Re-envisioning Education, and
the Craft of Teaching and Learning.
Sponsored by KFA's Oak Grove School and the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. Optional post-graduate professional level inservice credit available from UCSB Ext.
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| Introduction (3 minutes) | Participants' reflections (4 minutes) | |
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| What is Teaching? (15 minutes) | ||
The Ojai Teacher Education Program: A 7-day Program for Educators. [July 21st - 27th, 2013]
Uncovering and questioning our assumptions about teaching and learning.
Starting with the questions that we grapple with in our daily lives as educators, the program builds on the insights participants come to from their own deep looking and shared inquiry during the program. We shift from seeking answers to finding key questions that transform the way we see (and respond to) our educational challenges.
Hands-on, minds-on experiences of teaching and learning.
We pay minute attention to school and classroom activities - and question what we see. By uncovering the underlying values of teaching and learning, we re-envision school, classroom and other learning environments. In re-orienting the act of teaching to one of learning, we awaken the craft of teaching.
School from scratch: the practical design of schools and classrooms.
We start from scratch to design teaching and learning environments using dialogues, classroom observations (viewing film clips), role-play, interrogating our own educational narratives, readings, videos, journal writing, nature walks, silence and study time, and designing mini lessons.
An invitation to awaken (or renew) a sustained passion for teaching.
(In addition to Ojai, California this program is also conducted internationally in England, Thailand, Europe, India and other locations.)
Ojai Program
Dates:
Sunday July 21st to Saturday July 27th, 2013.
Costs:
- Program fee: $550.00. (Includes lunches, dinners, materials and tuition for full 7-day program.)
- Lodging: $495.00 (Subsidized fee for shared room and breakfast at adjacent Krishnamurti Retreat.)
Spaces are limited and preference will be given to early applicants.
Program Coordinators
Gopal Krishnamurthy (Director) is a PhD candidate in Education at the University of California Santa Barbara, and has MA's in Education and Philosophy. His research interests include teacher development, classroom observation and J.Krishnamurti's educational philosophy. He has been a teacher for 18 years in India, the UK and the USA. He has taught a variety of subjects including physics, mathematics, geography, environmental studies, philosophy, drama and Indian classical music, at High School, Middle School and College levels. Gopal has spent most of his life since the age of 4, as a student and teacher at the Krishnamurti schools.
Karen Hesli has worked in education for 40 years. After graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1970, she taught middle school and conducted human relations training for teachers during the desegregation of Minneapolis Public Schools throughout the 1970's. Inspired by the profound implications of J. Krishnamurti's writings and talks on the nature of mind and the art of learning, she visited the K schools in India and England, and moved to Ojai in 1980. Since then she has held various teaching and administrative positions at the Oak Grove School and is currently a board member of the school, a trustee of the KFA and a part-time teacher with middle school students.
Susan Sunsong Clark has worked in schools for over twenty years. She studied early childhood education and has a BA in Psychology. Early on she worked in a Montessori pre-school and elementary school. She has worked the last several years in a Krishnamurti school as a residential counselor and in conducting courses for adolescents in self-inquiry and human development/life skills. She now co-facilitates workshops for educators internationally.
Craig Walker holds a BA in Humanistic Psychology from UC Santa Cruz, a MA in Psychology w/emphasis on college teaching from San Francisco State University, and a California Standard Secondary Teaching Credential. Craig’s interest in Krishnamurti’s teachings began when he first heard K speak in New Delhi, India, in 1960. Over the next 25 years he participated in many talks and small-group discussions with K. He taught high school psychology and history in Ojai, CA for 35 years; challenging his students to question their conditioning and explore the nature of consciousness. Craig served as Secretary of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America for three years beginning in 2006 and served on the KFA’s education committee, where he organized the new Oak Grove School Board and served as its first Chair. He currently works in the Krishnamurti Library and assists with the Teaching Academy.
Additional Program Details
We will primarily use J. Krishnamurti's insights on education as the foundation for our considerations.
Texts
| Krishnamurti, J. (1953). Education and the Significance of Life. San Francisco, CA: Harper. |
| Krishnamurti, J. The Whole Movement of Life is Learning (Letters to the Schools), Brockwood, UK: Krishnamurti Foundation Trust. |
All texts and photocopied material will be provided.
Instructional material
Participants will have access to an extensive collection of books and audio-visual materials. There will also be free computer and internet access. Participants are encouraged to bring their own personal computers.
Activities
In an atmosphere of reflection and a setting of natural beauty, participants will engage in daily activities such as:
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* Inquiry and dialogues |
* Classroom observations (viewing film clips) |
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* Interrogating our own educational narratives |
* Study of educational articles on the aims of school and the foundations of teaching |
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* Designing learning environments, schools from scratch |
* Communication and collaborative work in different settings |
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* Journal writing |
* Silence and Quiet time |
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* Role play and theater (myths of teaching and learning) |
* Developing a learning/teaching portfolio |
Recreational activities including nature walks, folk dance, music, theater and film viewing will also be available.
As the Teaching Academy is an Inservice program, the University of California Santa Barbara Extension offers Inservice post-graduate, professional level credit (four units semester / six units quarter system, $150 additional payable to UCSB) . Information and forms available during the program.
Food
Vegetarian food is served as part of the program. No meat is allowed at the Krishnamurti Educational Center. We will make reasonable efforts to meet your dietary and other special needs. Please let us know in your application.
Testimonials from 2012 Participants
“The sessions on observation and assessment will remain with me - to keep us deeply engaged with looking at what we do as educators and as human beings.” Teacher with 30 yrs experience in primary schools.
“Deep gratitude to the facilitators for peeling off layers of “knowing”, and for showing what impersonal affection looks like - by listening hard to us in order to help us clearly hear where we come from.” Highschool science & math teacher.
“One question that became acute for me as the week went on was: why not make it my dominant intent to “keep my ears to the ground” for any thinking by the student that I as the teacher can think with. I learnt a tremendous amount both for my doctoral research and my teaching practice, so thank you.” Language teacher and Educational Researcher, Smith College.
Policies
Please read the course policies before applying.
Contact
For more information, please contact Academy Coordinator Gopal Krishnamurthy via email, or call him at (805) 462-7360.
How to Apply
To apply for the course, please fill out our Online Application Form.
