On February 20, 2021, the Youth Advisory Board of the BLTN Next Generation Leadership held a virtual writing retreat drawing youth and educator participants from Alaska to Kenya, with many sites in between. Our goal was to capture moments and insights from the remarkable and trying life of students and teachers during the pandemic. When
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Early in the morning on February 27, 2021 for attendees from all U.S. time zones, and early in the evening Pakistan time, over 70 educators gathered from across the farthest reaches BLTN, the Andover Bread Loaf Peace Literacy Network. Inspired by the 10th anniversary of Karachi-based The School of Writing (TSW), Director Mohsin Tejani (MA
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“It was very fun writing a chapter together,” comments Kayla. “We laughed reviewing memories to build the chapter. We learned a lot about how to balance both of our voices and connect back into the larger framework of the overall book. We hope that the book will be purchased by educators and community organizations, to
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“…Even as they participate in supportive networks like BLTN, teachers are finding themselves bombarded with new demands and online resources…From one meeting to the next, teachers shared not only how they were surviving and striving to meet student needs, and how they were coping with ‘Zoom fatigue,’ but they gave sparkling accounts of the sources of joy they were finding despite quarantined life….”
“… former Bread Loaf faculty member James Britton’s call for ‘the decade of the classroom teacher,’ for ‘the full potential of interactive teaching and learning’ requiring ‘all the help we can give them’ may have arrived in 2020….”
“…This is no ordinary pedagogy book. Joe and Brent invite us graciously into their practice, involve us in planning the ingredients for our own contexts, and they provide literal and figurative feasts for experiences (in high schools of all places) of community and affirmation…”
“…’Peace looks like you and me,’ remarked one writer, ‘a 15-gallery view in Zoom, people writing and sharing in virtual spaces connected through the airways and our hearts’…”
“…The virus came from nowhere, but it also brought opportunities from nowhere. TSW was fortunate to be associated with Andover Bread Loaf and the wider Bread Loaf Teacher Network. Although these are trying times that are constantly evolving, one lesson learned is that collaboratives, collectives, and networks are the way to go…”
“…This is why we do this—for youth to learn ways to better understand themselves and help to change their worlds…”
Lauren Jewett, of Kipp Morial School in New Orleans has been selected to two prestigious fellowship posts this academic year. She is an Understood Teacher Fellow, and an ASCD 2019 Emerging Leader. In these capacities, she has authored “How I Navigate the Coronavirus as an Educator with Anxiety,” and “How I’m Leading Remote IEP Meetings.”
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