PRE-CONFERENCE ~ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007
8:30am – 9:00am REGISTRATION
9:00am – 12:00am Pre-Conference Workshops
1 Ed Sarath - Advocating Creativity and Consciousness/Contemplative Studies
An increasing
number of college and university professors are engaging in pedagogical
methodologies that delve into interior dimensions of the learner.
Variously called contemplative/consciousness/spirituality/creativity/transpersonal
studies, this emergent field often requires that colleagues tread carefully
when attempting to justify their work, or even to find initial openings
to move in this direction. The obstacles are particularly formidable
when it comes to moving from single courses in this area to curricular
pathways that involve corresponding course clusters.
In this workshop,
we will discuss common roadblocks as well as possible ways of overcoming
them. I will draw from my personal experience in designing and successfully
advocating a BFA in Jazz and Contemplative Studies curriculum at the University
of Michigan and also successfully proposing a Program in Creativity and
Consciousness Studies on this campus. While my professional background
is in the arts, advocacy issues transcend disciplinary boundaries and thus
this session is of relevance to colleagues in all fields. We will
also explore the advocacy process as a kind of contemplative or spiritual
practice in itself, as it requires us to access deep dimensions of creativity,
consciousness, compassion, insight, diplomacy—not to mention sense of humor.
The session will be interactive and involve contemplative practice, creativity
exercises, and discussion.
Ed Sarath is Professor of Music and Director of the Department in Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. He is also Director of UM’s newly-formed Program in Creativity and Consciousness Studies, which is an interdisciplinary network of colleagues interested in the interior/transpersonal dimensions of the creative process, and is Founder and President of the International Society for Improvised Music. (www.isimprov.org). He divides his time between performing, composing, teaching and writing about the aesthetic, cognitive and transpersonal aspects of the creative process, and designing corresponding educational models. His most recent CD release is New Beginnings, featuring the London Jazz Orchestra performing his large-ensemble compositions. Cadence Magazine lauded the disc for its "combination of compelling contemporary compositions and traditional influences."
2 Deborah Orr - Mindfulness in Anti-Oppressive Teaching and Learning
This workshop will give a brief background to mindfulness theory and practice and a look at some of the ways in which they are now being used by teachers to address oppression. The main part of the workshop will be devoted to introducing and practicing mindfulness techniques – some yoga asanas and some sitting meditation – and applying these to specific issues that teachers might wish to address in their classrooms. Participants are encouraged to bring issues or material from their own teaching to the workshop for the group to work on. We will conclude with a question and answer/discussion period. Please dress in loose comfortable clothing.
Deborah Orr is an Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities at York University in Toronto, Canada. She is a philosopher who teaches in the areas of gender, ethics, and embodiment. She has published on topics in Wittgenstein, feminism, pedagogy, moral logic, and moral development. Recently her work has focused on the uses of mindfulness meditation in anti-oppressive pedagogy. She has been a long-time practitioner of yoga and meditation and teaches these at various venues in Toronto.
3 Chet Sisk - Group Thought Identification, The Power of the Media and the Use of Language
The workshop will be divided into three sections. The first section will experience 3 aspects of his method --- group thought identification, the power of the media and the use of language. The exercise of group thought will involve an in-class group project. The exercise of the power of media will require us to look at media examples through a laptop/media program. The exercise of the use of language will require a in-class project. The second part of the workshop will require sharing results of the testing from the University of Northern Colorado School of Psychology. This will be lecture. The third part will be a question and answer session. Chet W. Sisk has developed a successful, duplicatable method for personal transformation that uses a unique combination of sub-conscience suggestion, contemporary technology, distance learning tools and a 3 day intensive. It has been evaluated by the University of Northern Colorado School of Psychology. He will share their findings and its potential impact on social policy.
Chet Sisk
is an author, keynote speaker and international leadership developer. His
journey through life has led him to a personal commitment to helping people
discover their greater selves through the most difficult times ever imagined.
He believes in one central truth: our greatest challenges point directly
to our greatest opportunities. Chet was the successful CEO of a dot.com
national advertising agency for over 7 years. The company closed during
the dot.com bust and Chet lost everything. He has since spent the past
several years volunteering at a homeless shelter. Chet now focuses his
energy in helping others pass through their greatest life challenges by
moving them from a world of re-action to one of intention.
12:30pm – 1:00pm REGISTRATION
1:00pm - 4:00pm Pre-Conference Workshops
4 Celeste Snowbar - Freeing the Body Within
This workshop will explore the relationship between body, mind and spirit and its place as “home” in our lives. We will work with the premise that the body is a huge teacher in both our personal and vocational lives and is a place for deep listening and what I call "body pedagogy." This workshop will provide some visceral resources to awaken to our body’s wisdom and knowledge. The art of creative movement, play, voice, gesture, dance, improvisation, and ways of writing through the body will be explored as expressions of the body’s voice. We will invite our bodyspirits be a sacred space for holistic education where we can think on our feet, lead with our torsos, and listen to our hearts. This is a place where participants can hone the embodied intuition and find ways to let what is deep within to be a guiding force in their lives. This workshop is designed for those with participants with any level or no level of movement experience.
Celeste Snowber, Ph.D. is a dancer, educator, and writer who is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University outside Vancouver, B.C. She has focused her work in the area of embodiment, spirituality and arts-based educational research. She has written numerous essays and poetry in a variety of journals and chapters in books in the areas of the arts, holistic education and curriculum studies as well as is author of Embodied Prayer and In the Womb of God. Her most recent work has been exploring a poetics of embodiment through her essays, performance and poetry. Celeste has worked in a variety of venues over the years integrating dance, movement, and writing as a way of freeing the artist within. She is presently finishing a book on sexuality and spirituality and writing poems in the midst of raising three lively teenagers.
5 Jack Miller - Education and the Soul
This workshop will first explore the nature of soul and then how soul can be nourished in children, schools and teachers. Various strategies such as visualization, autobiography and journal writing will be discussed. The workshop will be interactive so that participants can engage some of these strategies and explore connections to their own work.
Jack Miller is Professor in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the OISE/UT and author of more than a dozen books including The Holistic Curriculum, Education and the Soul, and Educating for Wisdom and Compassion
6 David Booth - How do graphics and images connect with words to construct meaning?
What changes in meaning making will develop because of: technology, graphic novels, I Books, e-newspapers, and multimedia? How will we as educators support spiritual, aesthetic, artistic, thoughtful, and compassionate meaning making with our wireless students? My research and my writing are now driven by the differences I see between what and how young people read outside school contrasted with inside the classroom. How can we bridge the two (or more) literacy communities, and support readers who will have the strategies to make the most meaning possible from the different texts they will want to and will need to read? What resources (both paper and technological) will help teachers deepen and expand student experiences with texts, and how will we recognize literacy progress and competency, while continuing to support and encourage meaningful and satisfying interaction with printed and visual texts?
David Booth is Professor Emeritus; Scholar in Residence at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) At the University of Toronto; Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Department. For over forty years, he has been involved in teaching children and teachers, as a classroom teacher, language arts consultant, professor, speaker and author. His students have included teachers and administrators enrolled in the preservice, master's and doctoral programs in education. David has authored many teacher reference books and textbooks in all areas of language development: reading, writing, speaking and listening, and has worked on several guidelines for the Ontario Ministry of Education.
A popular speaker internationally, David has addressed educators in every province of Canada, throughout most American states, and in England, Germany, the Near East, New Zealand and Australia. He has participated in many international conferences, speaking and presenting workshops in all areas of language learning. He has won several awards in Canada and the United States for his teaching, for his contributions to language and literacy, and for his books for young people.
(online
registration form http://astralsite.com/holistic/form.html)
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5:30pm – 6:45pm CONFERENCE
REGISTRATION
7:00pm Introduction/Welcome
7:15pm Keynote: Rebekah Carpenter
8:15pm Break-out Groups
8:45pm – 10:00pm Wine and Cheese Reception (cash bar)