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What is the Lin-Wood Public School's Courage to Learn and Lead Program ?
Background
NH Courage and Renewal has been working with Lin-Wood School District faculty members over the last five years promoting among them a recommitment to teaching and learning and to working together to continually create an environment which promotes improved student outcomes. This work has been sponsored by the New Hampshire Humanities Council and its effectiveness has been documented by Antioch University. The facilitators with NH Courage and Renewal are Jean Haley and Anne Riley, both retired school guidance counselors.
Due to the success of the program with Lin-Wood faculty called Courage to Teach®, faculty members suggested that students might be a logical next step in expanding the process. Each Lin-Wood student was chosen because of his or her potential to be successful academically and as a student leader. Outcomes we expect to see in each student who participates in Courage to Learn and Lead are:
the ability to recognize and take pride in their individual gifts and strengths (birthright gifts)
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a commitment to improved academic performance and self advocacy
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a greater awareness of the needs of their peers and others in their immediate communities
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a growing sense of themselves as change agents for good in the world
Denise Drapeau, reading and language teacher, is the faculty advisor for this student group and will be their mentor at school. There will be four learning days during the next year when the students will be excused from their classes to meet as a group. Jean and Anne will be joined by Caroline Fairless to facilitate the Lin-Wood program. In addition to the poetry and prose that will be used with the students to improve their understanding of themselves and others, Jim Sims, a musician, and Bobbie Heron, a Saori weaver, will work with the participants at various times throughout the series to help them enjoy the arts for their own sake and for their ability to illustrate life lessons.
Key Elements of Courage to Learn and Lead
A. Recognize Their Birthright Gifts
Through a series of art-based exercises, the participants will recognize and affirm their individual gifts and talents and imagine how these attributes might be used in their future lives. Individual students will consider how dedication and hard work can make a difference in their lives. The group will grapple with the power of peer pressure to keep individuals from becoming all they are meant to be and develop self-confidence to move forward on their own well chosen path.
Parker Palmer, founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage and Renewal, with whom NH Courage and Renewal is affiliated, discussed "Birthright Gifts" in an article in Yes! Magazine in March, 2001.
Read Parker's article. B. Explore the Movement Model of Social Change
By exploring the lives of a few folks who have made change in the world, the concept of the power of one person to move others to bring about change will be affirmed. The students will consider social inequities they may see in their daily lives and think locally, nationally and globally about their obligation to be a force for good in the world.
C. Let Your Light Shine
Students will explore the rewards and risks of working with a team of like-minded individuals committed to a common goal. They will be invited to decide on a service project and develop an action plan to implement their goals. They will consider attributes of effective leaders as well as when and how to be a good follower.
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Our Third Session - May 20, 2010