[Ailist] AI in schools

[Mo McKenna]

Hi - thanks Jane for the invitation to join this conversation.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the Toronto 
District School Board since 2004.  However, the real work that is being done 
using AI in the school board is happening with people like my good friend 
and colleague - Nancy Nightingale and I would really like you to have the 
opportunity to talk to her.  Nancy was a principal and she has just retired. 
She has some great stories to share about how she and other colleagues have 
used AI in schools.

Do you have access to skype?  Through skype we could set up a free call 
through our computer, if you want to download it to your computer, go to 
www.skype.com .

As I write this note about the power of engaging in conversations with 
youth,  I am reminded of  Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat - A 
Brief History of the 21st Century.   The last chapter talks about how we all 
need to focus on 11/9 (the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall) Vs focusing on 
9/11.   I just love the last paragraph and for some reason I thought it was 
appropriate to share since we are talking about conversations that we can 
have with youth:
"I cannot tell any other society or culture what to say to its own children, 
but I can tell you what I say to my own:  The world is being flattened.  I 
didn't start it and you can't stop it, except at great cost to human 
development and your own future.  But we can manage it, for better or for 
worse.  If it is to be for better, not for worse, then you and your 
generation must not live in fear of either the terrorists or of tomorrow, of 
either al-Qaeda or of Infosys.  You can flourish in this flat world, but it 
does take the right imagination and the right motivation.  While your lives 
have been powerfully shaped by 9/11, the world needs you to be forever the 
generation of 11/9 - the generation of strategic optimists, the generation 
with more dreams than memories, the generation that wakes up each morning 
and not only imagines that things can be better but also acts on that 
imagination every day."

Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving and I'd like to say how thankful I am to be 
part of a such a generous and generative community.
regards
Maureen

Upcoming Toronto Workshops:
Appreciative Inquiry Foundation Workshop with Jane Magruder Watkins - 
November 4th to 7th 2008
Change Your Questions, Change Your Life with Marilee Adams - December 3rd, 
2008
www.thesumoexperience.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jane Magruder Watkins" <jane at appreciativeinquiryunlimited.com>
To: "'Nora Steindl'" <norasteindl at hotmail.com>; "'Cheri'"
<cheri at mobileteamchallenge.com>; "'Katri K'" <katrik2 at yahoo.com>;
<ailist at lists.business.utah.edu>
Cc: "Maureen McKenna" <maureenmckenna at sympatico.ca>; "'Marge Schiller'"
<margeschiller at yahoo.com>; <Dorafried at hotmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 12, 2008 3:53 PM
Subject: RE: [Ailist] AI in schools


Dear Katri:

I am so touched by your story (and by the fact that both you and Nora are 
willing to write to us in English since so few of us know multiple languages
as you do!). May I suggest that you contact Maureen McKenna about her work 
with schools in Toronto. I worked with her at the beginning of this project
and stay in touch by working with Maureen to offer 2 AI workshops a year in 
Toronto where we give full scholarships to 4 or 5 students in each group.
The workshop participants include people from corporations, government, and 
not-for-profit organizations along with the students. We get the same
feedback over and over -- the older participants LOVE having the students in 
the group. As for the students, many of them were considered "at risk" (most 
are immigrants for whom English is a second language and they are having 
trouble feeling a part of the culture and the school.) WE now find that most 
of the students who have been in the AI workshops have gone on to make great 
contributions in their schools and many are now in collage -- something few
of them thought possible! There's lots more to tell and Maureen is very 
generous with her time and stories, so do write to her directly.

The other wonderful contact for you would be Marge Schiller who formed and 
heads up the Positive Change Corps, an organization that takes AI into
schools all over this country.

Both of these women are very good friends of mine and they are dedicated to 
sharing their work to those who want to work with schools and children.

And, Lena, you should contact my dear friend Dora Fried who lives in 
Argentina and is a global leader in the world of Systemic thinking and
Social Constructionism - the basic theory behind AI -- who might have some 
good contacts for you there.

Bless you both for your concern and your work. The world needs what we do!!!

Appreciatively,  Jane

Jane Magruder Watkins & Ralph Kelly
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