Equinox
Holistic Alternative School - The growing pains of Toronto's largest
public holistic / alternative school and Canada's first full-day outdoor
kindergarten, what the program looks like right now and where we are headed.
"In a society facing complex cultural, environmental, economic, political,
health and scarcity issues, the same ways of approaching problems will
no longer suffice. What will be required is a new set of aptitudes
that include imagination, inventiveness, collaboration, openness, adaptability
and flexibility. Education has always played a fundamental role in
preparing our children to become engaged citizens of the world and there
is no better way to make change happen than to begin rethinking how we
teach and engage our future generations." http://equinoxschool.ca/
Mark Lasso
(B.A., B.Ed, OCT) - Principal - has been an educator for almost twenty
years as a teacher, consultant and administrator, integrating his background
in children's mental health and gifted education into his current role
as principal of two K to Gr. 8 public schools, Roden P.S. and the newly
founded Equinox Holistic Alternative in the culturally diverse Little India
neighbourhood in east-end Toronto.
Roger White
Academy - The Academy has common challenges (with Equinox) and some
specific challenges. Probably our successes are quite similar. I have thought
of asking our students to come and have a repeat performance of their presentation
for the 9th International Holistic Learning Conference, which was attended
mostly by professors from oversees. The students described their education
from their perspective and did well in replying to questions. I think it
is crucial to hear our recipients and see the work from their perspective.
I am happy to meet with Mark and go over what the curriculum looks like
and where it could go. In fact, this would be a reality check for me as
a past member of the Advisory Board. It might provide us with an opportunity
to reflect on our vision and where it has taken flight. We are in a very
exciting time and we are too close even to see our paradigm shift.
Farzaneh
Peterson (B. Arch. MA) Principal - draws on exceptional and diverse
academic accomplishments together with over twenty-five years of teaching,
curriculum development and administration in avenues of alternative education
in five countries. Excelling in math and sciences, her analytical ability
has served her well in assessing and re-evaluating knowledge theory, methods
of education and cultural contributions. Impelled by the challenges of
bringing up her own gifted daughter within the framework of current priorities
and understandings in education, she found that every child is an individual
with specific gifts and abilities, often responding to widely varying methods
of learning. Her experience has been augmented by completing graduate studies
combining women’s studies, education and history and philosophy of religion
with emphasis on qualitative methods of research. Farzaneh was a member
of the advisory board for Whole Child School. She owns and operates Roger
White Academy, a private holistic school for kindergarten to grade eight
in Newmarket, Ontario.
Bridging
the Gap with Boys
Among the
many serious issues that parents, teachers, and all of society are facing
today is that of the underachievement of boys in the education system.
But how can this issue be addressed? Where can those concerned find the
best solutions to this problem? This presentation will examine the role
that a holistic approach to education plays in allowing all children, including
boys, to achieve to their maximum potential in school.
Dr. James
S. Brown (BA, BEd, BEd, MA, MEd, EdD) is a Canadian parent, grandparent,
teacher, educational leader, academic and researcher who is now retired
after a 40-year career in education. He currently pursues his interest
in equality in education, especially for those disadvantaged by the education
system as it presently functions. He has five children (three sons and
two daughters) and nine grandchildren (six granddaughters and three grandsons).
The Teacher
Stress Code
Mother? Hero?
Savior? Sage? Good Cop Bad Cop? Friend? Who are we when we teach? By the
end of this workshop you will understand how your main stress type influences
your teaching, marking, classroom management, prep time and even
your lunch time! You will know how to recognize, stop
it, and give it a healthier expression in your life – so you can teach
with less stress, guilt, worry, and overwhelm…and find joy in your job
Joanna
Krop
is a former teacher now working in holistic health, burnout
prevention and environmental health. Joanna has transformed teachers’ experiences
with unique approaches to stress and burnout prevention. Visit her at http://www.teachingwellbeing.com
Holistic
Arts-Integrated Curriculum
Holistic Educators
are expected to play an inspector’s role to rightly appreciate our teaching
and learning practices as well as an architect’s role to creatively rebuild
our home of education where children are nurtured as whole beings. Based
on the presenter’s doctoral thesis entitled “Toward Holistic Pedagogy of
Art Integration,” this workshop intends to discuss some current arts-integrated
curricula and suggest how to remedy their shortcomings from an angle of
the holistic ways of the arts. Some vignettes from teachers and parents
on the values of the arts will be shared, and participants will be engaged
in mini activities.
Kyeong
Min - recently finished her doctoral program at OISE under the supervision
of Professor Jack Miller. Her academic and research interest includes whole
child education through the arts, holistic arts-integrated education for
children, and mindful parenting with the arts. Kyeong had worked as a kindergarten
teacher many years in South Korea and immigrated to Canada in 2007.
Experiencing
the Truth of Oneself: Krishnamurti and The Work of Byron Katie in Education
In this workshop,
I will introduce people to The Work of Byron Katie, a simple method of
personal inquiry that I refer to as experiential learning. People will
have the opportunity to witness me facilitate someone in The Work as well
as, time permitting, experience it for themselves. I have found The Work
to be a simple but profound way of experiencing what Krishnamurti claims
is the only way to transform outer reality, which is through understanding
the self. My intention is for people to get a taste of this--of their true
selves--in this workshop.
Kathryn
Jefferies - did her PhD research on the nature of awakening, or, enlightenment,
and non-conceptual or unmediated ways of knowing which provide us with
true intelligence and creativity. Her research focused on the work of Krishnamurti
and Byron Katie. Her interests also include the nature of intuition and
consciousness, and experiential learning that facilitates awakening experiences.
She currently teaches education at Lakehead University in Orillia and facilitates
people in The Work of Byron Katie in private practice. She also is working
on a book from her PhD dissertation, and is a mom.