NEXT GENERATION BRILLIANCE
There isn't any doubt that part of the super shift that's happening is a next generation of young people who are outstandingly brilliant. Take a look at this great YouTube video entitled 'We're all in this together' that demonstrates exactly what we mean!
Two of our Visionary Network creators are involved in working to empower the world of this next generation, so read on to find out about ...
(1) some amazing things going on with youth in Canada ... Judi Richardson from Halifax reports.
(2) a visionary collaboration of new educators who are starting alternative schools that celebrate the brilliance of our next generation ... Dorothy West Eckes from Philadelphia reports.
And interspered between these two visionary views, watch two great TED videos on the emerging new paradigm of education that follows passion and celebrates brilliance!
(1) some amazing things going on with youth in Canada ... Judi Richardson from Halifax reports.
(2) a visionary collaboration of new educators who are starting alternative schools that celebrate the brilliance of our next generation ... Dorothy West Eckes from Philadelphia reports.
And interspered between these two visionary views, watch two great TED videos on the emerging new paradigm of education that follows passion and celebrates brilliance!
YOUTH CREATIONS by Judi Richardson, Canada
It is clear to me that these next generations are more determined to be the brilliantly diverse people and perspectives in their lives and much less likely to “give in” to pressures to conform to some norm that really doesn’t exist. The message so often delivered to them is one of “I will be happy IF and WHEN you act, think, behave THIS way – so it will make a big difference in your life if you conform to what will make ME happy”. Which, of course, directs them completely away from their own guidance and the very diverse perspectives this world needs to evolve right now.
Younger children are showing up differently and are less likely to change what they are doing. When those of us in the baby boomer age open to their brilliance and help them work with the energy they bring — there is no need for “terrible twos” and medication to settle — there is brilliance abounding. Yes, there are some challenges – parenting and education needs to be responsible, responsive and evolve — so lets engage in THAT conversation!!
I get bored when adults start talking about the lack of respect in kids these days when those very kids have so much to offer. There is so much evidence of a growing voice and force for positive evolution showing up everywhere — here are but a few of many millions of examples....
WE DAY 2010 -- Free The Children’s We Day
http://weday.freethechildren.com/ Very exciting in Canada as children (average age 12) gathered in Toronto with Montreal (still to come in November). We Day is more than just one day of celebration and inspiration. It’s a one-of-a-kind event and part of an innovative year-long program created to celebrate the power of young people to create positive change in the world.
The event kicks off a year-long program of action, called 'We Schools in Action'. We Day is free of charge and open to any school that wants to be part of the experience. In exchange, each school group that attends is asked to make a commitment to follow the We Schools in Action program, which includes taking local and global action throughout the year.
Since 2007, youth from across North America have come together to discover the passion they have in common, to celebrate their successes, to become aware of new challenges, and to build lasting friendships. The We Day events feature speeches and performances from global leaders and social activists, cultural icons and entertainers.
Since 2007 ...
* 51,400 students from across Canada have attended We Day, and brought the message back to their schools, impacting hundreds of thousands more.
* Participating students collectively fundraised to support Free The Children’s Adopt a Village development program.
* Young people volunteered more than 150,000 hours to benefit over 500 charities and community groups. With a huge push from the 10 by 10 campaign, youth will log a total of one million volunteer hours by the end of 2010.
Even in Governments — we’ve been privileged to watch young bureaucrats stand up in the Province of Nova Scotia and form a group called Governext — they have speakers form top places in government come to talk to them and seek their advice.
We worked with youth in Alaska setting up a Youth Court system, driven by youth.
The government that is rebuilding Timor-Leste has dedicated a forum for Timorese youth to be part of national building and have their voices heard. The Timor-Leste Youth Parliament is the first in the history of Timor-Leste and promotes civic participation of young people 12 to 17.
Arts and Young Professionals
Groups of young professionals in Halifax started NOCTURNE and FUSION — groups who are dedicated to contributing and have a voice in the future of the City, Province and in Nocturne’s case to making art accessible to everyone.
Two initiatives that I have been having great fun contributing to and who have partnered resources recently:
www.thepac.biz — A young mother dedicated to helping Black Youth in Nova Scotia express their creativity and the project has opened to everyone’s creativity and partnered with Nigeria and South Africa – see the link as teens are making music, recording – doing it all themselves.
www.rhythmofchange.org -- A new wave of music, dance and media programs that spark social change -- Rhythm of Change — living music, changing lives. ROC is bringing a new rhythm to the world. We will link youth across borders as a creative force for positive individual and social transformation, beginning in Soweto, South Africa.
These young hearts, minds and voices are all about actioning their creativity in ways that align with and expand vibrant living and definitely demonstrate next generation brilliance!
Younger children are showing up differently and are less likely to change what they are doing. When those of us in the baby boomer age open to their brilliance and help them work with the energy they bring — there is no need for “terrible twos” and medication to settle — there is brilliance abounding. Yes, there are some challenges – parenting and education needs to be responsible, responsive and evolve — so lets engage in THAT conversation!!
I get bored when adults start talking about the lack of respect in kids these days when those very kids have so much to offer. There is so much evidence of a growing voice and force for positive evolution showing up everywhere — here are but a few of many millions of examples....
WE DAY 2010 -- Free The Children’s We Day
http://weday.freethechildren.com/ Very exciting in Canada as children (average age 12) gathered in Toronto with Montreal (still to come in November). We Day is more than just one day of celebration and inspiration. It’s a one-of-a-kind event and part of an innovative year-long program created to celebrate the power of young people to create positive change in the world.
The event kicks off a year-long program of action, called 'We Schools in Action'. We Day is free of charge and open to any school that wants to be part of the experience. In exchange, each school group that attends is asked to make a commitment to follow the We Schools in Action program, which includes taking local and global action throughout the year.
Since 2007, youth from across North America have come together to discover the passion they have in common, to celebrate their successes, to become aware of new challenges, and to build lasting friendships. The We Day events feature speeches and performances from global leaders and social activists, cultural icons and entertainers.
Since 2007 ...
* 51,400 students from across Canada have attended We Day, and brought the message back to their schools, impacting hundreds of thousands more.
* Participating students collectively fundraised to support Free The Children’s Adopt a Village development program.
* Young people volunteered more than 150,000 hours to benefit over 500 charities and community groups. With a huge push from the 10 by 10 campaign, youth will log a total of one million volunteer hours by the end of 2010.
Even in Governments — we’ve been privileged to watch young bureaucrats stand up in the Province of Nova Scotia and form a group called Governext — they have speakers form top places in government come to talk to them and seek their advice.
We worked with youth in Alaska setting up a Youth Court system, driven by youth.
The government that is rebuilding Timor-Leste has dedicated a forum for Timorese youth to be part of national building and have their voices heard. The Timor-Leste Youth Parliament is the first in the history of Timor-Leste and promotes civic participation of young people 12 to 17.
Arts and Young Professionals
Groups of young professionals in Halifax started NOCTURNE and FUSION — groups who are dedicated to contributing and have a voice in the future of the City, Province and in Nocturne’s case to making art accessible to everyone.
Two initiatives that I have been having great fun contributing to and who have partnered resources recently:
www.thepac.biz — A young mother dedicated to helping Black Youth in Nova Scotia express their creativity and the project has opened to everyone’s creativity and partnered with Nigeria and South Africa – see the link as teens are making music, recording – doing it all themselves.
www.rhythmofchange.org -- A new wave of music, dance and media programs that spark social change -- Rhythm of Change — living music, changing lives. ROC is bringing a new rhythm to the world. We will link youth across borders as a creative force for positive individual and social transformation, beginning in Soweto, South Africa.
These young hearts, minds and voices are all about actioning their creativity in ways that align with and expand vibrant living and definitely demonstrate next generation brilliance!
Time to change the way we educate our next generation?
Watch these great TED videos that point the way to brilliance in education. First, Sugata Mitra, 'Hole in the Wall Education -- New Exeriments in Self Teaching' followed by Ken Robinson on 'Changing Education Paradigms.' Then read on as Dorothy West Eckes talks about a new collaboration of education pioneers.
PIONEERING EDUCATORS ... Touched by Brilliance
by Dorothy West Eckes, USA
The realization of new, dynamic, child-centered education has reached the tipping point! Many visionaries have been at work on this for years; an educational framework that supports the unique gifts of each child and teacher, and connects the children and the school with the community. These visionaries have been pioneering new schools that celebrate the passion and brilliance of youth.
Today, these pioneering educators have joined forces to create a framework for learning that recognizes our innate curiosity and desire to learn, and supports the unique gifts and talents of our youth as well as our teachers. These visionaries are coming together now to encourage and recognize each others’ achievements, share their wisdom and learning with others and create a new collaboration that evolves education and the societies we live in the world over.
Coming together virtually, they are creating a panel of experienced educators and coaches with the intention of supporting others around the world who want to open alternative schools. What is unique about this panel is that they are intent on offering expertise in the areas required to open a school without any requirement that the school conform to any preset protocol. They believe that a school that is the hub of a community needs to be responsive to the community itself, requiring these schools to be unique. The panel offers expertise in the accomplishments of many different modalities of education so that a school founder has someone to go to with questions and won’t have to research every nuance of an overwhelming list of criteria and historical data.
Panel members who have launched and operated alternative schools are desperate to help others, saving them years of challenge, blind corners and delays. By offering the benefit of their own experience, these pioneers feel satisfied that their learning has not been an isolated struggle, but rather tried and true groundbreaking effort on behalf of the world’s population!
These extraordinary leaders have a few things in common, but the one that stands out is that each of them has been touched deeply by a child. Somewhere along their path, a child has confronted them with evidence of advanced abilities or an example of inner brilliance that the leader was able to understand beyond that singular moment or event. These children have shown that our relationship with each other on a global scale is ready for transformation, more than any structure of education. In that moment of being touched, these educators connected with new possibility for connecting with each other “whole being to whole being”, and saw how to land it in “education”, and that is where they are playing it out.
The thing about these educators is that they are fulfilling their desire to uniquely self-express and create and vision and collaborate. It looks like it’s for/about kids, but really, education vision is the platform for these adults to evolve everything. It is also a model for global collaboration and creation, lead by the energy of what’s trying to happen. The kids are providing a passionate driver and, of course, calling it all into being. Somehow, we’ve given ourselves permission to create for kids, the world that we actually want for ourselves.
Contact Dorothy if you'd like to find out more or join this forum of visionary educators.
Today, these pioneering educators have joined forces to create a framework for learning that recognizes our innate curiosity and desire to learn, and supports the unique gifts and talents of our youth as well as our teachers. These visionaries are coming together now to encourage and recognize each others’ achievements, share their wisdom and learning with others and create a new collaboration that evolves education and the societies we live in the world over.
Coming together virtually, they are creating a panel of experienced educators and coaches with the intention of supporting others around the world who want to open alternative schools. What is unique about this panel is that they are intent on offering expertise in the areas required to open a school without any requirement that the school conform to any preset protocol. They believe that a school that is the hub of a community needs to be responsive to the community itself, requiring these schools to be unique. The panel offers expertise in the accomplishments of many different modalities of education so that a school founder has someone to go to with questions and won’t have to research every nuance of an overwhelming list of criteria and historical data.
Panel members who have launched and operated alternative schools are desperate to help others, saving them years of challenge, blind corners and delays. By offering the benefit of their own experience, these pioneers feel satisfied that their learning has not been an isolated struggle, but rather tried and true groundbreaking effort on behalf of the world’s population!
These extraordinary leaders have a few things in common, but the one that stands out is that each of them has been touched deeply by a child. Somewhere along their path, a child has confronted them with evidence of advanced abilities or an example of inner brilliance that the leader was able to understand beyond that singular moment or event. These children have shown that our relationship with each other on a global scale is ready for transformation, more than any structure of education. In that moment of being touched, these educators connected with new possibility for connecting with each other “whole being to whole being”, and saw how to land it in “education”, and that is where they are playing it out.
The thing about these educators is that they are fulfilling their desire to uniquely self-express and create and vision and collaborate. It looks like it’s for/about kids, but really, education vision is the platform for these adults to evolve everything. It is also a model for global collaboration and creation, lead by the energy of what’s trying to happen. The kids are providing a passionate driver and, of course, calling it all into being. Somehow, we’ve given ourselves permission to create for kids, the world that we actually want for ourselves.
Contact Dorothy if you'd like to find out more or join this forum of visionary educators.
