The Underground Railroad, Meeting 1

Here's a look into the first meeting for The Underground Railroad.

The second meeting will be on Thursday, July 27 from 5:30-7:00 at 2578 Frankford Ave.

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the US, Meeting 1

Here are some pics from the first meeting!

Join us for the second meeting on Thursday, July 20 from 1:00-3:00 in West Philly. Location TBD

Undocumented, Meeting 1

List of themes from the first meeting for Undocumented:

• Abuse
• Contradictions
• Kindness
• Racism
• Money
• 14th Amendment 
• Visibility/Invisibility
• History
• Unification of identity groups
• Education

The third meeting will be on Thursday, July 13 from 3:30-5:00 in Center City. Location TBD

 

Class War: The Privatization of Childhood, Introduction!

We are so excited that you are all interested in a group reading of Class War. This book is super accessible and incredibly well researched. Erickson very concisely and coherently analyzes and critiques the causes and consequences of the neoliberal turn in education and childhood more generally. Erickson writes from the perspective of a teacher, activist, and social theorist--she is able to draw on personal experiences in order to critique the system as it is, but also outline a vision for a more equitable and just educational system by drawing on critical pedagogy and feminist theory.   

We're going to cover the book in 4 sessions beginning on July 12th. The schedule is as follows: 

7/12: Introduction and Chapters 1 & 2 (Public Schooling: Who Listens, Who Speaks? and A Nation at Risk? The Policy Landscape of Public Education)

7/26: Chapter 3 (Edutopia: Against Technical Fixes to Political Problems)

8/9: Chapter 4 & Conclusion (Every Child Should Have 100 Parents: Against Personal Fixes to Political Problems, and Conclusion: A Caring Society)

Final meeting Date TBD based on member availability 

The first meeting will be on Wednesday, July 12 from 5:30-7pm at 814 S. Sheridan St #6

Sign up for the google group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/class-war-2017
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Trauma Sensitive Schools, Meeting 1

Our Questions:

Chapter 1

- views on and experience with zero-tolerance policies

- what are you in control of in your current position? (your schedule, your groupings, your room/space, etc.) 

- what experience have you had with trauma aware approaches? any training, ongoing trainings/workshops?

- views on/experience with positive behavior support/social-emotional learning?

Chapter 2

- accountability in having a trauma sensitive approach with families, parents, adults in your community

Chapter 3

- neurology of attachment and caregiving. What questions do you have? Are you interested in more resources?

The next meeting is on Thursday, July 19 starting at 5:30pm at 928 Pine St

Join the google group here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/trauma-sensitive-schools-2017

Click here to sign up for other books!

The Fire Next Time, Meeting 1

The group reading The Fire Next Time developed norms as a part of the book discussion process:

1. Leave your titles at the door

2. Allow all voices to be heard-Listen first to understand, and don’t be dismissive of the input received when we listen.

3. Trust one another

4. Practice being open minded

5. Support one another (maybe this could be better worded as Agree to disagree)

6. Have fun getting to know and learning from one another (be slow to judge, but to understand and help

7. Attack the system and not the individual

The Schedule for meeting is as follows!

1- (June 28th ) LEGACIES / ROOTS / shining a light on the darkest corners of our history / in conversation with our elders and ancestors (please read in it’s entirety "My Dungeon Shook — Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation." and also progress to page 51.)

2 - (July 12th) RECKONING / BRANCHES / wrestling with our current predicament / talking with those with us in the present. (please continue to read "Down At The Cross — Letter from a Region of My Mind.)

3 - (July 26th) JUBILEE / SEEDS / attempting to envision a better future / speaking to our descendants and those ahead of us. (Screening of “I Am Not Your Negro”)

The next meeting is on Wednesday, July 12 from 3-4:30pm at 2578 Frankford Ave

Join the google group here:https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/the-fire-next-time-2017.

Click here to sign up for other books

Americanah, Meeting 1

We started with a very broad opening question, "Why did you want to read this book?" This opened us to the text, allowing us to stay grounded in the story as well as share our own experiences outside of it. I think the notes themselves are a great type of word collage and (re)presentation of our conversation, as our conversation had no specific and/or linear path. This book seems to simultaneously speak to larger, more global issues, as well as provide a unique lens through which to tell a story. In fact, we talked a lot about what a subjective lens--that makes generalization/generalizability neither an aim nor an option for the author--can(not) offer toward writing about issues of racism, white supremacy, and transnationalism.  

The next meeting is Wednesday, July 19 from 6-8 pm at Drexel University (MacAllister Hall, 33rd and Chestnut Streets, Room 2020).

Join the google group here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/americanah-2017
Click here to sign up for other books