Education Healing (long)
Joelle Lyons Everett
JLEShelton at aol.com
Sun Jun 9 13:04:35 PDT 2002
Thanks, Larry--such good work, and so much needed (and in many other places
as well).
Joelle
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>From Sun Jun 9 14:27:27 2002
Message-Id: <SUN.9.JUN.2002.142727.0800.>
Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2002 14:27:27 -0800
Reply-To: bjp1 at cox.net
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: BJ Peters <bjp1 at cox.net>
Subject: Re: Education Healing (long)
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Thanks Larry-- What a gift to Ontario and to us on this list! Because we
all face tremendous challenge with public education, it might be helpful
if you share some about the forums that preceded this event. If you've
already done that, forgive the request.
<p>BJ Peters
<p>Larry Peterson wrote:
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<div class=Section1>
<div class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>I
have to share a story while I’m still vibrating with the excitement and
energy.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>(I’ll improve the writing
and detail for the next OSI Canada Newsletter coming out soon).</font></font><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font size=-1><font face="Arial">I
just finished leading a 2.5 day 350 person Open Space event on “Realizing
the Promise of Public Education” that was wonderful. <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span></span><st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'></font>Judy
Gast</span></st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>
and </span><st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>Audrey
Coward</span></st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>
volunteered to give super help for a topic they cared about.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Some
other folks who have taken OS workshops and facilitate events were there,
Eric Lillis and Louise <span class=SpellE>Pinet</span> as participants
and </span><st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>Susan
Langley</span></st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>
and <span class=GramE>Ruth<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Baumann</span>,
both trained facilitators, were also the sponsors.</font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font size=-1><font face="Arial">For
the past 10 years Public Education has been under substantial threat in </span><st1:State><st1:place><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'></font>Ontario</span></st1:place></st1:State><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>,
like in many places.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>What was touted
as one of the best systems in the world has been cut to the bone and teachers
have been taken on buy a government with strong leaning toward a private
system.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>During that time the Teacher’s
Federations have fought among themselves and the umbrella Ontario Teachers’
Federation has had to substantially downsize (in the last 6 months).</font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>In
the face of all this there has been a poisoned, confrontational climate
among the stakeholders.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>To begin
to address this, the Ontario Teachers Federation initiated a series of
2.5 hour community forums in 1999.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>I
was asked to design them and to train teacher-facilitators to use a process
of small group discussions where teachers listened with no presentations.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>The
38 communities that have held the forums across the province recruited
a diversity of participants to the dialogue and dialogue not outcome
was the focus.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>As you might expect,
the “outcomes” of those forums, what people have done as a result of the
conversations <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>and networking
have been exciting both for the communities and for the participants, including
the teachers.</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>These
past few days, OTF held a Provincial Forum.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Because
of the downsizing, they cut the expectation to 200 participants.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Because
of great recruiting 320 people from across the province came.</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font size=-1><font face="Arial">The
event began with some presentations, not my preference but what was necessary
for the sponsors.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>I then opened and
held the space and the participants self-organized some amazing, healing,
joyful, strategic and momentum building conversations.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>The
participants were from across </span><st1:State><st1:place><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'></font>Ontario</span></st1:place></st1:State><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'>:
parents, teachers, administrators, trustees, provincial activists, federation
activists with education, food banks, healthy schools, small business people,
aboriginal education leaders, a few Ministry of Education folks, black
activists, etc.</font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>For
most it was their first experience of Open Space but they carried with
them some of the values and skills from the Community Forums.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>There
was some attrition by the closing on Saturday morning, as expected, but
those who stayed told of life affirming and changing experiences: healing
conversations between parents and teachers, between those working from
different perspectives on how to move forward, between local union leaders
and business people.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>One woman was
moved by here community forum a couple of years ago to run for trustee,
and won.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>She described how she was
moved by the Open Space to stand up for her community in ways she could
not have imagined.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Students loved
it.</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>It
was a delight and another step down a path.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>More
community forums are planned in areas that have not held them or to take
the conversations to a new level where they have been held.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>The
next Provincial Forum in Open Space will be held in a year with a hope
to double the size and it will be right before Provincial Elections.</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>It’s
a story I needed to tell my friends this morning.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span>Thanks.</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang=EN-CA style='font-size:
10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>Larry</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><st1:PersonName><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>Larry
Peterson</font></font></span></st1:PersonName><span
lang=EN-CA style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>Associates
in Transformation</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><st1:place><st1:City><span
lang=EN-CA style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>Toronto</span></st1:City><span
lang=EN-CA style='mso-no-proof:yes'></font></font>, </span><st1:State><span lang=EN-CA
style='mso-no-proof:yes'>ON</span></st1:State><span lang=EN-CA
style='mso-no-proof:yes'>, </span><st1:country-region><span lang=EN-CA
style='mso-no-proof:yes'>Canada</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span
lang=EN-CA style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>416.653.4829</font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>larry at spiritedorg.com</font></font><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><font face="Arial"><font size=-1>www.spiritedorg.com </font></font><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-no-proof:yes'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'></span><o:p></o:p></span>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span lang=EN-CA
style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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