Pachamama Update: Training and Youth Project

Thanks so much to all who contributed funds toward my training for the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium! I was able to complete my training to become a facilitator of the Pachamama Alliance’s Symposium with the help of close to 20 donors!
UPDATE ON THE TRAINING:
The training consisted of 2 weekends (March 6-9 & April 5-6).
The first weekend focused on familiarizing us with the material of the "Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream” symposium. Another major component was getting to know each other, as many of us will be producing these events together.
The second weekend was a practice run-through of actually presenting the materials. We formed groups for each section and managed our own practical questions of how to present from the front of the room, who gets to do Audio-Visual (and how?!), and what happens if something goes 'not according to plan'.

Each group of facilitator trainees in the past has voted on a group name, and the group I trained with has been self-dubbed "Heart Spring"--and indeed there was definitely a sense of community and open-heartedness. Not only did I enjoy my training, but my experience of the material combined with the authenticity of the people involved in all aspects of the training has created a community where I feel really welcomed. This past Sunday (April 20) I facilitated at my first Symposium and got to see some seasoned presenters work through technical snafus and tight time-lines and was truly inspired by the work of bringing this message to folks everywhere.

As was hoped there has also been much headway on developing a Youth Experience through the Pachamama Alliance and just today I got to sit in on a conference call involving many interested facilitators from all over the country (from New Orleans to Washington State). For my own part I hope to contribute to the development of a curriculum for teachers and students in the K-5 range. I’m hopeful that my relative inexperience will be balanced by the fact that there are two others involved who have professional experience at developing curriculum! Most of the Pachamama Alliance’s focus has been on developing events for middle school and high school, and it does cross my mind that perhaps developing an elementary level curriculum along these lines may be a bit more daunting that I had first thought. I am also slated to take part in a youth development workshop at the Pachamama Alliance's offices in early May. I’ll be giving an update on that workshop via this blog, so check back.

I look forward to making some progress in identifying the principle needs of the K-5 students and how to address these needs to bring an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling curriculum to fruition. I have also recently visited a Montessori school and observed the class dynamic, and I hope to volunteer in Montessori schools this summer to gain some practical experience with a method other than straight intuition! Having done a semester of Waldorf Teacher Training I feel I'm providing myself with a survey of various education methodologies and I definitely plan on taking various alternative approaches into account.

A SIDE NOTE:
Since my fiancée and I will be spending this summer in Asheville, North Carolina, I plan on taking advantage of the fact that there have been very few Symposiums produced in the Southeast. I’m hoping to put together at least three Symposiums this summer, in Louisville, KY, Asheville, NC and Atlanta, GA. There aren’t any other trained facilitators in these areas so I’ll be doing these Symposiums alone (hopefully with volunteer hope for A/V etc…). I’ll have to pace myself and not let my ambitions get too far ahead of me, after all, we are in NC to get married on August 3rd!

Kenneth Fischer
April 23 & May 2, 2008