Thursday, February 17, 2011

Where are the Children?

In January, I attended Educon 2.3 at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. It is a wonderful conference attended by many who care about learning, technology and the future of education. Prior to the conference an invitation was sent out to participate in Encienda

I am particularly worried about the current educational landscape. I worry that we are losing our children in many ways and hope that we can turn things around. So my presentation is called "Where are the Children". I have embedded here if you are interested in hearing what I have to say. I would love your comments as well.
presentations. It is an interesting and challenging format: 20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds. The presenter narrates the presentation along with the slides.

9 comments:

  1. Karen,
    It is amazing the powerful message that can be conveyed in 5 minutes with this format. I recently read a post discussing the need to shift our thinking from schooling to learning. I think about how powerful that simple statement really is for us as educators, for parents, but mostly for the children in our classrooms. This post inspires me to be thoughtful about creating an environment of wonder, collaboration and learning that is important to students.

    It's refreshing to hear a voice that TRULY puts children first. So glad you were able to post your Encienda presentation from Educon, Karen.

    Thanks,
    Cathy

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  2. Karen,
    This was beautiful. Your insight and thoughtfulness in "Where are the Children?" is amazing. From the title, through each slide, you show others what has true meaning for you and your beliefs.
    I have goosebumps...

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  3. Karen,

    I had tears in my eyes at the beginning of your presentation. I also have an image of some of those children who don't succeed in an adult lead learning environment. It is difficult to change the way we interact with children. Your video, "Where are the Children?" will definitely play again and again in my mind as I work with children.

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  4. Karen,
    Thank you for your voice of reason in a climate that seems to have lost sight of why "we" do what we do. Every stakeholder in education should view your Encienda presentation. Thank you for sharing it here.
    Susan

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  5. Karen,
    I thank you for having the courage to openly share thinking that is so counter-culture to the current onslaught of testing and data collection. While knowing what are children are actually learning is valuable information, knowing our children as children might be even more valuable.
    Tony

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  6. "Children as shadows"… this terrifies me. Your presentation is powerful, it will remind me to slow down and listen, listen closely to what really matters, the children!
    Thanks Karen

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  7. We really have lost our way, haven't we?

    Thank you for this prayer, this plea, this reminder.

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