Jeannel King

The Chaordic Stepping...Apples?

2010-01-05T20:21:00.001-08:00

I was waking up on Sunday, just coming out of a rather pleasant dream and reaching for my glasses when this thought hit me:

Why do the Chaordic Stepping Stones have to be stones at all?

Now, please understand that I was deeply vested in that idea. After all, I had just spent my Saturday night crafting two-sided stepping stones out of paper plates in preparation for Sunday afternoon's facilitation. They were cool, they were fun, they were tactile...they could demonstrate the non-linear nature of the process. Not to mention that the stones were always how I'd heard them presented--by any number of amazing people in the Art of Hosting community...at various gatherings, in institutes, on websites, you name it. Stepping stones. Stones.

So why was I thinking about a tree? I mean, how could that relate as a non-linear process? You plant the seed, the tree grows. Those who know me--big surprise: I had to start drawing it out. (I know--shocking!) It seemed to make some sense. So I tried it out in that afternoon's meeting. I didn't record myself, but this is basically how it went:

If you want to get together to do "something"--let's say plant a tree (or organize an event, or create an organization...), that "something" is your concept--the big idea/view of how we can meet our purpose. The concept grows out of the purpose, so the purpose is our seed--what we want to become. That purpose ideally is rooted in the needs of our world, so the need becomes the taproot for the purpose.

Once we have a purpose that's rooted in need, we ground it (and ourselves) in our principles--how we want to work together and how we want to work with our community. Once the seed is planted, other roots start to grow the purpose and give it traction, and that's where the people come in--who's called to the purpose, who's got our backs, with some growing deeper into the work than others, but all are beneficial.

Out of this beginning, the concept really begins to emerge. It's not just a tree...it's a fruit tree! No, it's an apple tree! And we'll plant it now and in a few years we'll have lots of apples to harvest in the fall and we'll give them away or sell them or let them fall back into the ground and start new trees of their own.

But now, that means that we need to start considering some structural pieces--like just what type of seed we'll need to plant, who's going to water it and tend to it, who's going to pick the apples, who's going to give them away. Funny, that also sounds like planning for the harvest! We need to know what we want to harvest from our work in order to know what we need to plant.

And the health of our tree is dependent on the health of our environment, or beliefs. Some of our beliefs are supportive and nurturing, and some are limiting and potentially hazardous to the health of our tree. Is the sun warm, or is it too hot and it's going to fry our tree's young roots? Are the clouds full of lightning, or do they bring much needed rain? Tending to our tree also means tending to our environment (limiting beliefs).

All that's left at this point is to engage in our practice--to be that farmer, just get going and do the work!

You may know you want to grow a tree, you may know you want to bake a pie, you may know that the world needs more delicious fruit and that's what you want to help create, you may look around and think this is the perfect spot for an orchard, you may be talking with friends and you all suddenly have a crazy craving for apples. However it unfolds, I think I'll be walking my chaordic path with a pocketful of apples. De-licious!

...although peaches are a stone fruit...

Momentum Builds and Creativity Flows - The Next Harvest: Planning an Education Community Cafe

2009-10-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

San Diego Process Arts Network

10.22.09
Alannah, Jackie, Jeannel, Raffi

Elder pine trees and rough brick paths welcomed us to the UU Church, and led us to our cozy meeting space. Lots of windows, a table just big enough for us, and even a candle with matches waiting to be lit. Hugs all around and gradual settling in to the task at hand. Grapes, chocolates, snack crackers...a big blank sheet and lots of pens! Hands itching to start the work, hands itching for a coat of lotion. Expereinced, appreciated, and skillful hands. A touch of excitement, a touch of sadness, a touching way to start the conversation. Pens found their way into willing hands, played on paper, and the work began...

Pieces Coming Together

The Invite - Alannah

"Open to the Public"
Previte verbage, then print-vite version
$5 suggested donation

The Space - Alannah

Kitchen fees?
Parking?
Sound - A/V?

The Church Support - Alannah

"Ministry team sponsor" - Dorothy

The Food - Jackie

Granite pots and stone fruit salad

The Set-Up and Tear-Down - Jeannel, Karen Burroughs, Raffi

Cafe space
All may help with cleaning up at the end! : )
Jackie would like to assist with decor

The Participants - All

Ask 10 people each
The people who show up are the right people for our event

The Inviting - All

Phone and e-mail pre-vites
Snail mail print-vites

The Registration - Raffi

EventBrite.com
Raffi as coordinating point of contact for e-mail RSVPs

The Process Design - Jeannel and Raffi

Music - Jackie
Greeters - Alannah and Jackie. John? Karen? Ryan Feinstein? David Barnaby? Others?
Cafe, Open Space, and Afternoon processes

The Harvest - Jeannel, Raffi, Jackie. Possibly Karen? Linda Denton? Ryan Feinstein? Someone from the Church?

Before the Process - what seeds do we want to harvest from this event to fuel the next one?
During the Process - capturing the patterns that emerge from the cafes, open spaces, and afternoon session
After the Process - capturing the experience for our participants: Pictures/Picturebook, Interactive,Audio/Visual?

The Follow Up - Raffi

Appreciations/Evaluations
Connecting with participants after the event

The Guiding Question for our Invite -

What can we learn from each other regarding education for our community?

What could education in our community also be?

The Gameplan - Next Steps

By Tonight (Thursday) -

All please review the invite text and share your thoughts

By Tomorrow (Friday) -

Alannah will send all the finalized text to use for our pre-vites

By Monday (October 26, 2009) -

All please send your top five conversation questions to Wetpaint

By November 7, 2009 -

Alannah and Jackie will have printed invitations ready for all to distribute

The Next Time We Meet

Tuesday, November 3
3:00 p.m.
Alannah's Space
All are invited to bring treats to share...and Raffi will bring the candle!

From Baby to Toddler...The Next Harvest: Planning the Education Community Cafe

2009-10-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

San Diego Process Arts Network

Alannah, Jackie, Raffi, Jeannel
10.20.09

A more formal setting than before--the conference room at the Center for Studies for the Person. Each of us found our own place as we pulled up to the table. Some were ready to go, some were bruised, some were cautious. All were willing to engage, as we shared our feelings one-by-one at the start of the meeting.

The fragrance of freshly-peeled orange lifted the energy and we settled in to our time together, digging deeper into the purpose and intention of the upcoming community cafe on education.

Random Snippets

The baby's grown into a toddler!
Stone Salad--we've got the stone, you bring the fruit!
Planning (or "Planting") for the harvest of the future
Not just a reform movement, but a movement to rebuild the system
We need people with energy to take up the cause and make things happen - we need young people to get involved
Shared context, focused energy, leading to the next level
SanDijuana Education Summit
Appreciation and possibility-driven event, gratitude
Inclusivity
Education in the broadest sense
Food for thought...

Some Powerful Questions
What's the "so what"?
How much fire in the belly is there for after this event?
What if education were a co-hosted community experience?
What is the purpose of education?
What does it take to achieve that possible purpose?
What are we grateful for?
What is the current state of our educational system? What good can we harvest from our current education system?
What do we want our educational system to be? What else could it be?
What seeds do we want to harvest from the cafe?
What do we need to plant now to harvest its fruit in ten years?
How will we need to tend to our planting in order to see it bear fruit? What does it take/preparation to get there?
Reflect on times when change in education has worked. How did it work, and what was special about that? Why was it important?
What could we do with a community summit on education?
If Oaks and Acorns were a question, or the answer to a question, what would it be?

Ideas Begin to Bubble
What if the first cafe's purpose was to spark the fire for a larger event? Conservation...envisioning...preparation for a summit?
One possible outcome of the first cafe could be that it births an education coalition dedicated to championing the summit.

The next cafe could be the first annual summit on education for San Diego and Tijuana--Education Beyond Borders?
This cafe's purpose could be to co-create a "San Diego Plan to [Reinvent?] Education" and to promote continuing action towards implementing that plan:

Future summits
Community change coalitions
Mentoring to make change
etc.

This first cafe could bring more people, new ideas, new board members for Oaks & Acorns, and even someone coming in to raise the baby/take over the ship.

Insights on Charter Education
Charter schools evolved from dissatisfaction in the current educational system. Options were lacking, and charters gave parents and students the option to participate in schools or labs with interaction and feedback.

However.

This reform idea was absorbed by traditional education institutions so that it's power was diluted. Charters no longer were the stand-out alternative to public schools because public schools had adjusted/adapted/adopted the lingo. Also, charter schools were being restricted from being too different by various laws and regulations, so that all schools were standardized into a homogeneous group with the same requirements, tests, etc.

So.

How can that variety, creativity, and relationship be reintroduced into the educational process in meaningful, lasting, and sustainable ways?

Logistics Redux
Event Details--

Date: 11.21.09
Location: UU Church, Alannah confirming today
Backup Location: United Way. Kroc Center was nixed due to price and lack of availability.

Invitees--

Limit size of first cafe to 40-50 participants
Teachers, parents, students, young people, local government officials, cross-border voices, Carroll's group, people who have or want to have a stake in the conversation and future summit
Fruit for stone salad

Roles--

Process logistics (for the cafe, open space, etc.) - Raffi and Jeannel
Event logistics (for food, space coordination, etc.) - Alannah and Jackie

Invitation--

Alannah will e-mail ideas and the old invitation to Jeannel
Jeannel will draft invite, send to Raffi
Raffi will post on Wet Paint and send invites for all to collaborate on invite product
Target for invite being ready to go: End of this week

How "Inviting that Matters" looks for our event--

Personal call (and e-mail?) saying: [what?]
Printed invite via snail mail
Invitees may register for event through Eventbright online service
We follow up with invitees via personal call (and e-mail?) saying: [what?]

Next Meeting
Thursday, October 22, at the UU Church (address to be forwarded).
3-5pm

Planning a Community Cafe on Education - a simple harvest from a delicious discussion

2009-10-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

San Diego Process Arts Network - Harvest from 10.15.09

Raffi welcomed me, Alannah, and Jackie with smiles and hugs as we settled into our patio table at the Big Kitchen…cool and shady, with crayons and paper at the ready!

Raring to go, we stopped for a moment to sit in silence and ground ourselves to our purpose. Breathe in, exhale, notice the warmth and pressure of the hands you are holding, smile, relax…

Coffee, tea, something like peppermint. A slice of coffee cake the size of Kansas. Sumptuous plates, settling in, then exploring what we want in the discussion—logistics, details, understanding, rationale. Fixing dates to clarifying purpose. Energy—unbridled yet focused. Crayons found their way into ready hands as ideas started to flow.

Snuggling up to the table, listening to stories of Oaks and Acorns, youth and seniors, shared meaning and growth, and new directions. Treasure chests of educational experience just waiting to be opened. Visions of how a World Café could be…and what we could create.

Initial Thoughts:

Quality of energy and presence

An authentic event – the facilitators need to be us

Leave the notes, acronyms and jargon at the door – this event and its ideas are accessible to all

Handcrafting invites to attract the people we want – people who come to the table ready to play

Empathy – put aside and listen

Everyone brings something to the table

Some Fears:

Energy drain

Steals away passion

Multitasking – not focused

Antagonism/Resistance

Participants Will Get:

A voice that’s heard and valued

Clarity of self

Connection to community

Resources to pursue the next level

Some Powerful Questions:

What are the wants and needs around education?

What is the education students receive?

What type of people do we want to produce?

What are our highest shared aspirations of how we want to work together?

Who are the people we want to travel with on this journey?

How else can the education system shift from a breakdown to a breakthrough?

How else can we engage people in talks about education…attracting change agents?

What would we like to see education look like in the next 50 years?

What kind of teachers do we want to see?

What if education were a community endeavor?

What was your most significant learning experience in school?

How do we know that students learned what we are teaching?

What do we want them to learn?

What do they need to learn that we aren’t teaching?

What if teachers were actually the facilitators of a student’s learning experience? What would education look like from that perspective?

What if we “unschooled” our students?

The Power of We

“We” are:

Boards of directors
Teachers
Counselors
Parents
Students
Elders
Principles and academic administrators
Businesses
The entire community that has a stake in education and contribution to bring to the table

“We mentor and share what we have…just in a different playground!”

How do we create and sustain this “we”?

What is the field in which we are playing? What does the new playground look like?

The Gap between “Here” and “There” in Education:

Here—

Teacher “lost” the student because of the kid’s reality/resistance in class

Behavior that the teacher is unable to work with, for a variety of reasons

There—

Teacher suspends judgments

Reengage the student with empathy

Teacher and student come to believe in their respective abilities

Book and workshops are here to help teachers get unstuck

Target teachers to take their best dreams forward

Don't forget about assessment!

Possible Event Outcomes:

Participants go out to their communities and bring new people in to the next event/process

Exposure for forthcoming book and workshops

Community partnerships with education

Participants voice their preferences with their PTAs, etc.

Seniors mentor kids

Further connections with like minds and build community

Clothing that Baby! Giving initial form to the event:

Event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 21, from 9a – 1p at the Kroc Center on University Avenue

8:30a – 9a: Greet, check-in, coffee time

Idea - Icebreaker Question on tables: “What was your most significant learning experience from school?”

9a – 11a: First Session – Community Café on Education in San Diego

Opening Ceremony:a grounding moment of silence – 5 minutes total process
Welcome guests, set stage for day by sharing general flow, thank Oaks and Acorns, housekeeping issues – 10 minutes
Introduce World Café, explain process, set context – 15 minutes
Café round 1 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 1?)
Café round 2 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 2?)
Café round 3 – up to 25 minutes (Guiding Question 3?)
Regroup, share key discoveries from each table, invite to write key insights on large post-it notes and post on wall, invite to create open space topic if desired – 15 minutes
Invitation to Refreshment Break Activities – brief descriptions

11a – 11:30a: Refreshment Break

Open space snack areas to continue really wicked discussions
Gallery invitation – view tablecloths from discussions and post-its from group insights (“seeds for change”?)

11:30a – 12:30p: Second Session – Group Insights and Next Steps

Reconnect with group as a whole, share thoughts post-lunch, add new insights as post-its to wall
Connect the dots – what patterns do we see in the post-its? Group ideas together and check for new insights
Where do the dots lead us? What are the next steps that have emerged from this process?

12:30p – 1p: Closing Circle – one word check-in: what’s the one word or phrase that best describes where you are right now at the end of our time today

It could be something you’re grateful for, something you’re excited about, something that gives you hope, or even something you can do or take with you moving forward