Your Support of Jack’s Training Supports Education for Sustainability

Systems Thinking and The Work That Reconnects

An experiential understanding of the interconnectedness of all life would give our children the sustainable values they’ll need to create a sustainable future. It is my dream to help create such an educational experience, by understanding and embodying these values myself. I have found “systems thinking” the most comprehensive way to understand the interconnected nature of life, and I have been actively seeking out well-seasoned educators and facilitators who exhibit such an understanding. My next two trainings, for which I am seeking financial support, are with Joanna Macy and Fritjof Capra, two systems theorists who are major contributors to innovations in experiential learning and systems thinking. Both Fritjof and Joanna are keenly interested in bringing their work to children. Short introductions to their work are below.

The Work That Reconnects and Joanna Macy
(see link to the right)
The Work that Reconnects Training: July 31st-August 12 in Soquel, CA. Cost: $2000
I first met Joanna at a Global Gathering of Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium facilitators in 2008, and in November 2008 I attended my first men's retreat in the Work That Reconnects, which she and her late husband Fran led and co-facilitated. Joanna developed the Work that Reconnects over years of study and practice in Systems Theory, Engaged Buddhism and social activism. I consider The Work That Reconnects to be the embodiment piece of my systems thinking training. Joanna's work is extremely rich and I strongly encourage you to browse her website. I am already in communication with Joanna about the work I've been doing, and I will be meeting with her in late June to show her prototypes and discuss my intentions for the training in August. I have been awarded a scholarship of $1000 for this training.

The Center for Eco-Literacy, Systems Theory and Fritjof Capra
(see link to the right)
Systems Thinking, Education, and the State of the World Workshop
August 13-15, in Berkeley, CA. Cost: $425

I saw Fritjof Capra speak at an Eco-Schools intensive last fall as part of the Bioneers conference (a really great event). He is very eloquent about the paradigm shift needed in education, and I consider him a major influence in my efforts at synthesizing primary education, the Alexander Technique and the findings of systems theorists. Fritjof authored the now famous "The Tao of Physics” in 1975 and is also co-founder of the Center for Eco-Literacy here in Berkeley. Both Fritjof himself and the Center are key players in the Education for Sustainability movement. In my experience, Fritjof Capra's work provides the clearest and most integrated intellectual understanding of systems thinking (the best example of this is his book “The Hidden Connections,” published 2002).

This 2-day workshop is a rare opportunity to make a personal connection with a seminal figure who could act as an advocate for my own work in the future. I have a couch to sleep on in Berkeley, and have applied for a scholarship from the Center for Eco-Literacy (I'll hear back about that by June 30th).

How To Contribute:

As you can see, these workshops add up to about $2825 (this total includes a $400 flight from North Carolina to California). I have been able to secure a work-study scholarship for the amount of $1000 for the Work That Reconnects training, and I have high hopes for a scholarship from the Center for Eco-Literacy.

I now ask my community of friends, family and co-activists to support me in developing myself to forward an education for sustainability, by contributing any amount to help me raise the final $1825. Please keep in mind that no amount is too small and that even $1 will let the Universe know I have your loving support.

If you'd like to make a contribution, and I hope you do!, please mail checks to the address below by June 20, 2009. If you'll be mailing after June 20th, please mail checks to the secondary address, as we'll be headed east by July 4th.
Please don't hesitate to call me with any questions at (510) 586-4697.

Checks can be made out to Kenneth Fischer.

Mailed by June 20th please mail to:
Kenneth Fischer
2218 A Prince St.
Berkeley, CA 94705

Mailed after June 20th please mail to:
Kenneth Fischer
135 Michigan Ave.
Asheville, NC 28806

With abiding gratitude,
Kenneth

2008-2009 Update: Kenneth & The Pachamama Alliance

My heartfelt thanks to those of you who supported me in bringing the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium to my community!!

By contributing to my facilitator training fees for last March, you helped me co-produce no fewer than six Symposiums in the last year, including the first one ever in Asheville, North Carolina! I also gave a 1-hour presentation on the Symposium to the Louisville (Kentucky) Sustainability Forum. Through these events I've gained important public speaking experience with groups of up to 60 people. More importantly, I've facilitated interaction between participants, engaging them in the now-global conversation concerning environmental, social and spiritual sustainability. I encourage you to check out the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium > website <. In addition to facilitating, I have also been involved in developing a teen version of the Symposium meant for presentation in public and private high schools across the country. I have also become the “intention holder” for developing an Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream program for elementary schools, specifically directed to 5- to 8-year-olds.

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

Journal of Activities #1: Storywheel & Calendar

Journal of Activities

I've been using my work with kindergartners in a public after-school program to experiment with these ideas in a practical way. I've come up with some great activities, and I'm always working on more. The challenge for me is to gain a wider perspective on the issues at hand, and I believe the Pachamama Facilitator Training creates just that, a deepening of this conversation about where we're going and an invitation to look closely and mindfully at our motivations and the impacts of our actions.

I will add updates on the blog about my training and subsequent curriculum development, so people can see how my work with the children is progressing, and also to invite dialogue and share ideas.

I'm already in on some yahoo groups that are discussing ideas and I've been talking to facilitators from the symposium I attended as well. When it comes to creating lasting change it's hard to think of a better way than through mindful education of the young.
Below are some of my activity outlines along with some pictures, as well as commentary .
In the works now is a Storywheel I'm constructing that will allow the children to create a story of their own invention, made up of elements they’ve expressed interest in learning about. Each element, once selected, will have a factoid card with it that will feed plot twists into the story line as we act it out together. I'm also including a list of these elements so that folks can get an idea of what 5 year olds are curious about when asked "what do you want to learn about?"

Trees & Plants
Volcanoes, Rocks, Clay, the Earth
Fish, Crabs, Shells, Oceans, Tidal Waves & Rivers
Dinosaurs, Snakes, Lizards, Frogs (and what they do on Christmas)
Dogs, Cats (wild and pets), Monkeys, Horses
Diamonds & Gold
Candles, Teepees, Balls
Things that Fly, Rockets
Outer Space, Black Holes, Rocketships, Spacesuits, Aliens
Princes’, Princess’, Mermaids, Super Heroes, Unicorns & Pegasus’
MOMS
Our Bodies, eyeballs, what’s inside of us (organs etc...)
not to mention the power to send someone to the moon until they can be nice to trees!
Kenneth Fischer January/February 2008

Being a Contribution to the Dream

In my dreams my children live and grow in a world more full of beauty than the world I was born into. My dreams have outdoor classrooms where children are seen as marvels of nature and the importance of teachers is recognized as the helping hand of a conscious evolution. My dreams have people of every kind living respectfully with the beauty that life is, respecting the rights of other people and the earth.

I believe that the function of learning is to create whole human beings.



It is my heartfelt desire to create an educational environment for growing children grounded in that intention.

My desire and enthusiasm for working with children comes paired with an enjoyment of discovery. I envision learning as a way to genuinely share curiosity with other people. I am committed to empowering them in affecting the world around them in a positive way. To this end I am pursuing a weekend training workshop through an organization called The Pachamama Alliance (link). Pachamama is rooted in the dream of bringing forth a Socially Just, Environmentally Sustainable, and Spiritually Fulfilling human presence on this planet as the guiding principle of our times.
















The Pachamama Facilitator Training (link to Awakening the Dreamer) engages in dialogue about our environment and our society while at the same time facilitating it's participants to put on their own presentations. The intention of the training is that by creating a new dream we can start to explore our story of the world in a way that empowers us. It's clear to many that the realms of Social Justice and the Environment (not to mention Health Care and Education) are incredibly important for the coming generations, it only makes sense to me that we prepare them with some tools for seeing the world in a positive and generative way. Having this dream, or this positive story of the world that empowers us, is all that spirituality really means to me. Many questions and problems, as well as wondrous discoveries, face later generations. We can't even begin to imagine what they'll face even in our lifetimes, so we must encourage them to imagine and to learn. Teaching the children how to learn, and looking for teachable moments has a lot to do with encouraging them to be people who relate their own story like it matters. I strongly believe that such a curriculum for children would have exponential affects upon their world (and it is their world).


If you are interested in contributing to my attendance at this training the total cost is 600$, which includes all my expenses such as food, lodging and gas (this does not cover books). I have put a down payment of 250$ on a training in Danville, CA from March 6-9 2008. Please mail contributions of any amount by February 28th to:
Kenneth Fischer
2218A Prince Street
Berkeley, CA 94705
(contributions received after this are still appreciated)
For Questions or comments please write to: kennethfis@gmail.com


The Next Step in My Dream

Pachamama currently has a 4 hour symposium for adults and teens. The Facilitator training is designed to empower the participants to get together in groups and present the Awakening the Dreamer symposium. At Pachamama, an NGO-501c3 non-profit with 18 full or part-time employees, there has been much interest in developing a program for younger ages from 5yrs old up. It is my belief that such an undertaking would require much more than a single presentation to really provide the children with a cohesive story about the world that surrounds them. On the contrary--with the children, being so much less jaded than us adults, they should be encouraged to invent their own stories. By exploring their own stories they not only get to know themselves, but by listening they learn the stories of their classmates. Does it really matter if the story is about a mermaid or superhero, as long as they author it? By exploring in a listening environment and sharing creative ownership the children start to experience what a community of peers is.