Eco Justice
Friday, November 19, 2010
Plenary (1:00 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.):
Wade Davis
Cultural Anthropologist
The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World
Indigenous human cultures are going extinct faster than many plants and animals. Fully 50 percent of the more than 6000 languages spoken today will cease to exist in our lifetime. With them will go the knowledge, stories, customs, and footprints of entire cultures. Davis leads us on an enlightening and gripping journey through ancient worlds, demonstrating how our world is richer for their presence and contributions.
- 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- Kevin Lamoureux will facilitate a session that will focus on storytelling through oral and written means. This workshop will complement the following session that will centre on Image Theatre.
The Importance of Stories (Presentation 2.7 MB) 
The Story of Stuff (Website) Third World Canada (Website) The Dumbest Generation (Website) The Wal-Mart Effect (Website)- 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Alysha Sloane will guide the youth delegates through a workshop that will offer them a unique opportunity to learn about and engage in Image Theatre. This session will present participants with the chance to share their ideas, opinions, and stories in creative ways.
Keynote Sessions (2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.):
-
Wade Davis, Continuing Conversation with Wade Davis
- Faisal Moola, David Suzuki Foundation
- Waiting for the Ark: The Global Biodiversity Crisis and Its Consequences for Ecological Health and Community Well-Being
Our planet is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis that threatens the basic life-support systems of the planet—clean air, water, soil, and energy. Among the most vulnerable wildlife threatened by extinction are plants and animals that are iconic to Canadian, such as polar bears and grizzlies, salmon and woodland caribou. We have only recently begun to fully understand the impacts of biodiversity loss at such an unprecedented scale. They include major threats to ecosystem integrity and human welfare.
- Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa
- Educating the “Good” Citizen: The Politics of Teaching Democracy
Ask people of any city, province, or nation if they think children should learn how to be good citizens and most will say “of course.” Ask them if teaching children to get involved—locally, nationally, and globally—is a good idea, and, again, most will assure you that it is. But beyond the clichés, when teachers, administrators, and district leaders wrestle with the nitty-gritty details of what will actually be taught in civic education and what students will actually do, the easy consensus starts to fray. That, Dr. Westheimer notes, is where the real work of examining citizenship education begins.
- Elliot Washor, Big Picture Learning
- Rigorous Work and Citizenship: The Met School
The co-founder of the first Met school and the non-profit Big Picture Learning, Washor will describe Big Picture schools’ innovative approach to high school education that has received wide acclaim from educators, students, policy makers, and communities. Daniel Pink in Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us (2009) lauds Big Picture Learning as “creating places that cultivate engagement” and that result in success for many low-income and minority kids.
- Rita Tenorio, La Escuela Fratney School, Milwaukee
- Bilingual by La Escuela Fratney: Developing Future Citizens through a Multicultural, Anti-Racist, Dual-Language Curriculum
For 20 years, Milwaukee’s Fratney has been developing a unique and innovative curriculum that builds on the strengths of the diverse population that it serves. Latino, African-American, and white students learn together in two languages. Through four school-wide themes—respect, multiculturalism, citizenship, and heritage—students learn about each other and the world around them. The presenter will share the vision and practice at La Escuela Fratney, and offer strategies to infuse these ideas in schools. - Wendy Rutherford, Rosser Elementary, Interlake School Division
- Each of Us Has a Light
In this session, a small Kindergarten to Grade 4 school in Manitoba’s Interlake will demonstrate how small numbers and small people can make a difference. The three facets of sustainable development that intersect to form our quality of life are the environment, the economy, and human health and well-being. At Rosser Elementary, the 39 children are active participants in all of these. A combined group of Grosse Isle and Rosser school students explain through speaking and song how caring for the earth and others is not a role but a responsibility.
La Escuela Fratney: Developing future citizens through a multicultural, anti-racist, dual language curriculum (Presentation 11 MB)- Phoebe Burns, Canadian Mennonite University
- Youth Peacebuilding Project
Led by Canadian Mennonite University’s Institute for Community Peacebuilding, the Youth Peacebuilding Project is a grassroots initiative of six community organizations: Ka Ni Kanichihk, Immigrant and Refugee Organization of Manitoba, Newcomer Education and Employment Development Services, Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, and the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg. Since 2007, the Youth Peacebuilding Project has worked to bring together Aboriginal, newcomer, and established youth in Winnipeg to dialogue about identity-group conflict and peacebuilding. For more information visit the Winnipeg Youth Peacebuilding Project. - Al Gardiner University College of the North
- Into the Wild
Into the Wild was created as a summer program for children and youth. With a focus on science, mathematics, and land-based learning experiences, Into the Wild was developed to create experiential learning experiences to address summer learning loss and to be congruent with the Kakihtawi Yihtamowin SAGE (Securing Goals in Aboriginal Education) program. Under the direction of University College of the North B.Ed. students, participants in the program developed a better understanding and greater appreciation for their community and the environment. - Paul Kambaja, Fondation Charité Congo-Canada Inc.
- Summer Transitional School for New Immigrants
Since 2007, Fondation Charité Congo-Canada (FCCC) has witnessed an increase in the number of children coming from the Congo and other African countries who are experiencing parental neglect and domestic violence and who risk being disengaged at school, dropping out, or becoming involved with local gangs. This session will describe, with help from some of the students, a successful Transitional Summer School program serving students from Grades 1 to 11 delivered by FCCC with funding from Manitoba Education and the private sector.
- Bob McGahey, Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF)
- Acting Sustainably, Living Peacefully
This workshop will introduce a new CTF program on social action and their newest resource for Grades 9 and 10 students. No resource could capture the full breadth of the issues and concerns that underlie the themes of “Pacifism” and the “Environment.” However, this new resource opens a small window of possibilities for living sustainably and harmoniously. To take this a step further, imagine students involved in a meaningful project based on critical thinking and innovation resulting in action—a project that allows them to develop personal and collective responsibility for their environment, their community, and their future.
imagineaction: A student-driven social action movement (Presentation 1.68 MB) imagineaction : Un mouvement d'action sociale piloté par les élèves (Présentation 1.57 Mo)- Brian Schultz, Northeastern Illinois University
- A Justice-Oriented Classroom: Learning From, With, and Alongside Students
When a teacher challenged students from an urban housing project community to name a problem they wanted to solve, they unanimously focused on replacing their dilapidated school. As students examined conditions of the school and researched causes of decay, they initiated a mission of remedy and repair through a contingent action plan that integrated the curriculum. The students’ critical thinking and problem posing powered profound self-transformations and remarkable achievement.
Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way (Website) Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way (Video) Room 405 (Website)- Jamie Oliviero and Shawn Kettner, The Peace Banner Project
- The Peace Banners
At every grade of the Manitoba social studies curriculum, in the Values section, there are fundamental, recurring themes. These are appreciation of others’ interests, abilities and beliefs; respecting the needs and rights of others; contributing to community; developing peaceful, nonviolent ways of conflict resolution; and remembering the lessons of the past through oral history and storytelling. Storyteller Jamie Oliviero will go into any class, at any grade, to share stories from world folklore, discuss their meanings, and make links to these themes. Then each class, as a group, is guided through the process of creating a story of their own.
With the help of artist Shawn Kettner, the classes make illustrations of their stories. These illustrations, along with written versions of the stories, are electronically reproduced on fabric banners approximately four feet by eight feet. These Peace Banners can then be displayed in schools and other public places as a way of creating a sense of community.
