Fall Forum 2010, Demanding Education That Matters: Featured Speakers and Sessions
Nov 10 - 13, 2010 San Francisco, California San Francisco Marriott Marquis,
Register for Fall Forum: http://www.regonline.com/fall_forum_2010
Featured speakers and sessions at Fall Forum 2010: Demanding Educatiion that Matters include:
Opening Session | Thursday, November 11
Opening Session Keynote | Pedro Noguera | Finding a Way Forward During Challenging Times: A New Agenda for Progressive Education | Thursday, November 11, 6:00pm. The Coalition of Essential Schools is delighted to welcome Pedro Noguera to open Fall Forum: Demanding Education That Matters with his keynote address, "Finding a Way Forward During Challenging Times: A New Agenda for Progressive Education." Pedro Noguera is one of America's most important voices for healthy public education. An expert on school reform, diversity, and the achievement gap, he is currently a professor at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University and Director of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. He is also a part-time high school teacher, the author of several groundbreaking texts, a regular guest on CNN, and a dynamic speaker who translates social theory into concise, hip language with emotional impact and intellectual rigor. Click here for more on Pedro Noguera and Fall Forum's Opening Session.
Friday, November 12
Linda Nathan | The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons From an Innovative Urban School | Friday, November 12, 8:00am-10:15am. Boston Arts Academy (BAA) comprises an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse student body, yet 95 percent of its graduates are accepted to college. This remarkable success rate, says co-headmaster Linda Nathan, is in large part due to asking the right questions and being open to seeking answers collaboratively with faculty, parents, and the students themselves. In her recently published book, The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School, Nathan gives insights into the process of grappling with these questions, attempting to implement solutions, and evaluating the outcomes. Stories that are inspirational as well as heartbreaking reveal the missteps and failures—as well as the successes. Nathan doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but seeks to share the philosophies and practices that have worked for the BAA. Principals, educators, and parents will find many new ideas to bring to their own schools. Click here for more information about Linda and her talk.
Anna Richert | Small Moments That Matter: Managing the Moral Dilemmas of Teaching | Friday, November 12, 8:00am-9:45am. This session, facilitated by Anna Richert, Professor of Education at Mills College and Director of Mills Teacher Scholars, will focus on the small moments that raise big dilemmas for teachers. Given the inherent uncertainty of teaching, how to respond to these dilemmas is seldom clear. Still, teachers are called upon to act, knowing such actions often have lifelong consequences. They must draw not only on what they know but what they believe and value. Because teachers make profoundly influential decisions in students’ lives, teaching is moral work. In this session, we will consider and practice moral decision-making in teaching. Click here for more on Anna Richert and this session.
Sharon Zinke | No Time to Waste: Fast Success for Struggling Decoders | Friday, November 12, 10:45-noon. Students who can’t access grade-level text when they reach middle and high school are often so unable to engage in the educational process that they drop out of school. When students fall several grade levels behind in reading, they need teachers who know exactly what to do about it. The strategies shared in this workshop will give participants what they need to quickly make a difference with students who are struggling with decoding text. Click here fore more on Sharon Zinke and this session.
Interfaith Perspectives on Demanding Education Panel Discussion | Friday, November 12, 10:45-noon. School reform, with few exceptions, has left out a key component of the community in which many students we serve are deeply rooted: faith based organizations. Come to this session to hear a variety of local prominent religious leaders dialogue across difference about this year’s Fall Forum theme and their role in supporting educational reform, with moderation from the San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools (SF-CESS). Click here for more about SF-CESS and this session.
The Forum For Education and Democracy | A Briefing on the Next Congress, Educational Policy, and You | Friday, November 12, 8:00am-9:45am. Forum Conveners George Wood, Deborah Meier, and Pedro Noguera will survey the new congress and the status of educational legislation and how it may affect you. Participants will be asked to help advise The Forum on the issues they would like to see addressed in policy agendas as well as how they would like to be involved. Come prepared to find out what you can do to protect and extend the schools you value. Click here for more information about the Forum for Education and Democracy and this session.
Family Engagment Panel: Ways that Families and Educators Lead “Our” Students Toward Improved and Equitable Outcomes | Friday, November 12, 1:30-3:15pm. As educators, we often cite that we can’t do the work alone, additionally we recognize the role of families in educating students. However, we often limit authentic family participation in school reform efforts or are quick to blame their actions when confronting student achievement issues. Come to this session to hear from parents and educators who are in alliance and who rethink the integral role of family partnerships, explicitly toward improved and equitable outcomes for each student. Click here for more on this panel and its moderator, San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools lead coach Tanya Friedman.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer, and Transgender/Transsexual Panel: What Is “An Education that Matters” for Our LGBQT Youth? | Friday, November 12, 3:45-5:00pm. Even with all the attention given to and lessons “learned” from the historical harm of oppression (e.g., racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) within our institutions, our schools continue to be places that seem designed to welcome some of our students and to shun, shame, and push out others. Come hear from a panel of LGBQT youth and educators who answer the Essential Question: What is the role of families and educators in leading “our” students toward improved and equitable outcomes for each student? Click here for more on this panel and its moderator, San Francisco Coalition of Essential Small Schools director Gregory Peters.
Saturday, November 13
Kathleen Cushman | Fires in the Mind: What Students Can Tell Us about Motivation and Mastery | Saturday, November 13, 8:00-9:45am. What does it take to get really good at something? Kathleen Cushman’s new research with students brings youth perspectives to the compelling questions of motivation, effort, and mastery. In this session, she uses the voices and images of her young collaborators to illuminate the factors that move youth to tackle challenging tasks and persist through their difficulties. Click here fore more on this Kathleen Cushman and this session.
Julian Weissglass | Teaching and Leading with Intelligence, Hope, and Integrity: The Challenge for Our Times | Saturday, November 13, 8:00-9:45am. Julian Weissglass--Director, Center for Educational Change in Mathematics and Science; Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Barbarba; and Director, National Coalition for Equity in Education--focuses on the ways adults provide young people with the full respect they deserve and the emotional support they need in order to flourish in an oppressive society. This talk will present some ideas about how to meet these challenges and an opportunity to reflect on your particular struggles. Click here for more on Julian Weissglass and this session.
Deborah Meier | In Defense of Play | Saturday, November 13, 10:45-noon. Deborah Meier joins us as a renowned educator and author, CES co-founder, and CES Executive Board member to discuss the essential role of play in children's lives and learning. Click here for more info about Deborah Meier and her talk.
Closing Session | Saturday, November 13
Closing Session | Soul Element at Boston Arts Academy | Saturday, November 13, noon-1:30pm. Soul Element is a performance piece that is created and performed by theatre majors at Boston Arts Academy (BAA). Each year the school’s theatre students come together to grapple with issues that they struggle with in their daily lives--racial, ethnic, and class prejudice, economic disparity, and violence. Through group discussion and improvisations, the dialogue emerges that highlights the themes of the piece. The process fosters a sense of connection among the students as they realize that they are not alone in their individual experiences. The process can be truly transformative, and the product is a theatre piece that engages the audience in a thought-provoking, authentic piece of theatre. Soul Element is a powerful example of how BAA uses the arts in innovative ways to address social issues. Click here for more information about Soul Element and Fall Forum's Closing Session.
