Current Workshops Past Workshops

Blink's Saturday workshops are designed to support educators who are striving to engage the cultures and diversities of their schools to create more inclusive communities where each and every person can thrive. In all Blink workshops, the medium is the message: sessions model guiding questions, techniques and tools that participants can implement in their own classroom, office and community work. Information on 2010-11 workshops coming soon! To join the e-mail list for workshop announcements, please contact: blink@rethinkingdiversity.com. Recent Workshops Developing Awareness and Identity: How Children Become Raced, Gendered and Classed Saturday, February 27, 2010; 9am-12pm at San Francisco Day School in San Francisco, CA How and when do children become aware of race, gender, class, ethnicity and sexual orientation? How can I support their exploration of identity and acceptance of differences? This workshop will leverage the knowledge and skills participants already bring to their work to identify proactive and reactive opportunities to support children's identity development. Participants will use Blink's model of social identity development to explore developmentally-supportive language, practices and occasions for talking to children about their experiences and perceptions of diversity, including their awareness of bias and -isms. With the goal of supporting students in becoming actively aware of themselves in a multicultural world, this workshop approaches identity development as an opportunity, rather than a deficit. This workshop is for staff, administrators, faculty and parents who are interested in understanding more about when to say what to children (preK-12th grades). Teaching Whiteness Saturday, March 6, 2010; 9am-12pm at Park Day School in Oakland, CA What is the experience of whiteness? When and how do white people learn about being white? How can I help my students and colleagues form empowered and engaged white identities? This workshop starts with the premise that white identity is formed through social experiences in which race matters, and that we can help children and adults develop empowered and engaged white identities by explicitly and proactively helping them to navigate a racialized world. We will identify the normative events and encounters that impact white-identifying and -identified people's understandings and experiences of racial identity, culture and diversity. Drawing on participants' experiences and Bill Cross' transactional model of identity formation, we will explore strategies for teaching and learning about whiteness. This workshop is for staff, administrators, faculty and parents who are interested in exploring and supporting white identity development (from preK-adulthood). Traveling Abroad but Staying at Home? Saturday, March 13, 2010; 9am-12pm at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, CA What are the cultural expectations for travel, study and service abroad programs? How can I help students to have authentic intercultural experiences abroad? Travel, study and service abroad have become the second curricula of independent schools. Whether students go abroad on a school program, an independently-sponsored educational tour, or a family trip, the global classroom is part of many students' learning experiences. But how intercultural are their experiences? Technology, wealth and the dynamics of globalization make it possible for students to go abroad without ever really leaving home. This workshop will explore the culture of "going abroad" and identify hurdles and bridges to authentic intercultural travel. Participants will experience an on-line curriculum as an example of how to support students' personal reflection and cultural exploration before, during and after their time abroad. This workshop is for program directors, as well as faculty, staff, administrators and parents who are interested in maximizing student study/travel/service abroad experiences. Class Matters Saturday, May 1, 2010; 9am-12pm at Marin Country Day School in Corte Madera, CA What is class? How does class matter to students and educators in independent schools? Beyond financial assistance, how can schools help students, families and colleagues of diverse class identities and cultures to thrive within their communities? This workshop will begin with an exploration of the language we use to talk about class, and the culture of class-blindness that influences how we navigate socioeconomically diverse communities. We will consider how class matters in the perspectives, beliefs and practices of parents and educators, and assess the class-based norms of our schools. Using Annette Lareau's research on class and parenting styles, participants will explore correlations between class and independent school educational philosophy, practice and outcomes, and consider how diversifying our engagement with students benefits the development of each and every child. This workshop is for staff, administrators, faculty and parents who are interested in class diversity thriving in independent schools.

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