We share brief presentations from the first of the “Saturday Salons” that Ethical Schools is sponsoring with three international partners. Juan Mora of the Center for Artistry and Scholarship and Ramji Raghavan of Agastya International Foundation talk about how educators and communities can cultivate awareness of and relationship to the natural world.

Learn more and register for the next salon at globalconversations.net

Overview

00:00-01:36 Introductions by Amy and Jon

01:36-02:45 Introduction of Juan Mora by David Penberg

02:45-12:36 Juan Mora:

Separation of people from nature;

What would you do if you were starting a school from zero?

Experience in Córdoba, Argentina of basing a school on nature;

Integrating the curriculum into nature-centered activities;

And kids never asked, “Why are we doing this (activity)?”

We’ve left nature out of our learning environments;

A shift in learning that will help us understand how to teach and what to teach and where to teach differently.

12:36-14:09 David Penberg:

Reciprocity, centrality of relationships, “nature deficit disorder”;

Introduction of Ramji Raghavan

14:09-23:59 Ramji Raghavan:

Transforming a barren wasteland of 170 acres into an ecological preserve;

Nature-centric learning;

Eco-walk;

Constructing a giant figure showing herbs benefiting different parts of the body;

Constructing a termite hill;

Bandhu—everything is connected;

Distributing learnings throughout India.

23:59-25:15 David Penberg:

How educators can create conditions for people to think the kinds of worlds that they would like to inhabit and live in, whether it’s a school, a community;

Creative learning and what that looks like, creative being;

Being intentional, observant and continuously in relationship to the things around you.

25:15- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this conversation.

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

We speak with Dr. Mia Hood, author of  Pop Culture Literacies: Teaching Interpretation, Response, and Composition in a Digital World, about analyzing popular music and films along with more traditional literature. Dr. Hood talks about helping students to think about their ethical perspectives while engaging with "entertainment," and the importance of educators' resisting the temptation to impose their own “expert” interpretations in favor of modeling the process. We also discuss how teachers can resist imposing their views while teaching for democracy and social justice.

Overview

00:00-00:48 Intros

00:48-02:48 Pop culture literacies

02:42-04:22 Schools’ ethical duty to help young people navigate the world as it is

04:22-06:23 Helping students to thin about their ethical perspectives

06:23-11:58 Students’ responses; Intersection of pop culture literacies and schools

11:58-15:01 Critical literacy and text analysis

15:01-19:09 Power operating within and through texts

19:09-21:56 Piercing the veil of “entertainment” to encourage critical analysis

21:56-26:25 Impact of AI

26:25-30:48 Kathy Hytten’s article, “Ethics in teaching for democracy and social justice”

30:48-33:55 Parental pushback?

33:55- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

Resources

Book Pop Culture Literacy: Teaching Interpretation, Response, and Composition in a Digital World by Mia Hood

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Collaborate with teachers and learners worldwide!

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT GLOBALCONVERSATIONS.NET

Along with our partner organizations – Agastya International Foundation, Center for Artistry and Scholarship, and Thinking With You – Ethical Schools is bringing together educators, youth workers, and students from around the world to discuss ethical, democratic, and regenerative education strategies. Hear exciting presentations from visionary practitioners and participate in group discussions.

Come with your co-workers! Attend with a cohort from your school or out-of-school program to maximize the benefits for your organization and students.

Series 1: Ethics and the Natural World Saturdays, January 10 and 31; February 21 8:30-10:00 AM EST

Pay what you wish. Suggested donation: $25 per session, $50 for all three sessions Additional participants from your organization: $15 per session, $30 for all three sessions.

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER AT GLOBALCONVERSATIONS.NET