Freedom and Responsibility

Friday, November 19, 2010

 

West Kildonan Drummers (8:20 a.m to 8:45 a.m.)

Plenary (8:45 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.):

Welcome from the Honourable Jim Rondeau, Minister of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors

Jennifer Corriero
TakingITGlobal
TakingITGlobal for Educators

The World We Want
This interactive talk shows how today’s youth are fueling the transition from old to new media in terms of social activism and instant worldwide relationship-building. Jennifer Corriero draws on her unique experiences—co-founder of TakingITGlobal at age 19, one of Canada’s most powerful women less than a decade later—to help young people understand the opportunities that exist for them to contribute to, and shape, a more understanding, compassionate, and interconnected world. She will also share insights on the various emerging forms of leadership demonstrated by youth globally along with recommendations for shaping the future of education in ways that cultivate global awareness and action.

Keynote Sessions (10:30 a.m. to noon):
  1. Joel Westheimer, University of Ottawa
  2. 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.

  1. Faisal Moola, David Suzuki Foundation
  2. 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.

  1. Brian Schultz, Northeastern Illinois University
  2. 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.
    3. Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way (Website)
    Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way (Video)
    Room 405 (Website)

  1. Rita Tenorio, La Escuela Fratney School, Milwaukee
  2. 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.
    3. La Escuela Fratney: Developing future citizens through a multicultural, anti-racist, dual language curriculum (Presentation 11 MB)
  3. Wendy Rutherford, Rosser Elementary, Interlake School Division
  4. 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.

  1. Al Gardiner, University College of the North
  2. 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.
    3. PowerPoint Presentation Into the Wild: A summer enrichment program for youth (Presentation 40 MB)
  3. Karen Gunther and Meghan Cook, Bright Futures Program
  4. Making a Difference—One Student at a Time
     Karen Guenther and Meghan Cook will share why and how the Bright Futures Program was established and developed within a low income community in northwest Winnipeg. Included will be a discussion of comparative high school graduation and dropout statistics (low income compared to high income communities); Bright Futures Program goals; the importance of relationship building and mentorship in helping students to find success; and the data collected showing how Bright Futures students’ opinions regarding the importance of education now and in future are changing.
    5. Bright Futures (Presentation 1.33 MB)
  5. Paul Kambaja, Fondation Charité Congo-Canada Inc.
  6. 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.
    7. Inclusion and Education Power of One (Presentation 131 KB)
    Refuge Family Services (Website)
    Bridging Refugee Youth & Children's Services (Website)

  1. Elliot Washor, Big Picture Learning
  2. Learning in the Knowledge Funnel: The Solution to the Dropout Crisis
    The co-founder of the first Met school in Providence, Rhode Island, Washor will take participants through a practical framework that shows how 10 essentials for learning need to be in place for students to get connected to content and themselves so they don’t drop out of school. Examples will be used from Big Picture Learning schools around the world showing how students from all backgrounds become re-engaged in school through this framework.
    3. Big Picture Learning (Website)

  1. Bob McGahey, Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF)
  2. 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.
    3. 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)

  1. Special Session on Poverty and Its Effects on School-Aged Children
  2. Randy Fransoo
    The Whole Truth: Socioeconomic Status and Educational OutcomesThe existence of a social gradient in educational outcomes has been known for decades, but the full extent of this gradient has been impossible to estimate given limitations in data available (especially in accounting for retention and dropout). Working with recently acquired administrative data from provincial departments of Health and Education, the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy has conducted a first population-based analysis of educational outcomes for all children in Manitoba. The results are sobering, and provide solid evidence on which to base enhanced efforts to raise and equalize educational outcomes for all children.
    3. PowerPoint Presentation How Do Educational Outcomes Vary by Socioeconomic Status? (Presentation 40 MB)
  3. Shauna MacKinnon
    The Deep and Damaging Effects of Intergenerational Poverty–How do we stop the cycle?
    Not having sufficient income to buy the basic things that others take for granted is difficult enough, but when you add to that a myriad of other obstacles, it is no wonder that some people never escape. Poverty, and especially long-term, intergenerational poverty, can be deeply damaging for individuals and families, but also for society. Understanding intergenerational poverty is the first step to breaking the cycle of despair and hopelessness that leaves many destined to a life of poverty. While there is no single solution, schools can create an environment of hope for kids who have none. Keeping kids in school is the first line of defence against poverty. But creating a more positive, safe, and hopeful environment for poor kids begins with an understanding of our own perceptions of poverty and people who are poor.
    4. Integrational Poverty: The damaging effects and what we can do to break the cycle (Presentation 508 KB)
  1. Student Session with Jennifer Corriero
  2. Following the morning plenary session, students will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive session with Jennifer Corriero. Ms. Corriero will respond to participants’ questions and let them know how TakingITGlobal can be a helpful resource for them as active citizens of their local and global communities.

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