INDIVISIBLE:
Teaching for Social Justice through Children's Literature (K-12)

Presented by the National-Louis University Center for Teaching through Children's
Books and the National College of Education Office of Partnerships

INDIVISIBLE offers an engaging study opportunity for mindful educators who are open to experiencing an illuminating day of learning with ample opportunities to develop new vistas for teaching for social justice through children's literature. Share in this uniquely-designed professional development with fellow dedicated colleagues from across cultures, disciplines, and geographic boundaries.

Participants will prepare for their participation in this symposium by reading recommended resources; examining personal beliefs and professional practices; thinking about teaching, about social justice, about children's literature and most of all, about your students and their future as citizens of this country and the world. Prepare yourself for provocation; prepare yourself for transformation.

Information on lodging, transportation and attractions.

Details

Wednesday, June 20, 2007
7:30am - 5pm
National-Louis University
Chicago Campus
Atrium - 2nd Floor
122 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60603

Symposium Fee :
(includes continental break-fast and box lunch)
$90
($110 at the door)

Pre-Symposium Workshop
June 19, 2007
1:00 - 5:00pm
(One Hr. Credit) more info...
Additional $289

Presenters

7:30 – 8:30am

Registration and Continental Breakfast
Second Floor Atrium

8:30 – 9:00am

Welcome and Opening Program

9:15 – 11:15am

Concurrent Workshops (see details):

1. First Impressions and Beyond

Kay Berkson, Changing Worlds

2. Social Justice Education – Shifting Our Consciousness

Johanna Eager, EdChange

3. Being an Anti-Classist Educator: Transcending
The Culture of Poverty Myth

Paul C.Gorski, EdChange

4. Rapunzel, Pygmalion, and the Paper Bag Princess: When Fairy Tales Come True

Peggy Connolly, Failing at Fairness

5. Eyes on the Prize: An Introduction to Facing History and Ourselves

Dunreith Kelly Lowenstein, Facing History and Ourselves

6. Safety for All: Addressing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Topics and Issues

Ellen Ljung, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance

7. Opening Worlds by Opening Books: Creating Communities of Change through Book Group Circles

Karen Thomson, Literature for All of Us

8. The Power of Narrative in Facilitating the Disclosure of HIV/AIDS Diagnosis to Children: Off-Label Uses for Children's Literature

Kimberly Harris, Positive Outcomes

11:30 – 2:00pm

Box Lunch & Keynote Speakers

Speakers: (Deborah Ellis and Bill Ayers)

Lunch catered by "Chicago's Conscious Caterer" Greg Christian http://www.getmegregs.com/

2:00 – 2:30pm

International Folk Dancing led by Ethnic Dance Chicago http://www.ethnicdance.net/

2:45 – 4:15pm

Children's Literature Curriculum Connection Seminars led by NLU Reading Faculty

4:20 – 5:00pm

Closing Program including Prizes and Book Signing

Keynote Speakers:

Deborah Ellis is an award-winning Canadian author of books for young readers, whose work about children and war has been translated into 18 languages and is read by children in many parts of the world. Her books follow the lives of children in places such as Taliban-controlled Afghanistan , AIDS-affected communities in southern Africa, and children in New York State whose mothers are in prison. A current project is a book of interviews with children who have a parent serving overseas with the Canadian or American military.
Publications: (partial)
The Breadwinner, Parvana's Journey, Mud City (novels about Afghanistan) The Heaven Shop, Our Stories/Our Songs - about kids affected by AIDS I Am A Taxi - about kids in the cocaine trade in Bolivia Jakeman - about kids whose mothers are in prison in New York State A Company of Fools - historical novel about the 1348 plague in Paris, France Jackal in the Garden - historical novel about Medieval Persia.

Bill Ayers is a school reform activist, Distinguished Professor of Education, and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he teaches courses in interpretive research, urban school change, and youth and the modern predicament. He is the founder of the Center for Youth and Society and founder and co-director of the Small Schools Workshop.
Publications: (partial)
A graduate of the Bank Street College of Education and Teachers College, Columbia University , he has written extensively about social justice, democracy and education. Recent edited books include To Become a Teacher: Making a Difference in Children's Lives, (Teachers College Press, 1995), (with Janet Miller) A Light in Dark Times: Maxine Greene and the Unfinished Conversation, (Teachers College Press, 1997), (with Pat Ford) City Kids/City Teachers: Reports from the Front Row, (The New Press, 1996), (with Jean Ann Hunt and Therese Quinn) Teaching for Social Justice: A Democracy and Education Reader, (The New Press and Teachers College Press, 1998), (with Mike Klonsky and Gabrielle Lyon) A Simple Justice: The Challenge of Small Schools, (Teachers College Press, 2000), and (with Rick Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn) Zero Tolerance: Resisting the Drive for Punishment. A handbook for parents, students, educators and citizens, (The New Press, 2001). His latest book is Fugitive Days: A Memoir, (Beacon Press, 2001).