Inspired Teaching Alumni Conference
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Save this Date:
August 18, 2008
Alumni of the Inspired Teaching Institute are invited to join us for a day of rejuvenation before the 2008-09 school year begins. Now in its third year, this annual conference is designed to reconnect our alumni and reinvigorate Inspired Teachers so they are ready to jump into another successful year.
This year's conference will be held at the Washington Ethical Society
7750 16th St. NW
Washington, DC 20012
The conference runs from 8:30 am to 3 pm and breakfast and lunch will be served.
The Inspired Teaching Alumni Conference is free to alumni.
RSVP to Griffin or Jenna Fournel 202.462.1956
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Center for Inspired Teaching is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that exists to ensure schools make the most of children's innate desire to learn. We do this by investing in teachers. Please visit our website to learn more about our philosophy, programs, and results.
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What can I learn from the
community around my school?
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As you relax (and melt) into the peak of the summer, consider taking advantage of a few stress-free hours to take a walk in the
neighborhood surrounding your school and get to know the people who make up this place your students
call home. Summer is a great time to do this because people tend to be out and about and it's easy to start the kind of conversation that can teach you a thing or two.
People are always talking
about how isolating the teaching profession can be, and a lot of that comes
from the fact we're too busy to do much outside our school. But we miss out
on some great opportunities when we don't bring the outside community through
that front door.
- There could be a Vietnam
Veteran working in the shop around the corner who could give your students
a first-hand account of history.
- There could be a doctor
down the street who could teach your students about the pros and cons of homeopathic
medicine.
- There could be a grandmother
of one of your students who would like to share her story about immigrating
to the United States.
- What might your class
learn from the postal worker who has seen the neighborhood change over decades?
- Who knows what poets,
musicians, storytellers, philosophers, rebels, and radicals live within all
those buildings?
- If you could take your
math class to that construction site, what could the builders teach your students about
the relationship between geometry and their work?
- Are there community organizations
on the block that specialize in mediation?
- Are there parent volunteers
who would like to help you with tutoring?
How many times this year
have you wished for another set of hands, someone to do the talking for day,
a fresh way to teach the same old thing? It's possible that the answers to all
these wishes (and more!) have only been a few feet away. Now you have the time
to find them.
We have some tools to help you out below, but the best tools will
be your feet and your curiosity. You're a teacher. You've earned
the right to show that badge when you reach out your hand to talk to people.
And it's my guess, based on my own experience, that you'll find a lot of hands
eager to reach right back.
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Questions for the Community
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If you decide
to take a tour of your school neighborhood, these are some questions that might
open a few doors.
Click here for the list. |
A Community Wish List
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What materials, services, and supports are available in your school community
that could be used to help in your classroom?
Let this guide serve as a starting point for creating your own.
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Teacher Resources: Community Services
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Urban
Ed
Urban Ed is a community development organization whose mission is to provide
education, information and skill development to low-income people of color to
foster economic independence. The organization carries out its mission by focusing
on advanced training in employment sectors that offer jobs with stability, mobility,
and above-average wages.
Sasha Bruce Youthwork
Sasha Bruce Youthwork delivers comprehensive services to meet the urgent needs
of at-risk youth and their families and is a key provider of youth and family
services in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding community. The organization
provides a wide spectrum of services ranging from basic educational workshops
to sexual counseling and independent living programs.
Peaceoholics
Peaceoholics is non-profit organization that is committed to the youth and families
of the District of Columbia. Through the various activities of Peaceoholics,
youth will be transformed into drug-free and crime-free productive members of
their communities. Specific activities of the organization include: designing
and operating youth programs, developing a network of peace-minded individuals,
participating in youth events sponsored by schools, government agencies and
non-profit organizations, and training and workshops. United Planning Organization
The United Planning Organization, the designated
community action agency for Washington, D.C., is a private nonprofit
human service corporation that, in keeping with its corporate mission, plans, coordinates, and implements human service programs in the Nation's Capital. |
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