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Fwd: ST for Wednesday from Jaime
by via OE 17 Sep '14

17 Sep '14

Speaking in tongues Pimmsler's work on language learning is popular. The Internet come-on is: "learn a newlanguage in ten days without a book or CDs". Thewinsome smile of the lady promoting the website caught my attention, and thoughI was only methodologically curious (of course), I found out what I alreadyknew in years of pedagogy; one relies on the way students naturally learn theirnative tongue as a child: listen and repeat. In the years I taught oral English to students at theShenyang Aerospace U and tutored children at the Shou Wang weekend school, theonly Chinese words I used were ting (listen)and chongfu (repeat). Ting denotes payingattention. There are three major groupsof strokes. The first one on the left isthe "ear" with an emphasis on it being huge (open wide) written belowit. The second is the "eyes"so that listening involves viewing and watching with intensity, occupying thetop right quadrant. The third brushedbelow the "eyes" is the "heart", indicating heartfelt engagement. It makes the one word with many strokes equivalentto "active listening" in English. Just this one word had enormous implication in the conductof my classroom. It required students on their own volition tobe at full attention all the time since not doing so would be obvious. Normal classrooms had teachers equipped withmini-microphones and portable speakers so that ze voice was amplifiedthroughout the room. In lecture halls,the rooms were equipped with sound systems enhancing the popular Power Pointpresentation; lectures were conducted with the lights dimmed save the one bythe green board with the front row appearing to listen in earnest while the restof the class fingered smartphones, or caught up with their z-z-z-z-s. My class architecture was designed so there was no escapefrom the neighbor. On my third year, whenclasses had over 30 students, they had two sessions per week so I split theminto two, each alternately attending a session and skipping the other. I assigned them seats, my normal way of learningto identify each person by their birth names rather than the"English" ones they chose in other English classes for theconvenience of the foreign teacher. Assign seats broke-up roommates who tended to stick together; it also broadened student's circle of co-learners. I had them work in small groups withpeople they did not normally associate with. It also worked to their advantage since they were assigned work outsidethe class, encouraged to "each one teach two" (E1T2) as learning isbest accomplished when one taught what one learned. Seating arrangements silenced the loquacious and engaged theshy, in two rows of semi-circles if the class numbered more than 30. Smaller classes were in one row around theroom, cozy since no one looked at anyone's back! On the center of the room was a table covered with akerchief (a simple black and white ala Palestinianhead gear) with a hankie centerpiece holding a broken cup and spilled uncooked rice,local stones from the schoolyard and one or two gems from my collection. (Students invariably asked what the decor"meant".) Throughout the two-periodsession (with a break) I walked around the center table so there was no definedfront of the room. When someone wascalled to speak, ze spoke directly to the whole class using "public"voice. The students talked, though reluctant at first. They were asked to leave their "faces"outside the door. This was hard for manywho were used to be backbench warmers on a hide-and-seek game. They were in a speaking class and if they hadto worry about "face", they would not open their mouths. There was no place to hide. Read and write, they did not hesitate, butspeaking of their sense experience, personal feelings, thoughts and deeds was"private", not in their normal comfort zone. They listened to the teacher, classmates, and to their ownvoice. I had them repeat (chongfu) what they heard so that they can hear themselves, andget comfortable with their own sound in English. We got them to repeat familiar ads and publicsignage, and sang along popular English songs. I got them to talk about themselves byidentifying parts of their bodies that included words they were not toofamiliar with like forehead, cheeks,chin, chest, hip, thigh, calf, shin, etc. Varied games to do this were designed. They learned. "Listen and repeat" started babies' natural learningof any language. The method worked inthe classroom, too. (Unfortunately, thepassing of test is still the mode of learning in China). In class, I described what I saw, heard,smelled, tasted, and touched as an invitation for students to do likewise intheir assigned groups. A comfort levelwas in place because they talked of what they already knew without reading abook, to persons they are familiar with. There were no right or wrong answers. There was only the courage to speak. My students and I worked doubly hard, first onthe courage, then, they spoke! j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Fwd: GMCA Sept. 9
by David Zahrt via OE 16 Sep '14

16 Sep '14

*TUE SEP 09** East Side UMC, East Chicago to Marquette Park UMC, Gary, IN* After Circle-up I got on my bike and rode the route through the industrial area. I think the route was designed so that the Marchers could personally confirm the information the locals gave yesterday afternoon and evening. It’s clear why the environment of the cities joining the lakefront has been poisoned. I suspect I could have chosen a more direct route but I thought it necessary to take the tour. As I got further along the route I found the directions confusing. I stopped and asked for directions several times. Sometimes people didn’t know their way around, sometimes I got misdirection. The neighborhood was mixed Latino and Black. I found an elderly man out on his front porch. I asked for directions. He made several attempts to give me directions. I had a hard time understanding his dialect. He finally suggested that I put the bike in his pickup and he’d drive me there. It was 3 or 4 miles further. He didn’t say anything about what it would cost, but I handed him a $5 bill and thanked him. He was pleased. I helped set up at the church and then caught up on some journaling. We cooked our own dinner but there were contributions from local residents and church members. After dinner there was an All-Camp meeting. The topic was how we, as Marchers, get training for demonstrating. Apparently there had been some demonstration on today’s March that many Marchers were disappointed with. When the topic of demonstration arose the day before I realized that our family spent 20 years demonstrating—demonstrating that it was possible to live cooperatively, with minimal income, assisting those who are poverty stricken, dispossessed, or culturally deprived and helping them build their community from the ground up instead of waiting for something to trickle down from the top. Because of that I have a difficult time identifying how to demonstrate on the March. When it was time to end the meeting there was an interest expressed in continuing the discussion. Then it was time for bed. Tomorrow is a 20+ mile March. -- Peace, David

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Fwd: GMCA Sept. 8
by David Zahrt via OE 16 Sep '14

16 Sep '14

*MON SEP 08** 4750 N Sheridan, Chicago to East Side UMC, East Chicago, IL* After Circle-up I got on my bike and rode down the lakeshore trail. The March route said 16 miles. Riding from 4750 I probably added another 5 miles to the route! The March was resuming in Buckingham Fountain so the Marchers took public transportation to Buckingham. The map shows E. Chicago as being in Indiana. I’m not sure we crossed the state line to get to E. Side UMC. I got there early and they were expecting to host us after 3pm. So I ate my lunch and went to the local library. At 5pm we marched to a site in the downtown area for a Rally. The press and the TV knew we would be there. There were 4 or 5 local residents that had documented the enormous negative effects that the Petcoke industry is on community health. (A community health nurse and a mother who lives here spoke at the Chicago Rally on Sat.) After 45 minutes of presentations we marched to the yard where the coal is being burned. Just after we arrived an engine for railroad cars came down the tracks. There were some Marchers laying across the tracks at the RR crossing. When the engine arrived they got up and stood in the way. The engine blasted its horn and edged forward. Those standing in the way did not move. The engine continued to blast its horn. After 5 minutes of blockage the police arrived and cleared the tracks. No one was arrested! I do not take part in protests, but obviously some in our group do. Later we had a potluck hosted by members of the church and local activists. At the close of dinner the local activists continued making presentations. They have an ‘army’ of well informed demonstrators. It really is a polluted area so it must be changed. -- Peace, David

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"Toward WE"
by via OE 16 Sep '14

16 Sep '14

My friend, Betty Luceigh, has created a You Tube video. She is one of the group who gather at my home on or near the full moon to meditate together, feast and share what is coming to light in our spiritual lives. I hope you'll have time to take in her creation. IMHO, it's quite profound. She is a retired UCLA chemistry professor. The pictures/videos are hers, taken in and around her home in the Sierra Nevada foothills, looking up into Sequoia. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN4lSIGKmn0 Blessings, Jann McGuire

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A NEW Education Research Postcard from Martin Galbrath at ICA Research Access
by steve har via OE 15 Sep '14

15 Sep '14

The Imaginal Education Collection team wrote up an "After Action Review" of Martin's method of doing ORID style conversations with a Community of Practice using Twitter He is doing a 2nd on this year too. You can see Martin's Postcard here ICA Research Access on G+ gplus.to/icaresearchaccess You can participate in GARA research by registering here GARA registration https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YD35KLV -- Steve Harrington for the Imaginal Educaiton

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Fwd: GMCA Sept. 6-7
by David Zahrt via OE 15 Sep '14

15 Sep '14

*SAT SEP 06-07 **Blackwell Forest Unitarian Church, Oak Park to 4750 N Sheridan, Chicago, IL* Early in the morning Doug received a phone call that he was needed at the Gear truck. Norman took him over to the church. I was ready to go when Norman returned and by that time Ann was up. I thanked them for their hospitality and departed. I packed my equipment, collected my bike at the church, and went across the street to the park; our departure place. I was greeted by Terry Bergdall with his bike. Before we left Dick Alton and Sally Duval showed up. We Circled-up and set off for the Conservatory, the site of our first Rally. Terry and I reached the site long before the Marchers arrived. He had a book to read, I toured the Conservatory. Then Lin and Pam arrived and Paul Noah. When the Marchers arrived we had a small Rally. There were local activists who participated. Then the March went past the Gold Dome, the building where Lin was employed as a community health nurse in 1966-67. Terry had suggested the March route go right through 5th City, the neighborhood the Ecumenical Institute had worked in. When we got to the Iron Man, a symbol of steadfastness in revitalizing and renewing the community, we had a picture taken. By the time we got the pictures taken Pam, Lin, and Paul were too far behind the March procession so they took public transportation downtown to the Chicago Cultural Center. Terry and I rode our bikes and went to the lakefront to find lunch. We ran into Paul Noah and together we found a suitable restaurant in the shade. After lunch I toured the giant bean, an enormous bean completely covered with a mirror surface. Then we went to Daley Plaza for the Chicago Rally. It was well attended and the presentations were excellent. Some of the speakers were Marchers. It ended about 3:30pm. Lin, Pam, and Paul took public transportation to Uptown where we would have our home stay. Terry and I rode our bikes up the lakefront. Lin showed me to our room on 8th floor and pointed out many of the things they have done at GreenRise. Lots of changes in the building since the mid-70‘s! We went to a potluck dinner on 1st floor I saw some of my old acquaintances: Marge Philbrook, Jean Long, Mary Laura, Jim Troxel, Ed F, Ken Otto, (& some I don’t have names for) and was introduced to some who are currently working with ICA. it was a great dinner and social hour. On Sunday morn we went to 6th floor for breakfast. We did some laundry and headed for a Presbyterian Church north and west of 4750. We didn’t reach it in time and went to a Methodist Church instead. Lin took me out to my birthday lunch! In the afternoon Lin mended my backpack and cut my hair. The dinner was out on 6th floor If you wanted dinner you had to hurry because there was a 350.org. film, *Disruption*, being shown. 350.org and other groups have done a marvelous job of anticipating the People’s Climate March in NYC on Sep 21. Our group will be taking a bus up and back so that we can say, "The longest Climate March meets the largest Climate March". I was pleased that Terry and Pam participated in all of the public events that they and ICA hosted for the March for the weekend. -- Peace, David

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Correction: Kaze's "The Other One" birthday song
by steve har via OE 14 Sep '14

14 Sep '14

Sorry for the link error on Kaze's birthday Here is the correct link: Kaze's Birthday Song <https://www.youtube.com/user/icaresearchaccess/videos> at ICA Research Access YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/icaresearchaccess/videos Today appears to be Ken Fisher's birthday too... -- Steve

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GARA Imaginal Education Research Invitation to Register
by steve har via OE 14 Sep '14

14 Sep '14

This is Steve Harrington on behalf of the GARA Imaginal Education Research Team For several days we are going to "flood the zone" with "Research Challenge Postcards" - which we've been gathering from Imaginal Education and 21st Century Global Education networks. You will be able to be a "spectator" and watcher of GARA (Global Archives Research Assembly) work but you won't be able access or participate in the education research focus or participate in the education dialogues we're sponsoring in: Asia-Pacific Zone (Sydney) Europe-Africa-Russia Zone (London) North-Central-South America (Chicago) Watch, and listen. That's all we are asking for now . . .perhaps later you will do much. Please register and participate in GARA research below! Steve PS some Education Research Postcard Previews: -1969 Jim Wiegel's notes from a 1969 Imaginal Education Collogium - a blue gem from the Archives -1981 Kaye Hayes Imaginal Education Lecture #1 Transcript -2014 Bill Grow creating GAP access to his "Swamp Gravy" files -2014 Jan Sander's in Nepal teaching mentoring elementary school teachers -2014 Jane Stallman's Kaleidoscope course question: how do you build Inclusive Myth? -2011 How to use Maureen & John Jenkins "9 Disciplines to focus Imaginal Education on 1) Awareness 2) Engagement HERE IS THE LINK TO REGISTER: https://surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=VsLXD56_2bi9p_2fkRODQdgjbg_3d_3d --- (This link is uniquely tied to this email and your email address. Please do not forward this message. If you would like to invite others, share their info when you register, or send their email address to Jim Wiegel (jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com)

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept. 5
by David Zahrt via OE 14 Sep '14

14 Sep '14

*FRI SEP 05** Blackwell Forest Camp, Wheaton, to Unitarian Church, Oak Park, IL* I was up late for breakfast but I was still able to pack my lunch. Circle-up must have happened when I was tearing down my tent. The route information didn’t come up on my phone overnight. Ed suggested that we take Butterfield Road, which had a Prairie Path beside it. I took the path until it disappeared, then I got out on Hwy 56 and made my way into Oak Park. I stopped at a McDonalds to see if I could get the directions through my phone on WiFi. I got them and discovered that the Prairie Path was several miles north of me. I got directions from a pair of policemen on how to get back on the Prairie Path. When I got on the Prairie Path I discovered some local people setting up a rest stop for the Marchers. I was early, but they welcomed me. I knew the address of the church so I got on that street and headed east until I got to it. It was built by Frank Lloyd Wright. They were giving tours of the building all afternoon. Michael Dowd was scheduled to give a presentation at 7pm. Ed Fallon had invited me to a Home-stay, so I got my overnight belongings out of the gear truck. We left before the campsite had dinner, and missed Michael Dowd’s presentation. I accompanied Ed and Doug to our host’s house. It was 4 blocks away from the church. Both Norman and Ann, our hosts, were lawyers. There was some detailed discussion about how elected officials are monopolizing and misusing the city of Chicago’s resources. As usual there was also an opportunity to do laundry, to take a bath in a tub, and sleep on a bed. People have been opening their doors to us all across this great land. -- Peace, David

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept. 4
by David Zahrt via OE 14 Sep '14

14 Sep '14

*THU SEP 04* *Organic Farm, Elburn, to Blackwell Forest Campground, Wheaton, IL* Ed was cooking pancakes for breakfast again. This time they weren’t gritty. At Circle-up John Abbe began the birthday song so the March would celebrate my birthday: *“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to me. Every day we are born, and every day we are free.*” It’s a different version than the classical birthday song and the tune is different. I now have two birthday songs to use. As we finished Circle-up it began to rain. I got on my bike and rode all morning in rain—I got my birthday shower! I phoned Doug, the Gear truck driver. He’d gotten permission to enter the campsite, left the solar trailer, and went to find a place that had WiFi to use his computer. Izzy arrived later and we scouted out the campsites 1-6. There didn’t seem to be a good place to set up the Taj Mahal tent. He decided he'd sleep in the amphitheater that was ½ mile away. I put up my tent and threw all my sleeping gear inside. It was the first time I’d used it in 2 or 3 months. The River Prairie Sierra Club treated us to dinner at the amphitheater. Dinner was a social occasion so it was dusk when we left the amphitheater. The mosquitoes were thick. I went into my tent, zipped the door shut, and spent some time setting up my bedroll. Some of the Marchers lit a campfire in one of the campsites. There was a slight breeze so the smoke drifted. I guessed that if I sat in the draft of smoke the mosquitoes would not be bad, but I wasn’t ready to sit in the smoke. I went to bed in my tent. -- Peace, David

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