And now, this breaking news from last February!

Long Time No See!

You may recall that on February 24, in partnership with Chicago Wilderness and Educelerate, H.e.a.r Chicago Talk looked at educating future eco-leaders, with a focus on fostering diversity. I feel honored to have had the speakers we did and the audience questions were incredible. The recap is below. But first...

Where has H.e.a.r. Chi Talk Been? 

Engaged Green Education people!

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk is a one-woman production and, I discovered this spring and summer, subject to the vicissitudes of circumstance. One of my goals has been to find partners and resources so as to stabilize the forum's place in the world, though that goal clearly remains unmet (more on goals and purposes later). 

This one woman is swallowing her shame along with her second cup of coffee right now and imparting to you, finally, news of the Fabulous February event, as well as thoughts on the Flighty Future of our Feisty little Forum.

H.e.a.r Chicago Talk: Green Education recap 

We had an AMAZING group of speakers and an equally incredible yield of audience questions.

Pete Leki created the Gardens and Ecology Program at Waters Elementary. He offered a poetic description of the Waters program's foundation and growth, accompanied by an evocative montage of photos.

Audience questions for Pete are listed here. Themes (rooted in the realities of CPS today I think), include: How can such school programs survive a challenging district environment? and What is the relationship between shifts in school culture and gentrification, and how can that relationship be disrupted?

Kellen Marshall is a PhD Candidate in the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Department at UIC and the director of research at Eden Place Nature Center. She presented, via video presentation, some of her research on the gap between educational and experiential requirements typical of conservation careers, and corresponding paths typically taken by Black high school and college students. 

A slide from Kellen's presentation

Audience questions for Kellen are listed here. Themes include: How can new and more pathways into environmental work be created? and What changes must be made in both the field and the community to foster diversity in the field?

Dr. Jo-Elle Mogerman is Vice President of Insitutional Planning and Inclusion at the Chicago Zoological Society. She presented the principles and practice of a program at Brookfield Zoo that provides Chicago youth with authentic conservation experiences.

Audience questions for Jo-Elle are listed here. Themes include how to support conversion from internships to careers, and how to track that conversion.

Just a few of many audience

questions for Mike

Michael Rizo is an Urban and Community Program Specialist in the Office of International Programs of the US Forest Service. Mr. Rizo talked about his work in partnership with El Valor Children and Youth Services engaging Little Village families in the life cycle of the monarch butterfly via cultural associations as well as ecological ones.

Audience questions for Mike are listed here. Themes include how to replicate a culturally specific program in other neighborhoods and how to extend successes into school and career as participating children get older.

I recommend you take a look at all the questions that came out of the evening!

Whither Goeth H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk? 

Each time we have a H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk, I am inspired by great speakers and thoughtful questioners. But nature-based education holds special interest for me, and the Chicago Wilderness/H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk partnership was pretty dreamy for me.

It was clear from the AMAZING questions we got from the audience that our eco-inquiry wasn't over after that event, had barely even started, in fact...we had convened an incredible group of people and now, rather than move to a new topic, I want to dig more into the questions and themes we touched on.

But how? A second green-education forum, a roundtable or study group, set up differently so as to discuss some of these questions in depth? Is that the same as a H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk, or something new?

H.e.a.r. stands for "Hope for Equity, Authenticity, and Relevance in education." Its goal has been to provide a positive place for educators to share ideas about teaching and learning. I have many conflicting thoughts about the extent to which this has worked and whether it can work in its present form and the current education conditions in Chicago. 

I confess that at least some substantial portion of my long silence has been bafflement. Where do I go from here? What are people getting out of these forums? Perhaps I should focus on just one topic? Perhaps the forum isn't needed at all? Who is the audience? Is it possible to create an event that better appeals to both teachers and informal educators?

I just don't know right now what my conclusion is. I was hoping to know that before publishing this, but, well...it's been a long time and I want to hear from you.

Action! Plan!

No H.e.a.r. Chicago Talks are yet planned at this point. Please:

1) Read the talk summaries and audience questions from Pete's, Kellen's, Dr. Jo-Elle's, and Mike's talks. Comment on the blog, on Facebook, or by email your favorite questions for each speaker. I will collect, publish, and forward! Perhaps people want to address these questions in another forum. I'd love to facilitate that.

2) Think about your experience with H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk. Comment on the blog, on Facebook, or by email on what YOU want to see. What need can it serve? For whom? What does it need? And/or, want to talk about it over coffee? Contact me.

Thanks.

A sensory garden especially for children with disabilities

I love this idea. The Daily Beast reports on Stephen Knolls School in Maryland, which has a sensory garden for children with disabilities. There are systematic opportunities to use the five senses in exploring the plants and flowers of the garden. Garden arrangements of different colors, textures, sounds, smells, and even tastes are included.

But beyond that, they also provide "vestibular, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic input." What? That means input related to our body's "movements, position, and balance. Swinging high in the air, squeezing into a nook, or rolling down a hill might provide these sorts of sensory input."

Neat!!

What an amazing place for anyone--and it's especially wonderful that it's meant specifically and especially for kids who cannot access experiences many of us take for granted.

I also am giddy about the idea that there is an organization called the Therapeutic Landscapes Network. Must! Learn! More!

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk's next theme is "Access." What an apropos article to come across.

Recap of H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk: Dignity

H.e.a.r Chicago Talk was this past Wednesday. Our three speakers spoke on the theme of Dignity.

From left to right, Sendhil Revuluri, Mark Larson, Jill Howe, and me

Mark Larson, assistant professor of education at National Louis University, showed clips from his nationwide interview project. Speakers talked about prioritizing the creativity that's integral to learning, and saying No to bad ideas versus choosing to work with existing systems no matter how flawed.

Mark chose a couple audience questions for further reflection: Which interview question would you most like answered in an interview broadcast to the world; and Is it possible for people who have a lot to lose to fight for change?

Sendhil Revuluri, associate director of the Suburban Cook County Mathematics Initiative (SCCMI), which promotes mathematics improvement in high-needs districts, talked about honoring students' existing understandings and misunderstandings in order to teach them most effectively, and how reasonable assessment benefits that process. 

The audience question Sendhil chose for further reflection was, What would a class without assessment look like?

Jill Howe, co-producer of Story Sessions, did a live-lit performance about teaching--and leaving teaching--as a Chicago Public Schools teacher, and the continuing effects of that experience five years down the road.  

The audience question Jill chose for further reflection was, How do you express the desire to teach now that you are no longer a teacher?

That question asked of Jill really struck a chord within me. My teaching career was brief and, by this point, is fairly ancient. And yet--and yet--the desire and drive to teach, the lingering, complicated emotions I have about the experience, the impact this work had on me, continues to shape my life.

I mentioned there was a theme to the evening--Dignity. The theme idea is new, based on feedback from prior attendees, and it worked great. It helped bring out speakers and gave audience a focus. The themes for the next two events are Access (February) and Green Space (May).

I made a couple other changes to the evening, too, based on participant feedback:

• Past attendees noted that they like the focus on inquiry, but still want to hear answers. So, I added a component where the speakers have time to choose a few questions: some that they can answer, and one that they can't answer fully but that they find particularly thought-provoking, to hold onto for further reflection. This method seemed to retain a variety of question types while providing a more satisfying learning experience. 

• I've have partnered up with the excellent Educelerate Meet-Up group, which brought out a fantastic crew of thoughtful and energetic people. My hope is to continue to build partnerships with a variety of educator groups with the aim of creating a unique and fruitful mix of participants.

All in all a fun evening with thoughtful and knowledgeable people. I'm looking forward to the next one. 

Can you guess which sticky-note set belongs to the mathematician and which belongs to the writer/performer? :D

Three Speakers Tonight at H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk: Dignity

The theme this round is DIGNITY. We'll hear three speakers talk about different aspects of dignity in teaching and learning. Audience also gets to join in the conversation.

Following many years as a high-school teacher and a museum educator, Mark Larson is now an assistant professor of education at National Louis University. He has written two books, Making Conversation: Collaborating with Colleagues for Change; and, with Betty Jane Wagner, Situations: A Casebook of Virtual Realities for the English Teacher. He is currently conducting interviews with educators around the country, collected here.

Sedhil Revuluri is the associate director of the Suburban Cook County Mathematics Initiative(SCCMI), which promotes mathematics improvement in high-needs districts. Prior to his work there, he worked at a founding teacher at a South Bronx school, collaborated with the National Science Foundation to create algebra curriculum with embedded socio-emotional supports, and worked with Chicago Public Schools to promote collaboration and leadership among high school math teachers. 

Jill Howe, a former high-school English teacher, is the  co-producer of Story Sessions, a monthly live lit event with stories, music, and artwork at City Winery. Last year, daring herself to write more, she read a new story at least once a month. This fall, Jill is also coaching the new storytelling component of Fear Experiment at the Park West. 

I'm totally looking forward to cozying up to Black Rock Bar's fireplaces with a drink and some grub and joining in a thought-provoking exchange of ideas!

Wednesday, November 5: H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk

It's that time again...time for H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk. Teachers need a place to share ideas about teaching and learning. The goal of H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk is to provide that place, in close proximity to food and beer. This round's theme: Dignity.

If you've got a story to tell related to teaching, learning, and dignity, let me know! And, whether you got a story to tell or just want to listen, I hope to see you there. Info and contact here.

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk August 6 Recap

The theme for the H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk Summer 2014 is Art+Data=Communication. Each speaker prompted us to ponder an element in this equation.

Art: Rena Grosser had been pondering the question, "What is a classroom?" To begin to answer, she and fellow artist Ariela Robinson created a traveling installation of school desks in outdoor settings. The experience was galvanizing for them: Rena's ending question was "Where should we take this (installation idea) next?"

Data: Dr. John Gasko asked if noncognitive factors matter for academic success, a question he and his colleagues at UChicago Impact have been pondering for a while. The data, definitions, and processes he provided to answer the question were fascinating, each slide offering more chewy food for thought. John's ending question was, "How can we change the non-cognitive factors in the classroom?"

Communication: J.D. Van Slyke was recording the event for a new podcast, RefreshED, that he is launching with colleague Amanda Kilibarda Gutierrez. He spoke about his wish to capture and share the stories of the brilliantly energetic, creative, and caring educators and social service providers he'd met throughout Chicago.

Thank you, August speakers, for uwittingly creating my new favorite way to capture the concept of idea conveyance!

The audience questions are always my favorite part. I just love hearing the diversity of mindsets and experiences captured in the questions. Among my favorite questions this time around were:

• How are you recording the lessons that surfaced in your mobile classrooms? How will you share? (for Rena)
• How do you transfer non-cognitive factors (grit, perseverance) learned on the street to those same factors applied in the classroom? (for John)
• What do you mean by "radically re-imagine" and how can a podcast promote this? (for J.D.)

Everyone has a chance to discuss any question of interest after the presentations in a more casual setting than a formal Q&A--though I think at some events that happens more than others. I'd like to figure out a way to ensure people do get the chance to discuss the ideas they want to.

And on that note, I'd like to get some feedback on the event. Now is the time for it to grow in depth, strength, and reach. If you've been to one of the H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk events, please take this survey.

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk, Summer 2014

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk is tomorrow, Wednesday, August 6. Speakers include an artists who co-created a traveling edu-installation to see what would happen, an expert on the true meaning (and possible use) of data in schools, and a co-creator of a local Chicago-based podcast all about education.

What an interesting group! We're convening at Black Rock on Damen just north of Addison. Presentations start promptly at 7pm. There will be eats n drinks.

http://www.hearchicagotalk.org!

H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk: Spinning Right Round and Finding One's Path

Tuesday was a gorgeous summery day, and the Map Room a nice spot for the evening, with its big breezy windows. We started with pizza and chatting; the music turned off and mic came on a little after 7:00.

Unfortunately, some element of the sound system was picking up a television signal, and presenters and audience found themselves having to compete with television programming--and not just any programming, but Alvin and the Chipmunks, culminating in a soul-destroying rendition of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round." But let's just repurpose that disorienting (if theoretically hilarious) element of the evening into part of the theme that emerged: I'd call the theme for this installment of H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk "Identifying that which disconnects us, and recapturing our path."

Adam Heenan asked how high school teachers can help students develop an active voice in their own  education. He detailed some factors leading to students' rudderlessness (standards, testing) and described his solution: helping them apply the methods used in advocacy-organizing to their school experience.

Questions from the audience for Adam included, among many:

• What are the implications of students who stand up to the "machine?"
• Could there be a high school Local School Council [an LSC is usually made up of parents, community members, and school leadership]?
• What if the students don't want to engage in this way of thinking, but are more comfortable being told what to do?

Lisa Clay asked why we persist in doing things that we know are bad for us. She explored the notion that, if self-defeating behavior is composed of a trigger, a routine, and a reward, focusing on changing the routine will yield the best results, since we humans are designed to develop and repeat habits. Lisa approached the question as it applies to nutrition (why do I eat sugar when it makes me feel awful?), but ended with an invitation to consider the concept's application to education contexts. 

Questions from the audience for Lisa included, among many:

• Sometimes bad habits just happen, without a specific trigger. What then?
• How do you get yourself to want to change the routine, or have the wherewithall to do so?
• How do we get buy-in from friends and family when we want to change a habit?

Throughout the evening, I asked audience to submit their own edu-questions they'd been chewing on, which I posted to the wall on butcher paper so people could brainstorm ideas after the formal presentations. This activity didn't get much attention, which is all right, because everyone was talking with each other instead, sharing ideas, which is the point, after all. Attendees represented a fertile mix of teaching and communications disciplines--classroom teachers, informal educators, people in advertising, body/movement therapists, and so on.

However, I'm interested in the butcher-paper questions: 

1) Who won: Karen Lewis or Rahm Emanuel?

When I read this question aloud, the classroom teachers in the room kind of snorted and laughed--they didn't see this as a real question. But the submitter, a "layperson" in terms of edutalk, told me he found the whole situation confounding and inaccessible, and he would have been interested in responses. I think this is really telling. Talk about these issues can become very insular, knotted up in impenetrable thickets of history and context. When a critical mass of people--well, voters--can't access information or reasoning, that gap ultimately contributes to a disconnect between education policy and good practice.

2) What does respect for teachers look like?

This question got a bit of interaction, but merits more.  Maybe someone will explore this in a future H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk!

1) A Finnish guy, an American hero; and 2) H.e.a.r Chi Talk

Many thanks to those of you have rsvp'd for H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk. I'm getting very excited about this one. I just heard Pasi Sahlberg speak yesterday, thanks to Raise Your Hand Illinois, and, while listening to how Finland employed mature vision, humble intelligence, and faith in its people to strengthen their society is rather deflating because, well, frankly, this sort of behavior is not in the cultural DNA of the U.S, a place with a history of addressing complexities through stridency and slogans--it is also inspiring, or galvanizing, because it helps give shape to problems and solutions.*

Sahlberg mentioned that all of Finland's great edu-ideas--the ones on the right-hand side of slide 14 here, came from the U.S. Say wha? Really?? Which?! Where?! When?! I gathered by the end of the presentation that what (I think) he meant was there are innovative and engaging and pedagogically appropriate and child-developmentally-appropriate and teacher-respectful practices happening at individual schools, and that Finland's really done its research over the past forty years--but there is no mechanism to catalog, disseminate, propagate, and scale these individual and locally occurring ideas.

So. Here's where I get back to H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk. Sharing and amplifying these localized ideas is the exact point of this idea exchange. That's why I started it. That and the need for a counter to the yelling and anger and conflict that's been happening in Chicago and nationally in edu-fields. H.e.a.r. Chicago Talk is meant to be a place where great ideas can be shared and those who reach and teach can feel inspired and re-charged.

There is so much to learn from Finland's experiences. Let's start by sharing and learning from our own great ideas.

HEAR Chicago Talk Fall 2013 Edition: Schuba's Will Set You Free

On Wednesday right around rush hour, menacing clouds gathered and released an angry sheet of rain; the downpour only let up to allow hail to move in. So we were a small but mighty crowd at Schuba's, for HEAR Chicago Talk.

We had three presenters (I was one of them; my goal is to make it so it's not me giving a presentation every time, but, until the event gets steadier on its newborn legs,  I'll carry it).

My question was a broad one: What is the most effective path to educational equity and quality? If we could answer that, we could Solve All The Things, so I don't think it was a very good question, but it's the one that I've been chewing on, or that's been chewing on me.

 To answer, I talked about Finland's school improvement strategy of increasing the standardization and rigor of teacher education while simultaneously decentralizing control of the actual schools, leaving curriculum, instruction, and assessment up to the teachers.

 It could be that there is little causative relationship, that their impressive achievement does not result much from their approach to teacher preparation and work, but I thought it well worth introducing this difference between the United States' system and Finland's.

My ending question for the audience was, How can our country take the long view required to get this done, and what do we do in the mean time to mitigate teachers' working conditions and disengaged students? I got some great questions from the audience--ones that were as chewy and complex as the ones I presented them with.

Dennis Anthony Kass, a former lawyer and current sociology teacher at Little Village High School, asked us, "How do I teach students to be free thinkers?"

He took us through the topics his students tackle in their first semester of his sociology class, using as metaphors and touchstones The Matrix, Fight Club, television show Family Guy, and other popular media.

His ending question wasm Having exposed students to the Matrix (that is our society, how free should I expect their thinking to become? Questions for him centered around the relationship of the class to the rest of the school, the principal, and parents.

The third speaker was Don Whitfield, Director of Great Books Discussions, a literature-based discussion program developed by the Great Books Foundation. Don is my former colleague, from my days directing the K–12 side of the Foundation's work. His question was, How do we get veterans to love their books more than their M16s?

Don recently led the publication of an anthology of short writings and discussion questions meant for veteran's groups.  The hope is that the discussion groups open up other ways to think and learn about the world--and to access emotions, memories, and hopes.

Don's ending question was, How do we know if these groups have a lasting positive affect or not? Audience questions centered around his ending question as well as the possibility of applying this type of program to groups with other challenges or traumas.
 I ended the night with a couple brief clips from the Green Bronx Machine talk from the Big Ideas Fest 2012 (3:17–4:58 , and 9:36–9:52).

If the theme of the June HEAR Chi Talk was Everything Old Is New Again, I'd say the theme of the September one was Let My People Go. How can we free educators to do their jobs artfully and effectively? How can we release students from the oppression of preconceived destructive patterns? How can others' experiences help veterans move out from under the siege of memories?

HEAR Chicago Talk heard and talked about; or, A Mad Attempt to Transform a Moth Into a Caterpillar

HEAR Chicago Talk 1.1 went off, pretty much without a hitch.

Here's the room where we had it.

Photo courtesy of Schubas

We had four presentations, starting and ending with questions. Mine was about the possibility of experiential learning in the local outdoors.


Yoli Maya Yeh, who teaches yoga in CPS schools, spoke about reducing violence among Chicago youth through yoga, meditation, and peace activities.

Kids gain valuable character, skills, and techniques from Peace Within YOUth

Ari Frede, founder of arts charter the Orange School, spoke about pedagogical underpinnings and everyday examples of giving children authentic choices in the classroom.
 

Christine Krumsee reminded us that the importance of reaching people through meaningful activities does not stop at age 18. She spoke about her work with Helping Hospitalized Veterans, an organization that brings crafts kits to veterans as a sort of informal art therapy. 

Photo from VA Maryland Health Care System

After each presentation, the audience had one minute to ask questions. As we got into the third and fourth presentations, audience questions started focusing more on connections among them, especially Yoli's and Christine's. That was unexpected and perfect.

The one-minute-question part is just questions, no answers. That way, questioners feel freer to ask wide, deep, or speculative questions--ones that can't be answered right away, but can be thought about--and presenters get more to chew on without the pressure of having all the answers. After the structured part of the evening was through, folks had plenty of time and opportunity to find each other and discuss the questions if they wished.

Following Christine's presentation was a brief open mic portion where audience members could chew for one minute on their own edu-questions; and then, people settled in for drinks and chats.

So--I think it worked! People ate and drank. Technical equipment operated. The presentations provoked thought and interest. People introduced themselves to others and traded contact information. I hope that with regular installments, HEAR Chicago Talk becomes a go-to place for educators and other communicators to reflect on their practices, articulate their goals, and trade and test ideas with others. The next one is September 18, y'all! Mark your calendars and contact me here or here if you're interested in presenting.

A reporter from Medill (Northwestern University) was there and wrote this cool little article (which content makes it clear to me that I must immediately work on articulate and pithy pitches about the format, the goal, and the reason for the not-Q-&-A part. Dear god).

True to the format of the evening I'm going to end with a question (well, several). Ironically, or something, really nothing presented was new by a longshot--rather the opposite. Learning through experience in the outdoors dates to the dawn of humans; yoga has been around for thousands of years; Dewey's work on student choice was done at the turn of the last century (as was Maria Montessori's); and Helping Hospitalized Vets was founded in 1971. What's happening here? Is the "innovation" actually the stuff that's not working: forcing kids to sit in seats all day, thoroughly separating out subjects, testing to the point that teaching and learning are punishing instead of transcendent activities?

Hey--what IS innovation when it comes to a timeless practice integral to every human society, anyway? And is wanting to transform it to be authentic, relevant, enjoyable, and equitable as naive as wanting to transform a moth back into a caterpillar?

Updated: HEAR Chicago Talk is HAPPENING! Wednesday, June 5

HEAR Chicago Talk is HAPPENING! Up-to-date format, place, and time follows:

HEAR Chicago Talk is an exchange of ideas related to education, broadly defined.

Six Chicagoans make presentations with three simple guidelines: 

• Start with a question you’ve been chewing on.
• In six minutes, present an inspiring or innovative way you or someone else is seeking to address that question.
• End with a question you want your audience to chew on.

Following each presentation is a one-minute period for audience questions, to feed ideas and perhaps new collaborations--presenters listen without responding. There is time after the presentations to socialize and network.

The presenters can  be almost anyone--including you.

Anyone may present whose profession, avocation, or passion involves developing and conveying concepts or processes: teachers, museum educators, designers, community organizers, entrepreneurs, art directors, logistics coordinators, bartenders....you get the idea.

And the audience?

The audience are folks interested in an inspiring and fun night out, as well as professional and creative peers of the presenters. The event is meant to inspire ideas and foster collaboration among resourceful folks with personal or professional interest related, in some broad way, to the concept of education.

Interested in attending?

Fantastic! Click here to save yourself a spot (or just show up).
Wednesday, June 5, 7:00pm (doors 6:30)
Schuba's Upstairs Lounge, 3159 Southport Ave.
Pay what you want; suggested cover is $5

Interested in presenting? 

Aces! Click here to submit your idea.

5/12/13 Oopsies. Typo updated...here are the correct dates:
Please submit your idea by Monday, May 27. You will be notified if you are presenting by Wednesday, May 29.

A brief break from outdoor learning to present: HEAR Chicago Talk!

I am putting together a forum where people can share ideas about reaching folks and teaching folks. Click on the tab labeled HEAR Chicago Talk: Coming In June! to learn more...and possibly to help. I am looking for:

• A venue: A low-key bar or café with a designated performance space would be ideal. The venue should be fairly central (near north or near south side of Chicago), accessible by public transportation, and comfortable and welcoming for people of all backgrounds and ages. Please comment or email me (hear.k12@gmail.com) for suggestions, contacts, or offers.

• Presenters! Here's the prompt (modeled after Pecha Kucha): 

   In twenty slides of twenty seconds each, present something you’ve done or seen that has inspired you or others.

• Audience! Tell all your friends about it! Keep checking the HEAR Chicago tab for more developments!