"[Toni] Morrison's fundamental democratic insight is that there can be democratic dialogue only when one is open to the humanity of individuals and to the interiority of their personalities."

--Cornel West in Democracy Matters

 

"The idea that hope alone can transform the world, and action undertaken in that kind of naiveté, is an excellent route to hopelessness, pessimism, and fatalism. But the attempt to do without hope, in the struggle to improve the world, as if that struggle could be reduced to calculated acts alone, or a purely scientific approach, is a frivolous illusion. To attempt to do without hope, which is based on the need for truth as an ethical quality of the struggle, is tantamount to denying that struggle one of its mainstays. The essential thing . . . is this: hope as an ontological need demands an anchoring in practice. As an ontological need, hope needs practice in order to become historical concreteness. That is why there is no hope in sheer hopelessness. The hoped-for is not attained by dint of raw hoping. Just to hope is to hope in vain."

                                                                                               --Paulo Friere in Pedagogy of Hope

 

Join this summer in a collaborative inquiry to explore these questions:

 

            What if education were conceived of as making visible the person and the power of the person?

 

How do we recognize both the individual and the community? How can we honor and build from the multiplicities that exist within community?

 

What are the responsibilities of the participants who engage in descriptive inquiry to its subjects and to the larger educational context?

 

Among other threads, this summer's Institute will explore:

 

Preserving and developing ideas and practices different from the current norm; thinking about de-schooling school;        

           

Creating educational spaces where children and older students can be known and see themselves as learners in the context of testing and an emphasis on abstract learning;

           

            Studying the evolution and varied uses of Prospect's Descriptive Processes;

 

            Reclaiming the language of democracy and spirit in education.

 

           

Prospect's political message is strong and radical. ALL children (and all people) are able to think and to learn-not just some. By choosing to attend this Institute, you can join your experience, ideas, and questions with those of other educators who share a dedication to an educational vision that starts and builds from children's and teachers' strengths.

MORE ABOUT THE INSTITUTE:

 

Prospect's Summer Institute on Descriptive Inquiry has convened every year since 1978. Participants are educators, parents, and others who wish to examine issues of teaching and learning from the unique perspective that Prospect offers. Participants are expected to have some familiarity with Prospect Descriptive Processes, either through attendance at other Prospect institutes or through participation in groups that use the Descriptive Processes in their work.

 

While some educators return to the Institute from year to year, Prospect extends a warm welcome to newcomers. Prospect's top priority is to expand and diversify participation in all its institutes and conferences. Expansion means that there are more educators speaking out for democratic values and schools responsive to children. Diversity of all kinds immeasurably adds to and strengthens that message.

 

Prospect does not discriminate on the basis of race, sexuality, gender, gender expression and identity, age, ability, religion, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its admissions policies or practices.

 

The institute has two major components: the major seminar and independent work/small group inquiries.

 

Major seminar

This seminar addresses the framing questions of the Institute. It meets each morning and two afternoons. We begin the Institute with spanning studies of children and teaching. These are conducted by participants who bring documentary materials for these studies to the Institute. This year we will pay particular attention to issues and questions about process that arise through the spanning studies.

 

Following these studies, we will do close reading of a shared text related to the theme of the Institute. A selection from Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott is being considered for this portion of the Institute. In the second week, we move into a focused look at observation and description as modes of learning about our students, our classrooms, our schools, and our own practice. The shared reading will be a selection from Merleau Ponty, Dewey, or Bakhtin. Finally, we will turn to a range of readings, including poetry, novels, and essays. Some of the authors being considered are CŽsaire, DeStigter, Doty, Kelley, Nafisi, Robinson, and Said. In the letter that comes to registrants in May or June, participants will receive a specific list of reading from which they can choose.

 

Independent work/small group inquiries

In the afternoons and evenings, there are many choices. Some participants bring projects of their own to work on. Often participants bring a piece of work that they would like others to help them examine. Small groups are organized to assist participants who want response to a piece of work or an opportunity to think together with others about a child, an aspect of practice, or an issue. The afternoons and evenings are also a time when small groups can delve more deeply into questions that arise out of the major seminar. The small-group work does not have to be connected to the theme of the major seminar. In this way, the afternoons and evenings accommodate the need of participants to work on material that is important to them whether or not it has a place in the major seminar.

 

ENROLLMENT

The Institute draws a mix of returnees and new participants. If you are a potential newcomer and have questions about any aspect of the Institute, please contact Cecelia Traugh.

 

Preference will be given to those who enroll for the full two weeks, but we can sometimes make arrangements for people who can only attend one week. It is also possible for those who have projects of their own to arrange a schedule that will allow for work on their project in lieu of the major seminar.

 

BRINGING MATERIALS

If you are interested in bringing materials for a spanning study of a child or of teaching practice, please contact Cecelia Traugh. Participants are encouraged to bring material from their classrooms or work settings. While some participants have specific projects they are working on, others come with loose collections of children's work, documentation of activities or curriculum, journals, or the like.

 

LOCATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS

The Institute takes place at Bennington College, Bennington, VT. Rooms are single occupancy; bathroom facilities are shared. Breakfast and dinner are served at the College dining hall. Participants are responsible for providing their own lunches. There is a small kitchen in each dormitory, and Institute participants run a lunch co-op for those who wish to join.

 

FEES AND CREDITS

The Institute fee is $750, which includes breakfast and dinner at Bennington College. If you live off campus, there is a fee of $150. Limited financial aid is available for up to half of the cost for three to five participants. Please contact Cecelia Traugh for more information on financial aid.

 

Three credits can be earned through The Graduate School, Antioch New England. These credits cost an additional $300. Please indicate on your application form if you are interested in credits.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

 

To enroll in the Institute, please return the attached application form with a non-refundable $100 deposit by May 15, 2004. The balance of the fee may be paid at any time prior to the Institute, but is due upon arrival at the Institute. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants will receive a prompt email or postcard acknowledgment when their application arrives at the office and a letter describing the content of the Institute in more detail, what to bring, etc. will be sent in May.

 

Please make your check payable to PROSPECT CENTER and send it with the enrollment form to:

                        John Recco, Assistant to the Board

                        Prospect Center, Box 328

                        North Bennington, VT 05257

                        Tel: 802 442 8333 Fax: 802-442-9444

                        www.prospectcenter.org

 

Further questions should be addressed to Cecelia Traugh at:

           

                        e-mail: Cecelia.traugh@liu.edu

                        work phone: 718 488 1088

                        home phone: 914 964 8219

 

 

Art by (Oscar), from the Prospect Archives
PROSPECT SUMMER INSTITUTE ON DESCRIPTIVE INQUIRY

July 31-August 13, 2005

 

APPLICATION FORM

 

 

Name: _____________________________________________________________

 

Address: ___________________________________________________________

 

 

Phone: ____________________ e-mail address:__________________________

 

Place of work: ______________________________________________________

 

Work address: ______________________________________________________

 

Work phone: _________________________________

 

o    I am interested in earning credits from Antioch College.

 

If you are interested in doing a spanning study of a child or a Description of Work and Art of Teaching related to the major seminar, please contact Cecelia Traugh as soon as possible.

 

If you know now that you will want to have a small afternoon inquiry group, please describe the topic and/or materials below:

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Please make your $100 non-refundable deposit check payable to PROSPECT CENTER and send it with the enrollment form to:             John Recco, Assistant to the Board; Prospect Center, Box 328; North Bennington, VT 05257; Tel: 802 442 8333 Fax: 802-442-9444; www.prospectcenter.org

 

Further questions should be addressed to Cecelia Traugh at: e-mail: Cecelia.traugh@liu.edu; work phone: 718 488 1088; home phone: 914 964 8219