.
Rosie! This comment has been stirring in my mind. I just had a conversation with Josh Schacter, founder of Community Share, yesterday, and he echoed your thoughts here around community.
I agree this People Based piece fits in a puzzle of a larger vision. I guess I wonder if the PEOPLE element is that secret ingredient, that dash of chocolate in the chili (that is my mom’s secret) that grows us in the direction of connection.
My focus right now has been on People as I find, across settings, that it is the 1:1 that roots us to grow to the whole.
Good morning, Jane. I read this with interest as it relates, I believe, to a lot of the work and reading I've been doing. First, People links directly to the relational issues that are at the center of all learning and teaching. Second, it reminds me of, and may be an excellent adjoiner to the issues raised in this article (which I think I may have shared with you a few years ago...or maybe you shared with me?? Or maybe Will Richardson pointed it out. Oh! Who knows. Regardless, there's a lot of resonance here with your your thoughts and those of Dr. Michalec regarding sacred spaces, "A great thing" (Parker Palmer) and, perhaps, the notion of a classroom as a congregation of sorts.
Of course, to create such a space is an act of intentional design, and it has to be designed WITH the students, not merely for them (hopefully that Empathy train has left the station and we're all on board with the prepositional switch). My students and I have done a lot of work this year towards this end, and most of it stemmed from the issues I had last year with cell phone usage. I wrote about this to A.J. Julianni after he posted recently about how one might think about cell phones in the classroom in a more human centered way (the entreaty to just "be present").
I've created an infographic that tracks how we went about the culture building upon which the community is founded. If you'd like, I can send you that and some other sorts. While Cell Phones were part of the issue, the real impetus for the work was my insistence that we can't go back to "normal" and the need to, therefore, create a culture of learning that recognized "different" as a necessity.
Thanks again for publishing this and helping me think through my own thoughts.
Thank you for this thoughtful reply! All the visionaries (including you!) are the light on this path for me. I would love to read, see, experience these resonant pieces you mention!
Yeah...Seems as though I forgot to attach them. I'll send them to you DM. Thank you.
Did I ever send them to you?
I am not sure. We should write a piece together for the blog.
1) That sounds like a great experience. I'd be up for that.
2) Here's the infographic about my culture building efforts in class: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hAIzLPfgq0bd25xts1ywmqIbFqdM4HWQ/view?usp=sharing (Internal links should work)
3) Here's the article on classrooms as sacred spaces. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X2wi1gksb06FyDu2ci9nqdofamqKjyqI/view?usp=sharing.
Thanks.
Jane, always insightful and a reach beyond a simple concept. There are so many ways to reach children that would be more effective than what we are doing now. The PBL approach will always be more effective than the Cattle-Based Approach.
I love this, and very much believe we learn best from each other. I see this in my children who opt out of 'normal school' and who pick up so much from their surroundings.
Personally I advocate for Community Based Learning, which has similarities with the people focus, but includes many other community related factors. I guess I would see People Based Learning as a subset of Community Based Learning, or something along those lines.
We are hosting a conversation campaign on People Based Learning. Conversations happen in small groups (4-6) and are recorded, transcribed and then we’re engaging in sensemaking with them. They will be used to inform our resource creation. The goal is to collect stories and insights that contribute to resources for people on how to engage people as resources. Would LOVE to have you join a chat if you are interested! Form is here: https://forms.gle/nTHSNpwg6SR1j8Tm9 OR I’d be thrilled to zoom to chat more on this.
👍
Rosie Sherry….maybe this is our guest post.🙏♥️.
Rosie! This comment has been stirring in my mind. I just had a conversation with Josh Schacter, founder of Community Share, yesterday, and he echoed your thoughts here around community.
I agree this People Based piece fits in a puzzle of a larger vision. I guess I wonder if the PEOPLE element is that secret ingredient, that dash of chocolate in the chili (that is my mom’s secret) that grows us in the direction of connection.
My focus right now has been on People as I find, across settings, that it is the 1:1 that roots us to grow to the whole.
Always welcome your thoughts! ♥️