National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER)
2015 Summer Symposium: Agenda for Education in a Democracy
A Leadership Program for Individuals Seeking Understanding of
the Agenda for Education in a Democracy (AED) and the NNER.
June 26-29, 2015
Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday
Lodging with:
Hilton Garden Inn & University of Wyoming Conference Center
307-745-5500
2229 Grand Avenue, Laramie, WY, 82070.
Meetings to be held at University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center
2111 Willet Drive, Centennial Complex
Ph. 307.766.4114 /
Session Purposes:
There are two overarching purposes for the Summer Symposium: first, to provide participants with an introduction to the Agenda for Education in a Democracy (AED) in such a way that the participants will have background and strategies to advance this work in their settings; and second, to provide an opportunity for the participants to build a network of colleagues across the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) to further collaboration and interaction toward advancing the public purpose of schooling in a democracy.
Co-Facilitators: Audrey Allan, Pk-12 Tripartite Council Chair; NNER Executive Board Member Greg Bernhardt, NNER Co-Executive Director
Jean Eagle, NNER Executive Board Member
Vi Florez, Teacher Education Tripartite Council Chair; NNER Executive Board Member
Ann Foster, NNER Co-Executive Director
Nick Michelli, NNER Emeritus Executive Board Member
Dennis Potthoff, NNER Governing Council Chairperson, NNER Executive Board Member
Deb Shanley, NNER past chairperson; NNER Executive Board Member
John Smith, Executive Board Member
Leslie Wilson, Arts and Science Tripartite Council Chair, NNER Executive Board Member
Special Session
facilitation:
Bernard Badiali, Pennsylvania State University
Diane Galloway, University of Texas at Arlington
Angela Jamie, Co Chair NNER Equity and Social Justice Committee
Audrey Kleinsasser, Wyoming School-University Partnership, University of Wyoming
Kathryn Pole, University of Texas at Arlington
Wayne Reed, Co Chair NNER Equity and Social Justice Committee
Shannon Smith, Wyoming Humanities Council
Master Reading List for the 2015 summer symposium:
Book
· Education for Everyone: Agenda for Education in a Democracy by John I. Goodlad, Corinne Mantle-Bromley, and Stephen John Goodlad (Jossey-Bass, 2004).
Articles & Selected Readings from Texts
• A Talk to Teachers by James Baldwin originally published in The Saturday Reveiew, Dec. 21, 1963; reprinted in The Price of the Ticket, Collected Non-Fiction, pp 1-6, 1948-1985, St. Martin, (1985).
· Beyond the Classroom by Richard Clark in The Record Vol, 41, No. 1 (2004).
· Designs for Simultaneous Renewal in University-Public School Partnerships: Hitting the “Sweet Spot” by Marisa L. Bier, Ilana Horn, Sara Sunshine Campbell, Elham Kazemi, Allison Hintz, Megan Kelley-Petersen, Reed Stevens, Amit Saxena, & Charles Peck from Teacher Education Quarterly (Summer 2012).
· Education for Democracy; The Foundation for Democratic Character by Roger Soder, chapter 10 in Developing Democratic Character in the Young, (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001) and an outlined list of the conditions for democracy.
· Examining Dispositions in for Social Justice and Democracy in the Context of the Public Purposes of Education by Jacobowitz, Kovaks, and Michelli in Education in a Democracy: A Journal of the NNER Vol.2, (Fall 2010).
· Heal up and hair over: a Wyoming civility reader Wyoming Humanities Council (2013). Sections 2, pp 19-30; Section 4, pp 45-53.
· In Defense of a Liberal Education, by Fareed Zakaria, Published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2015, Chapters 2 & 3, pages 40-105.
· Jazz at the Improv by Corinne Mantle-Bromley in The Record Vol. 41, No. 1 (2004).
· A Morally Defensible Mission for Schools in the 21st Century by Nel Noddings in Phi Delta Kappan (1995).
· Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert Putnam, Published by Simon & Schuster, 2015, Chapter 4, “Schooling,” full chapter pages are 135 -190; however please focus on reading pages 174-183 for our symposium session.
· SENATE No. 1455,This Act shall be known as and may be cited as “Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for our Children Act,” 2014 LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 6, 2015.
· Teacher Education, Exclusion and the Implicit Ideology of Separate but Equal: An Invitation to a Dialogue by Priya Lalvani, Alicia Broderick; with responses from Nichelle Fine, Tina Jacobowitz, and Nicholas Michelli, pp 1-15, in press, and will be published in the next issue of the journal Education, Citizenship and Social Justice.
· Teacher Evaluation in the Current Era: Implications for Teacher Education Policy and Pedagogy by Kevin Froner and Nicholas Michelli in Teacher Evaluation; Kate O’Hara (ed), in The Charge and the Challenges (New York: Peter Lang, 2014).
· Tips for Fostering Inclusivity in the Classroom, Kerry Pimblott, University of Wyoming, December, (2014) pp 1-8.
· Understanding and Confronting Policy and Corporate Pressure in the Current Era: Implications for the Agenda for Education in a Democracy by Tina Jacobowitz, Michelle Kovacs, Nick Michelli in Education in a Democracy a Journal of the NNER Vol 6 (Fall 2013).
· White Racial Identity and Anti-Racist Education: A Catalyst for Change, Sandra Lawrence and Beverly Daniel Tatum. Reprinted by the Early Childhood Alliance with permission form the authors, pp. 1-12.
Agenda
Friday, June 26
Emphasis for the day: The session will begin with a welcome, general orientation, and introductions. We will establish norms for the session as we begin to consider aspects of the Agenda for Education in a Democracy (AED) as grounding for our work. We will discuss why we do this work to improve our democracy and address education’s role in advancing democracy with a focus on the current education policy environment and its impact on public education from preschool through graduate programs. Considerations will include implications for the NNER’s work and strategies to ensure that public education advances democratic principles to promote quality learning for all. Simultaneous renewal is a fundamental principle that guides our work. We will unpack this using current school-university partner work. A fundamental goal for the day is to develop a community of learners and colleagues; a community that will serve as a network for participants long after the week’s session. By providing shared readings, time for conversation, and examining our mission from various perspectives, participants will further skills and background to advance the NNER mission in local work.
Readings for Friday, June 26:
· Education for Everyone: Agenda for Education in a Democracy by John I. Goodlad, Corinne Mantle-Bromley, and Stephen John Goodlad (Jossey-Bass, 2004) will ground the symposium. While participants are encouraged to refer to all aspects of the text on day one, chapters 2, 3, 4 & 5 relate specifically to the session on policy, the NNER, and Access to Education.
· Examining Dispositions in for Social Justice and Democracy in the Context of the Public Purposes of Education by Jacobowitz, Kovaks, and Michelli in Education in a Democracy: A Journal of the NNER Vol.2, (Fall 2010
· Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert Putnam, Published by Simon & Schuster, 2015, Chapter 4, “Schooling,” pages 174-183, an excerpt about extra-curriculars.
· In Defense of a Liberal Education, by Fareed Zakaria, Published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2015, Chapter 2 & 3, pp.40-105.
Breakfast will be available at the Hilton Garden Inn – Voucher to be provided in registration packet. Please allow enough time for breakfast preparation in the mornings before session start time.
8:30 a.m. Symposium check-in between 8:30 and 8:45
Nametags and folder will be at the registration table outside the meeting room.
8:45– 9:15 a.m. Symposium Begins - Introduction to the Summer Symposium and the NNER: welcome, purposes, creation of norms for the sessions; Greg Bernhardt, Ann Foster, and Dennis Potthoff.
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Introduction and community building activity; Greg Bernhardt, Ann Foster. We will each select two pictures from a wide array of images to serve as metaphors for introducing ourselves—one that describes something unique, important to or about you and one that relates to your work as an educator/professional.
10:15 - 10:45 a.m. Dennis Potthoff of the NNER will provide an overview of the mission of the NNER.
Education for Everyone, pp. 28 – 32, unpacks the 4 part mission of the NNER.
Mission Statement of the NNER - http://www.nnerpartnerships.org/about-us/mission-statement/
10:45 –11 a.m. Break and transition
11 – 12:30 p.m. Nick Michelli will lead a session on enculturation into a democracy and the connections between a healthy democracy and schooling. Education for Everyone, pp. 38-100; and “Examining Dispositions in for Social Justice…” will assist in grounding these conversations. The Agenda for Education in a Democracy (AED) puts foremost the idea that public education is needed in order to prepare all its members for democratic citizenry. America’s democratic system is demanding and complex, and it is difficult to maintain it without citizens equipped with certain kinds of knowledge, skills and dispositions. The AED asserts that public schools are essential in developing and sustaining such citizens. A second purpose of schooling is for maximum individual development, enabling all youth to fully participate in daily living. The claim of the Agenda is that not only are schools essential in the development, health, and well-being of our nation’s young, but schools are also the only institutions we have for rigorously promoting and sustaining our social and political democracy. What other organization can do this in a nation as large and diverse as ours?
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 – 2:00 p.m. Audrey Allan will lead a conversation. Facilitated reflections on the session at this point. What is clearer? What questions do you have?
2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Leslie Wilson, Deb Shanley and Greg Bernhardt will facilitate conversations around Access to Knowledge (We will break as needed during this session).
Youth must have access to those understandings and skill required for satisfying and responsible lives. One of the unalienable rights identified in the Declaration of Independence is the right of all to “the pursuit of happiness.” If schools are to allow for maximum individual development in pursuit of what would be for each individual the “good life,” they must provide access to knowledge that is in no way impeded by factors irrelevant to learning, such as race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or wealth. How can we ensure that all students have access to the teachers, materials, and ideas they need in order to learn? Linda Darling Hammond, in The Right to Learn (1997, p.297) stated “What students have the opportunity to learn is typically a function of where they live, what their parents earn, and the color of their skin”.
Chapters 4 and 5 of Education for Everyone, and the excerpts from Putnam and Zakaria provide background for this session.
Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, by Robert Putnam, Published by Simon & Schuster, 2015, Chapter 4, “Schooling,” pages 174-183, an excerpt about extra- curriculars.
In Defense of a Liberal Education, by Fareed Zakaria, Published by W.W. Norton & Co., 2015, Chapter 2 & 3, pp.40-105.
Break
4:00 – 4:30 p.m. Walk and Talk – Ann and Greg will facilitate this activity. Paired attendees stroll and reflect on the Agenda for Education in a Democracy and the concepts that were discussed today.
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 pm What have we learned today?... reflections, comments and pulling the concepts together? Vi Florez will facilitate this concluding conversation for day one.
5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Reception and dinner – Audrey Kleinsasser has graciously agreed to host dinner this evening at her home. Details and directions will be provided.
Agenda
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Emphasis for the day: The NNER is committed to advancing education in and for a democracy. This is a central principle to the NNER, which will be continued today. The NNER is founded on the understanding that educators must have the skills needed to create a learning environment that provides access to quality knowledge for all. These skills encompass how we attend to students’ individual needs and engage them with challenging and relevant content. We also hold that providing quality experiences in schools requires engagement with local communities as schools do not operate in isolation but are an integral part of the larger surround.
Readings for Saturday June 27:
· Education for Everyone: Agenda for Education in a Democracy by John I. Goodlad, Corinne Mantle-Bromley, and Stephen John Goodlad (Jossey-Bass, 2004), chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6.
· A Morally Defensible Mission for Schools in the 21st Century by Nel Noddings in Phi Delta Kappan (1995).
· Beyond the Classroom by Richard Clark in The Record Vol, 41, No 1 (2004).
· Heal up and hair over; a Wyoming civility reader Wyoming Humanities Council (2013). Sections 2 &4.
· Jazz at the Improv by Corinne Mantle-Bromley in The Record Vol. 41, No. 1 (2004).
9:00 a.m. Session begins
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Deb Shanley will facilitate. Conversation time debriefing & raising questions and identifying options that we might have in place during lunch later in the day. We would like to be able to engage in conversations with each other around topics of interest in attendees own partnership efforts in their home settings.
9:15 – 11:00 a.m. Nurturing Pedagogy will be explored with Ann Foster and Dennis Potthoff.
An additional mission of the AED concerns the relationship between the teacher and the taught—ideally the practice of nurturing within the art and science of teaching. The teacher-student relationship is a moral encounter because students do not freely choose to be in public school. Their motivation and desire for learning may not be congruent with the aims of the school, and congruency cannot be force or dictated. Teachers must be sensitive and caring, recognizing the individual nature of each student, but they must also make many decisions with the group or class interests in mind. Teachers have a moral responsibility because decisions they make can have a significant impact on the student. Teachers must possess both knowledge and moral sensitivity. The session will be grounded by the articles, Jazz at the Improv and A Morally Defensible Mission for Schools in the 21st Century. In addition, Pages 28-35 in Education for Everyone provides background on the NNER mission.
11:00 – 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 – 12 Noon Audrey Kleinsasser and Shannon Smith will use the readings from Heal up and hair over; a Wyoming civility reader to lead a conversation around the uniqueness of Wyoming and their partnership work.
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Lunch – Chance for attendees to meet around specific issues and questions with the facilitators and/or other attendees with experience and/or expertise is areas of interest to participants.
1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Exploring our role as stewards of the profession will be facilitated by Vi Florez and Deborah Shanley. The readings, Beyond the Classroom by Richard Clark and Education for Everyone provide background for this session.