A summer institute organized by the Faculty of Education in collaboration with the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) will bring together teachers, educators, community members and local artists to explore new ways of teaching and learning with a specific focus on the inter-relationships of art, environmental knowing and social justice.
Organized by the York Centre for Education & Community (YCEC) directed by Faculty of Education Professor Carl James, the School & Community Engaged Summer Education Institute, taking place Aug. 16 to 18 at York’s Keele campus, will feature a program focused on participatory pedagogical practices for inclusive and sustainable education in communities and schools.
Tomorrow morning, Aug. 16, the institute’s first keynote address will feature author and storyteller Itah Sadu who will speak about the role of storytelling and the oral tradition in community building. In the afternoon keynote, Joanna Brown and Maria Trejo of the Chicago-based Logan Square Neighbourhood Association, will talk about building strong immigrant community schools.
On Aug.17, Amos Key Jr. of the First Nations Languages Woodland Centre in Brantford, Ont., will lead an Elder Prayer Invocation to open up the day. Immediately following the Elder Prayer Invocation, York education Professor Susan Dion, will deliver a presentation about research she conducted in collaboration with the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Aboriginal Education Staff. Dion will discuss decolonizing and indigenizing school communities.
The summer institute wraps on Thursday with a presentation by Professor Beverly Naidus, of the University of Washington, Tacoma. Naidus will speak about the need for socially-engaged art practices.The rest of the day's activities are being presented by FES students under the direction of York environmental studies Professor Deborah Barndt, who is helping coordinate the summer institute.
For further information and to register, visit the School & Community Engaged Summer Education Institute website.