SV: [OSLIST] OS with students after Obama's inauguration

Tue Jan 27 16:53:36 PST 2009

Ashley...this is a lovely story of learning from inspiration.  Our family
was in Hawaii during the inauguration, which is where Barak Obama was born,
and everyone was so excited there.  It was so inspiring that my own kids
started reading voraciously on the history of Presidents, and thinking a lot
about what Obama was saying and what his election means.  It says something
that no Prime Minsiter of Canada has yet inspired such a fit of
self-organized civics study around our house!

And I'm always struck by the fact that most of the time from kids we hear
what the cynical might call "the same old hopes and dreams and wisdom" but
the process of birthing a nugget like that yourself is profound.  For kids
(and other disempowered folks in society) having realizations like this is a
profound experience.  I am a fan of "reinventing the wheel" a lot of the
time, because the process of discovery and invention and creative
conversationa and collaboration is just as important as getting the best
result, or arriving at a piece of wisdom that is at once new and timeless.
Many conversations result in nothing new being realized in terms of the
bigger scheme of things (chatterboxes should keep quiet) but it is a
profound moment when people arrive at those conclusions themselves.  They
experience themselves as wisdom keepers, and that is a very useful thing to
know about oneself.

Ashely, I am always warmed and moved by your dedication to holding spaces in
which people can discover themselves.  It is a great, great gift, and I hope
you know that, and I hope others know that about you too.

Chris

On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 2:14 PM, Thomas Herrmann <
thomas at openspaceconsulting.com> wrote:

>  Thanks dear Ashley for this inspiring posting and for the important work
> you are doing in the world!
>
>
>
> I have facilitated a few OS-events with children. I especially remember
> during a facilitated pre-meeting where we used a transfer in to start the
> meeting – one of the children (about 10 years old) then named what we had on
> the invitation (the event was about how to prevent harassement and mobbing
> at schools in the area). It went something like: One stick is easy to break
> but many sticks together are difficult to break.
>
>
>
> Just as employers, teachers were astonished by the wisdom, engagement and
> willingness to take responsibility amongst the kids – and scared maybe
> too...
>
>
>
> Thanks again for inspiring me – this is great work!
>
> Warm regards
>
> Thomas Herrmann, Kungsbacka, Sweden
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *Från:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *För *ashley cooper
> *Skickat:* den 26 januari 2009 00:20
> *Till:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> *Ämne:* [OSLIST] OS with students after Obama's inauguration
>
>
>
> Ready to be inspired?!
>
> I opened space with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders after President Obama's
> inauguration last week. These kids are amazing.
>
> Their questions (designed by the three 3rd graders on the planning team):
>
>    - What is something that a group of people working together can change?
>    - What is something that you think is important in our school or in our
>    world that you would like to discuss?
>
> The event started with a poem written by one of the students on the
> planning team:
>
> *Our Speech by Mila Kopp*
> 1 person
> to a small group
> to a large group
> opportunity and ideas and change
> together we can make a difference
>
> And here are some of my favorite comments:
>
>    - STOP Globle Warming (happy voice) in ten years (Deep Voice)
>    - make a complante to the president
>    - Invent vical that runs on trash or sun, rain
>    - Nicely tell others to be nice
>    - Help stop war by traiding reciorses
>    - If you are shy talk
>    - If you are a chatterbox let others have a chance to speak
>    - I agree with (another student) that you don't need that many people,
>    you only need like 5, you don't need like 15 or 20 or 50. You don't need
>    huge numbers like that.
>    - I learned that when everyone pitches in just a little bit, it can
>    make a giant difference.
>    - I discovered how pollution can make the air dirty and hurt people and
>    animals
>    - I discovered a lot of people have ideas too.
>    - I discovered that once you think about it, there is a lot more waste
>    - I learned it can actually be pretty fun to work with other people
>    - Teacher: I learned that you all can have important conversations by
>    yourselves and that you don't need the adults there. I also learned that you
>    can self-organize what you want to talk about.
>    - I discovered there is a lot of things to change and like President
>    Obama, we should start.
>
> You can read more details about these events at :
> http://educatingtheheart.blogspot.com/2009/01/together-we-can-make-difference-open.html
>
> And see pictures here:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/37996625142@N01/sets/72157612937722591/
>
> I hope to have a video to share some day too... but I have to get
> permissions to show their beautiful faces!!
>
> with gratitude,
> Ashley
>
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-- 
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Facilitation - Training - Process Design
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd.
http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com

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