Sunday, March 02, 2014

The Freedom to Learn

"Ideally the healthiest learning environment is challenging, it's engaging, it's relevant, meaning the learning is relevant to the learner, it' supportive, and it's experiencial"
"..the things they (students) are evaluated on are those skills that community has decided are the skills of free people: communication, collaboration, curiosity and wonder, leadership, self awareness, creativity, critical thinking" (talking about model schools) 
"What it means to be FREE is to discover one's full worth and to have the skills to unleash one's full potential on the world... Democracy is less about the what of the past and more about then who, about the unique individual, about having the skills and self confidence of discovering our unique voice and unleash that voice on the world"
Sam Chaltain is a DC-­‐based writer, educator and organizational change consultant. He works with schools, school districts, and public and private sector companies to help them create healthy, high-­‐functioning learning environments. Previously, Sam was the National Director of the Forum for Education and Democracy, an education advocacy organization. He was also the founding director of the Five Freedoms Project, a national program that helps K-­‐12 principals create more democratic learning communities. Sam spent five years at the First Amendment Center as the co-­director of the First Amendment Schools program. He came to the Center from the public and private school systems of New York City, where he taught high school English and History. Sam's writings about his work have appeared in both magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, Education Week and USA Today.
GREAT TALK, worth watching -- please listen to it.

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