This post is by Rich
The ABL-DJHS Writing for Peace Teacher Conference took place on Friday, 10th August, hosted by the Diamond Jubilee High School in Mazagon, Mumbai. The indomitable Lee Krishnan organized the event and made sure everything ran on time, a truly remarkable accomplishment!
We welcomed 77 teachers from 17 schools to the event, including schools from all around Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Gujarat. Some teachers traveled 19 hours by train overnight, arriving just before the 9:15am start of the day. They teach Grades PK-10, and various subject areas. It was a privilege to work with them.
The room is a large space, with circular tables holding up to 10 people per. Lee pre-arranged the tables into groups (Group 1, group 2...), purposefully mixing up folks from different schools. The event began at 9:15am with "Peace Games" led by two of Lee's students, Burhanuddin and Madera, who earlier this year attended the Seeds for Peace student conference in the US. They led the entire assembly in a series of "Peace Games" having to do with identity formation and privilege.
At 9:45, Lee introduced the event, explaining the partnership between Andover Bread Loaf and Diamond Jubilee School. At 10am, I took the mic and explained the philosophy of the Bread Loaf International Peace Literacy Network, and explained our Six Rules for Writing (Be kind, write in any language, speak your truth, don't fear mistakes, share - if you want to, have fun) and how they embed our philosophy. I then invited folks to complete a short writing prompt: I love, I wish, I dream - one line each - and then invited them to share at their tables.
At about 10:20, Alan took the mic and led folks through the next writing prompt. Developed by Lee, it's the same prompt we used for the Family Literacy Night: Peace means, Peace looks like, I want Peace because, Our world needs Peace because, Draw a picture of what Peace looks like. Participants were highly engaged in writing. At 10:45, we invited folks to share, and a large number did.
At this point we were well ahead of schedule, so Lee took the mic and led folks through a third writing prompt: the Two Line story. it was pretty powerful. At 11:30, each of us four US teachers explained our breakout sessions for later in the day. At 11:40, Alan took over again and led the entire 80-plus people in the room in a three-part harmony to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." It was a great way to end the morning.
We broke for lunch (spectacular as usual here in India), then at 12:55 convened in our breakout rooms. There were two sessions, the first from 1:00-2:10, then the next from 2:15-3:25. Teachers signed up for two of the four workshops, and presenters presented twice in a row.
My first group, from 1:00-2:10, had about 25 participants. I led folks through a 5-senses poem, first inviting them to make a list of their favorite places, then pick one, then use the five senses, plus emotion, to describe that place. We stood and partnered and shared, and then moved on to the big prompt of the workshop, and extended "I am from..." poem. I explained to the group that our philosophy begins with the self and its relation to community, then moves out to the surrounding world. I guided folks through a 12-line extended "I am from..." model, ending with three lines, "I dream... I will..." After folks wrote, we shared in pairs again, edited, then shared as a group. Lee ensured that we ended on time. My second session had 11 participants, and proceeded similarly.
At 3:25 we broke, and re-assmbled in the auditorium for sharing and feedback. Lee asked each group to come to the stage in turn - so all 10 members of Group 7 stood on the stage, and each member shared a piece or a reflection of the day. Folks shared a lot of writing, and spoke about how they had been impacted by the event. Most folks wrote and shared in English, but quite a few wrote and shared in Hindi, and some in Marathi. We collected feedback forms asking folks to explain what they can take back to their classrooms, and also collected one piece of writing from each person, to use in the eventual coffee table book about the conference.
My colleagues also presented successful workshops. Julia did workshops on Social Justice Theater, in which participants posed in situations of conflict, then proposed solutions. Ingrid refined her Imagine a Country workshop, in which participants imagined a utopia, then discussed how to make it a reality, turning imagination into action. Alan used John Lennon's song "Imagine" as the basis for his workshop. Participants wrote new lyrics, and weaved them together into a new song, which they performed at the sharing session. It was pretty cool.
About 5pm, Lee and Nutan Iyer, principal of the school, passed out certificates to the participants, and the day ended with samosas and tea.
This evening, Diamond Jubilee took us out to dinner - the four of us from the US, and all of our partner teachers, and supporters. There were about 35 of us in all, at a bar-b-q resteraunt at the Atrium Mall. I ate so many appetizers I was full before the main meal, but I did manage to squeeze down some dessert, and a bit of the birthday cake were ordered for Ingrid, whose actual birthday is next Thursday.
I was thrilled to see Lee's husband, G.K., who joined us for dinner. I've met him several times before. No surprise, he is a genuinely wonderful man, who devotes his life to social justice causes. His organization develops platforms that use technology to enhance maternal health and child care. One of his current initiatives is a software platform that point-of-caregivers can use to help diagnose and treat patients - a database, resources, and information-gathering instrument. His organization has developed it, and is working with the Indian Health Ministry to distribute it. Another initiative puts TV sets in the waiting rooms of pediatric clinics, providing valuable and needed medical information to mothers of young children. They have already installed over 1,000 sets. All of this, and GK is also just a really nice person.
Overall, quite a day. We were sad that our friends from Karachi, Mohsin Tejani and Basil Andrews, who had hoped to attend, were unable to secure visas in time, and also missed our partner Brendan McGrath, who headed home on Wednesday evening. But we are happy to have made new friends and feel positive about the impact of the conference.
Tomorrow, Saturday 11th August, is the Student Workshop. We plan to re-run the exact same program we ran today, slightly modified for the Grade 6-10 students who will attend. At last count, there were 102 students signed up. Several teachers who attended the Teacher Workshop today plan to return tomorrow, to do the workshops they did not get to attend today. Several other teachers who were unable to come today plan to join us tomorrow. Folks are eager for PD!
Tomorrow night, after the student workshop, I will head to the airport, as I have a 4:30am flight out of Mumbai on Sunday morning to head home. It was be bittersweet. I have finally become adapted to the sleep schedule and diet here, and every day brings new adventures and joys. But I also miss home, a little bit.
Thanks for reading,
Rich
The ABL-DJHS Writing for Peace Teacher Conference took place on Friday, 10th August, hosted by the Diamond Jubilee High School in Mazagon, Mumbai. The indomitable Lee Krishnan organized the event and made sure everything ran on time, a truly remarkable accomplishment!
We welcomed 77 teachers from 17 schools to the event, including schools from all around Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Gujarat. Some teachers traveled 19 hours by train overnight, arriving just before the 9:15am start of the day. They teach Grades PK-10, and various subject areas. It was a privilege to work with them.
The room is a large space, with circular tables holding up to 10 people per. Lee pre-arranged the tables into groups (Group 1, group 2...), purposefully mixing up folks from different schools. The event began at 9:15am with "Peace Games" led by two of Lee's students, Burhanuddin and Madera, who earlier this year attended the Seeds for Peace student conference in the US. They led the entire assembly in a series of "Peace Games" having to do with identity formation and privilege.
At 9:45, Lee introduced the event, explaining the partnership between Andover Bread Loaf and Diamond Jubilee School. At 10am, I took the mic and explained the philosophy of the Bread Loaf International Peace Literacy Network, and explained our Six Rules for Writing (Be kind, write in any language, speak your truth, don't fear mistakes, share - if you want to, have fun) and how they embed our philosophy. I then invited folks to complete a short writing prompt: I love, I wish, I dream - one line each - and then invited them to share at their tables.
At about 10:20, Alan took the mic and led folks through the next writing prompt. Developed by Lee, it's the same prompt we used for the Family Literacy Night: Peace means, Peace looks like, I want Peace because, Our world needs Peace because, Draw a picture of what Peace looks like. Participants were highly engaged in writing. At 10:45, we invited folks to share, and a large number did.
At this point we were well ahead of schedule, so Lee took the mic and led folks through a third writing prompt: the Two Line story. it was pretty powerful. At 11:30, each of us four US teachers explained our breakout sessions for later in the day. At 11:40, Alan took over again and led the entire 80-plus people in the room in a three-part harmony to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." It was a great way to end the morning.
We broke for lunch (spectacular as usual here in India), then at 12:55 convened in our breakout rooms. There were two sessions, the first from 1:00-2:10, then the next from 2:15-3:25. Teachers signed up for two of the four workshops, and presenters presented twice in a row.
My first group, from 1:00-2:10, had about 25 participants. I led folks through a 5-senses poem, first inviting them to make a list of their favorite places, then pick one, then use the five senses, plus emotion, to describe that place. We stood and partnered and shared, and then moved on to the big prompt of the workshop, and extended "I am from..." poem. I explained to the group that our philosophy begins with the self and its relation to community, then moves out to the surrounding world. I guided folks through a 12-line extended "I am from..." model, ending with three lines, "I dream... I will..." After folks wrote, we shared in pairs again, edited, then shared as a group. Lee ensured that we ended on time. My second session had 11 participants, and proceeded similarly.
At 3:25 we broke, and re-assmbled in the auditorium for sharing and feedback. Lee asked each group to come to the stage in turn - so all 10 members of Group 7 stood on the stage, and each member shared a piece or a reflection of the day. Folks shared a lot of writing, and spoke about how they had been impacted by the event. Most folks wrote and shared in English, but quite a few wrote and shared in Hindi, and some in Marathi. We collected feedback forms asking folks to explain what they can take back to their classrooms, and also collected one piece of writing from each person, to use in the eventual coffee table book about the conference.
My colleagues also presented successful workshops. Julia did workshops on Social Justice Theater, in which participants posed in situations of conflict, then proposed solutions. Ingrid refined her Imagine a Country workshop, in which participants imagined a utopia, then discussed how to make it a reality, turning imagination into action. Alan used John Lennon's song "Imagine" as the basis for his workshop. Participants wrote new lyrics, and weaved them together into a new song, which they performed at the sharing session. It was pretty cool.
About 5pm, Lee and Nutan Iyer, principal of the school, passed out certificates to the participants, and the day ended with samosas and tea.
This evening, Diamond Jubilee took us out to dinner - the four of us from the US, and all of our partner teachers, and supporters. There were about 35 of us in all, at a bar-b-q resteraunt at the Atrium Mall. I ate so many appetizers I was full before the main meal, but I did manage to squeeze down some dessert, and a bit of the birthday cake were ordered for Ingrid, whose actual birthday is next Thursday.
I was thrilled to see Lee's husband, G.K., who joined us for dinner. I've met him several times before. No surprise, he is a genuinely wonderful man, who devotes his life to social justice causes. His organization develops platforms that use technology to enhance maternal health and child care. One of his current initiatives is a software platform that point-of-caregivers can use to help diagnose and treat patients - a database, resources, and information-gathering instrument. His organization has developed it, and is working with the Indian Health Ministry to distribute it. Another initiative puts TV sets in the waiting rooms of pediatric clinics, providing valuable and needed medical information to mothers of young children. They have already installed over 1,000 sets. All of this, and GK is also just a really nice person.
Overall, quite a day. We were sad that our friends from Karachi, Mohsin Tejani and Basil Andrews, who had hoped to attend, were unable to secure visas in time, and also missed our partner Brendan McGrath, who headed home on Wednesday evening. But we are happy to have made new friends and feel positive about the impact of the conference.
Tomorrow, Saturday 11th August, is the Student Workshop. We plan to re-run the exact same program we ran today, slightly modified for the Grade 6-10 students who will attend. At last count, there were 102 students signed up. Several teachers who attended the Teacher Workshop today plan to return tomorrow, to do the workshops they did not get to attend today. Several other teachers who were unable to come today plan to join us tomorrow. Folks are eager for PD!
Tomorrow night, after the student workshop, I will head to the airport, as I have a 4:30am flight out of Mumbai on Sunday morning to head home. It was be bittersweet. I have finally become adapted to the sleep schedule and diet here, and every day brings new adventures and joys. But I also miss home, a little bit.
Thanks for reading,
Rich
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