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Community Works Journal—Online Magazine for K-16 Educators—CURRENT EDITION
INSTITUTE REFLECTION Moving Beyond the Walls in Los Angeles By PAULA COHEN At CWI's Summer WEST, I met like minded educators who could see beyond the limitations, who thought outside the box, who were willing to ask big questions and delve deep into the answers. It felt like coming home. When we talk about resiliency in young people, feeling like a part of something important and valuable is a crucial piece. Our school has been going through many of the tumultuous transitions that all public schools are going through. read more
INSTITUTE REFLECTION Vesting Learners, Facilitating Voice By IYAUNNA TOWERY-AJIDUAH, M.Ed. I remember the night before the first day of the Institute I could not sleep. I had gotten this anxious feeling, the feeling that one might get when they knew “something” was about to happen. I really did not know exactly what to expect. Honestly, what could really happen in just a week’s time? Well, I can now say that a lot can happen: inspiration; intensity; purpose; and transformation.read more
INSTITUTE REFLECTION Crossroads in the Heartland By JAMI SPENCER Sometimes, old school is better school. Hands-on, apprenticeship-style learning beats filling in bubbles any day. Passing down wisdom about medicinal herbs and edible weeds will sustain longer than instructions on how to use that new smart phone that is sure to be outdated in a few months. I want to share the importance of sustainability with my students by providing them with place-based service-learning projects that speak for themselves.read more
ESSAY—Of PLACE AND EDUCATION Swimming Upstream Against the Current:
Changing the School Improvement Paradigm
By DAVID SOBEL This story captures one of those ineffable aspects of what makes a good teacher and school leader, and what leads to constructive school change. The leader genuinely respects each child and knows that each parent and family can contribute to enhancing the learning environment of the school. The school leader reaches out to find community partners, connects parents with social services, creates opportunities for parents and teachers to learn together. read more
EVENTS—PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Summer Opportunities and More Community Works Institute (CWI) is pleased to announce our annual series of unique professional development events for 2012. Among the events being offered are CWI's Summer EAST and WEST Institutes on Service-Learning and our partner Shelburne Farm's Education for Sustainability Institute. All events are appropriate for K-16 and community educators and administrators. Join with educators from around the world for a week of intense exploration, learning , and practical application. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE
Taking a Real Road into the Community BY ANNEMARIE FRANCZYK, Ed.D. It can be an uncomfortable leap for them to consider the bigger issues in the world around them. But if they become professional journalists, it’s that world around them in which they will be working. There’s no time like school time to get budding journalists to think beyond their realm and provide a valuable service to others. read more
FEATURED ESSAY The Precarious Teen Years and the Honor of
Becoming a Blessing By MARITA PRANDONI Being invited into my daughter’s middle school was less invasive than actively getting into her mix. But the mornings I was there, she would keenly avoid being seen with me, and would rush past the math classroom on her way to her next class. Without imposing on her, I got to see firsthand how teachers of teens invest hope and compassion in their students, with complete understanding of their tumultuous state. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE A Nursing Program Comes Together with Community
Supported Agriculture By NANCY LaPLANTE PhD, RN It comes as little surprise then that I was pleased many years ago to discover a community farm on the grounds of my university. From the time I discovered this hidden gem, I wanted to get involved in some way; little did I know then that my involvement would come in the form of an undergraduate research course. read more
ESSAY—EDUCATING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Reflections on the What, Why and How of
Education for Sustainability By KIM RAKOW BERNIER When I work with educators I often start with a visioning exercise. I ask them to respond to the statement, “What do you think the world will look like in 50 years?” The responses to this question are overwhelmingly negative. Before allowing the audience to wallow for too long in the depressing nature of the dystopia they’ve just imagined, I ask a slightly different question. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE The Roots of Activism By CHELSEA ROOD-EMMICK, MSW, LSW We had a student who in his interview told us, to prove he was experienced with travel, that he had been to Iowa for two weeks. Two months later, that student who had been elaborating on how difficult it had been to be in Iowa was in a shanty town in Mexico beating a poisonous snake to death with a hoe. As an instructor, this was about pulling back the veil for our students, many of whom had never traveled or thought about the international community. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE Kids Making Change On Salt Spring Island By JANINE FERNANDES-HAYDEN, MA, BSc Welcome to Salt Spring Island, Canada, one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. As an educator, I knew that, in developing this campaign, success was dependent on a design that would not be viewed as burdensome, or as a time-consuming add-on to the curriculum. It needed to complement the on-going work of administrators and teachers. Alignment was key. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE Service-Learning In A Community School: AmeriCorps
VISTA and The University By LEE N. MITCHELL with ROBERT F. KRONICK Ph.D Longtime children’s television show host Fred Rogers once said, “we live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes” Working with cohorts aged K-5 has reminded me how important it is to be optimistic as well as to have an open heart. read more
FEATURED ARTICLE Digging Deeper: Charting a Path to Change By RICK COTA The experiences of an educator from Mississippi gave me unique perspective that I would not otherwise have ever had an opportunity for. Another educator from Hawaii gave me insight on the challenges that one has on an island paradise...that I later found out were the same as I had in California. What the Institute did for me was allow me the opportunity to share with individuals from different parts of the United States and abroad and realize that we all had unique experiences that we could all relate to. read more
Community Works Journal—Online Magazine for K-16 Educators—CURRENT EDITION
A Network of Support for Engaged Educators •communityworksjournal.org Community Works Journal is a publication of Community Works Institute
REPRODUCTION POLICY: Material contained within this website may not be reused or reprinted, in part or in whole, in any form, without the written-email approval of Community Works Institute. We do often approve requests for re-publication of selected articles and essays from Community Works Journal, provided that a link and proper citation and credit information is given. If you are interested in re-publishing an article or essay please email us to requestapproval.
PUBLICATION & DISTRIBUTION Community Works Journal's publication has been made possible, in part, through grants from The Corporation for National Service, The Thompson Trust, The Bay and Paul Foundations, and with support from Shelburne Farms and our other sponsors. Community Works Journal also depends on the generous donations of our individual contributors. The Journal is published by Community Works Institute (CWI).
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Community Works Journal l PO Box 1390 l Claremont, CA l 91711 l (909) 480-3966 l email
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