5 Lessons from the Save Our Schools & AERO Conferences
As you may have noticed from our social media updates, the IDEA team has been traveling all over creation for the past couple of months. Last month Dana Bennis flew to Devon, England, for the 19th annual International Democratic Education Conference, while Scott Nine went to Providence, Rhode Island, for Free Minds, Free People. Earlier this month, Scott and I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action. A few days later, the entire IDEA staff and much of the rest of our team (board members, interns, and organizers) convened in Portland, Oregon, for the 8th annaul AERO Conference.
Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. I feel exhausted, but energized at the same time.
At IDEA, we're committed to sharing the knowledge of the landscape that we gain from traveling, so I'd like to sum up my reflections on the SOS and AERO gatherings and share a few takeaways. The interpretations of purpose below are mine.
Save Our Schools (SOS), July 28-31
Washington, D.C.
Purpose: Demand a humane, empowering education for every child in America and build a national effort to make it happen
Structure: Two days of participant-led workshops, a rally and march on the White House, and a Congress to outline next steps
Number of attendees: Around 200 at the conference and closing Congress; a few thousand at Saturday's march
Keynotes: Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ravitch
March speakers: Matt Damon, Deborah Meier, Pedro Noguera, and educators from around the country
Sample Workshops: Closing the Opportunity Gap; Revitalizing the American High School
Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) Conference, August 4-7
Portland, OR
Purpose: Bring together community leaders and educators from alternative, public, private, and charter schools to discuss "Transforming Education & Our World"
Structure: Workshops (mainly scheduled, a few spontaneous open space), 6 keynotes, films and activities
Number of attendees: Around 500
Keynotes: Khalif Williams, Justo Mendez, Riane Eisler, Melia Dicker, Deborah Meier, Linda Stout
Sample Workshops: How Democratic Is Your School?; Common Ground: A Spirited Debate About Private, Charter, and Public Schools
Here are 5 lessons I learned from both gatherings:
1. When building a national effort, meeting in person can quickly develop essential trust.
IDEA knows this well, as all of our staff live in different parts of the country but meet in person as regularly as possible. Every day, we connect via email, Skype, and/or phone, but there's nothing like talking and laughing and even arguing face to face to strengthen our relationships. Hard conversations in particular are much better had in person.
At both SOS and AERO, I met dozens of passionate education advocates, some totally new to me and some whom I'd gotten to know through long-distance conversations. There were people whom I hugged upon meeting for the first time because I felt like I already knew them, including several of our interns -- Jason Lacoste (who published this reflection on AERO), Eoin Bastable, and Kelsey Parks -- and colleagues like Jing Fong, the fabulous Education Outreach Manager for YES! Magazine. Also at SOS were folks like Ken Bernstein, or teacherken, whose Daily Kos blog posts I have often shared, and Jonathan Kozol, whose books I began reading while I was still in high school.
Even though we now tend to interact virtually with more people than we see in real life, we humans still need face-to-face contact. Meeting someone in person tells you much more about them than a phone conversation can -- the most important thing being whether you trust that person. This matters very much to how well you work together remotely, especially when times get tough.
2. We must put aside differences to get stuff done.
Around 150 SOS participants came together the day after the march for the Congress facilitated by Scott Nine. Our goal was to figure out how to channel the energy from the march into sustained, collective action for change.
Some very positive results came of the gathering. We split up into small groups based on region, and together we made recommendations for how we'd like SOS to proceed. When we reconvened as a large group, we fused the suggestions from each group and charged a committee of volunteers to make final decisions.
There were also some disheartening things that happened. Two people approached Scott, crying, and said that members of their small group had told them to shut up. A woman in another small regional group rudely told someone to leave because he wasn't from that region.
We will not get anywhere by fighting with people who are on our side. Even when we disagree, which we surely will, we must find ways to work through or put aside our differences for the greater good of the cause. Many of us agree on what kind of changes we want in education; we just disagree on how to make them happen. Ultimately, it's not about us and our big egos. It's about the millions of young people who deserve a better education than they're getting.
3. Cross-pollinating is key to learning from each other's experiences.
At a national conference, you have the opportunity to hear from folks around the country about what they're learning about and what they're doing in their communities. You might get some new ideas for projects to try in your classroom, or learn a new strategy for getting the school board to listen. Take the time to cross-pollinate. We will all be stronger for it.
4. Social media is increasingly important for learning and connecting around social change efforts.
At SOS and AERO, I was among a small but mighty group of folks who were live-tweeting the conference -- that is, making regular updates to Twitter about what we were experiencing moment to moment at the gathering. We quoted Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Kozol's powerful keynotes, we broadcast the information being shared in the workshops, and we reported on what was happening at the Save Our Schools March. Because of the debt crisis in DC, the mainstream media did not give SOS as much attention as I believe it normally would have, so it was up to the folks using social media to shape the news and the national conversation ourselves.
You can see IDEA's Twitter feed, as well as the #sos and #aero8 conversations.
At AERO, I was honored to present a workshop on "How to Build an Online Community" and a keynote on "How You Can Use Social Media for Social Change." In these presentations, I shared the ways in which we can use social media to advance our change work in education -- by framing the national discussion, building strong communities across boundaries, highlighting what is happening at the community and school levels, and telling powerful stories about young people. Facebook and Twitter can amplify one person's voice so that it's heard around the world.
5. A movement is not sustainable without renewing its sense of hope, joy, inspiration, and fun.
There's a reason why singing was a core element of the Civil Rights movement. During even the most trying moments, singing unites a group and renews hope. So does laughter. We will accomplish a lot more if we bring a playful spirit to the work that we do than if we let ourselves become jaded.
Posted in on Aug 12, 2011 - 08:25 AM
It is summer conference season. Oh yes, it is summer conference season.As you may have noticed from our social media updates, the IDEA team has been traveling all over creation for the past couple of months. Last month Dana Bennis flew to Devon, England, for the 19th annual International Democratic Education Conference, while Scott Nine went to Providence, Rhode Island, for Free Minds, Free People. Earlier this month, Scott and I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action. A few days later, the entire IDEA staff and much of the rest of our team (board members, interns, and organizers) convened in Portland, Oregon, for the 8th annaul AERO Conference.
Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. I feel exhausted, but energized at the same time.
At IDEA, we're committed to sharing the knowledge of the landscape that we gain from traveling, so I'd like to sum up my reflections on the SOS and AERO gatherings and share a few takeaways. The interpretations of purpose below are mine.
Save Our Schools (SOS), July 28-31
Washington, D.C.
Purpose: Demand a humane, empowering education for every child in America and build a national effort to make it happen
Structure: Two days of participant-led workshops, a rally and march on the White House, and a Congress to outline next steps
Number of attendees: Around 200 at the conference and closing Congress; a few thousand at Saturday's march
Keynotes: Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ravitch
March speakers: Matt Damon, Deborah Meier, Pedro Noguera, and educators from around the country
Sample Workshops: Closing the Opportunity Gap; Revitalizing the American High School
Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) Conference, August 4-7
Portland, OR
Purpose: Bring together community leaders and educators from alternative, public, private, and charter schools to discuss "Transforming Education & Our World"
Structure: Workshops (mainly scheduled, a few spontaneous open space), 6 keynotes, films and activities
Number of attendees: Around 500
Keynotes: Khalif Williams, Justo Mendez, Riane Eisler, Melia Dicker, Deborah Meier, Linda Stout
Sample Workshops: How Democratic Is Your School?; Common Ground: A Spirited Debate About Private, Charter, and Public Schools
Here are 5 lessons I learned from both gatherings:
1. When building a national effort, meeting in person can quickly develop essential trust.
IDEA knows this well, as all of our staff live in different parts of the country but meet in person as regularly as possible. Every day, we connect via email, Skype, and/or phone, but there's nothing like talking and laughing and even arguing face to face to strengthen our relationships. Hard conversations in particular are much better had in person.
At both SOS and AERO, I met dozens of passionate education advocates, some totally new to me and some whom I'd gotten to know through long-distance conversations. There were people whom I hugged upon meeting for the first time because I felt like I already knew them, including several of our interns -- Jason Lacoste (who published this reflection on AERO), Eoin Bastable, and Kelsey Parks -- and colleagues like Jing Fong, the fabulous Education Outreach Manager for YES! Magazine. Also at SOS were folks like Ken Bernstein, or teacherken, whose Daily Kos blog posts I have often shared, and Jonathan Kozol, whose books I began reading while I was still in high school.
Even though we now tend to interact virtually with more people than we see in real life, we humans still need face-to-face contact. Meeting someone in person tells you much more about them than a phone conversation can -- the most important thing being whether you trust that person. This matters very much to how well you work together remotely, especially when times get tough.
2. We must put aside differences to get stuff done.
Around 150 SOS participants came together the day after the march for the Congress facilitated by Scott Nine. Our goal was to figure out how to channel the energy from the march into sustained, collective action for change.
Some very positive results came of the gathering. We split up into small groups based on region, and together we made recommendations for how we'd like SOS to proceed. When we reconvened as a large group, we fused the suggestions from each group and charged a committee of volunteers to make final decisions.
There were also some disheartening things that happened. Two people approached Scott, crying, and said that members of their small group had told them to shut up. A woman in another small regional group rudely told someone to leave because he wasn't from that region.
We will not get anywhere by fighting with people who are on our side. Even when we disagree, which we surely will, we must find ways to work through or put aside our differences for the greater good of the cause. Many of us agree on what kind of changes we want in education; we just disagree on how to make them happen. Ultimately, it's not about us and our big egos. It's about the millions of young people who deserve a better education than they're getting.
3. Cross-pollinating is key to learning from each other's experiences.
At a national conference, you have the opportunity to hear from folks around the country about what they're learning about and what they're doing in their communities. You might get some new ideas for projects to try in your classroom, or learn a new strategy for getting the school board to listen. Take the time to cross-pollinate. We will all be stronger for it.
4. Social media is increasingly important for learning and connecting around social change efforts.
At SOS and AERO, I was among a small but mighty group of folks who were live-tweeting the conference -- that is, making regular updates to Twitter about what we were experiencing moment to moment at the gathering. We quoted Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Kozol's powerful keynotes, we broadcast the information being shared in the workshops, and we reported on what was happening at the Save Our Schools March. Because of the debt crisis in DC, the mainstream media did not give SOS as much attention as I believe it normally would have, so it was up to the folks using social media to shape the news and the national conversation ourselves.
You can see IDEA's Twitter feed, as well as the #sos and #aero8 conversations.
At AERO, I was honored to present a workshop on "How to Build an Online Community" and a keynote on "How You Can Use Social Media for Social Change." In these presentations, I shared the ways in which we can use social media to advance our change work in education -- by framing the national discussion, building strong communities across boundaries, highlighting what is happening at the community and school levels, and telling powerful stories about young people. Facebook and Twitter can amplify one person's voice so that it's heard around the world.
5. A movement is not sustainable without renewing its sense of hope, joy, inspiration, and fun.
There's a reason why singing was a core element of the Civil Rights movement. During even the most trying moments, singing unites a group and renews hope. So does laughter. We will accomplish a lot more if we bring a playful spirit to the work that we do than if we let ourselves become jaded.
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