A Free, Public Conference Featuring Rethinking Schools: The Fight for Social Justice in Tough Times

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A Free, Public Conference Featuring Rethinking Schools: The Fight for Social Justice in Tough Times

By UNM Latin American & Iberian Institute

Date and time

Thursday, April 9, 2015 · 9am - 4pm MDT

Location

The University of New Mexico

Student Union Building Albuquerque, NM 87131

Description

Join the LAII for a day-long conference featuring three of the editors behind the nonprofit organization Rethinking Schools. Bill Bigelow, Linda Christensen, and Wayne Au will present hands-on workshops, presentations, and panel discussions alongside UNM faculty Shiv Desai, Glenabah Martinez, Tyson Marsh, Nancy López, Katherine Crawford-Garrett, Ricky Lee Allen, and Ruth Trinidad Galván. Over the course of the day, speakers and participants will engage with questions related to social justice, multicultural education, and cultural literacy.

To see complete details, including a conference agenda, visit the LAIl website at http://laii.unm.edu/conferences/2015-Rethinking-Schools.php.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH RETHINKING SCHOOLS EDITORS: A DAY-LONG CONFERENCE AND A PARTICIPATORY EVENING SESSION. INFORMATION ON BOTH EVENTS CAN BE FOUND AT THE LINK ABOVE. SEPARATE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR EACH EVENT.

IF THERE ARE NO MORE SEATS AVAILABLE FOR THE DAY-LONG CONFERENCE, PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING US IN THE EVENING AT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CULTURAL CENTER.

Rethinking Schools began as a local effort to address problems such as basal readers, standardized testing, and textbook-dominated curriculum. Since its founding, it has grown into a nationally prominent publisher of educational materials, with subscribers in all 50 states, all 10 Canadian provinces, and many other countries. While the scope and influence of Rethinking Schools has changed, its basic orientation has not. Most importantly, it remains firmly committed to equity and to the vision that public education is central to the creation of a humane, caring, multiracial democracy. While writing for a broad audience, Rethinking Schools emphasizes problems facing urban schools, particularly issues of race.

Throughout its history, Rethinking Schools has tried to balance classroom practice and educational theory. It is an activist publication, with articles written by and for teachers, parents, and students. Yet it also addresses key policy issues, such as vouchers and marketplace-oriented reforms, funding equity, and school-to-work. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire wrote that teachers should attempt to "live part of their dreams within their educational space." Rethinking Schools believes that classrooms can be places of hope, where students and teachers gain glimpses of the kind of society we could live in and where students learn the academic and critical skills needed to make that vision a reality. Rethinking Schools attempts to be both visionary and practical: visionary because we need to be inspired by each others' vision of schooling; practical because for too long, teachers and parents have been preached at by theoreticians, far-removed from classrooms, who are long on jargon and short on specific examples.

Organized by

Located at The University of New Mexico, the Latin American and Iberian Institute offers academic degrees, supports research, provides development opportunities for faculty, engages with K-12 educators, and coordinates an outreach program that reaches diverse constituents.

 

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