Remember when that loud, unruly kid was a punk? Remember when that quiet girl doing art in the back of the room was weird? Remember when the kids who were leaders were predictable and understandable? What a cool world that we live in that none of that is true anymore!
Over the last 100 years our society has been busy birthing new realities, thrusting itself forward into an unfamiliar, unknowable future. Women's suffrage and civil rights were the cusp of these changes, as our family structures, social relationships, and cultural growth has reflected an even broader transformation. Young people, who at first were merely keeping pace with those changes, went from being the canaries in the coalmine to being the leaders at the front, taking charge, making movements, and driving social change as never before. Today, young people are the bellweather of the brave new future we continue to move towards.
Look around you! See those kids fixing their own problems on the playground? That's (r)evolution! See the teens in the alleyway finishing that tremendous graffiti mural? That's (r)evolution! See those tents and that meeting in the park where the Occupy movement is keeping hold? That's (r)evolution! Who is at the head of all this? Young people.
I challenge you to see today's reality: The (R)Evolution Is Underway. Can you see it? Can you feel it? The economy, politics, education... Young people are stepping in front of these speeding trains that are bulleting their ways through our society, and they're doing what appears to be "crazy stuff". But that crazy stuff, unfamiliar and scary as it may seem, is bringing us towards a positive, powerful future for all people everywhere all the time.
New Orleans Liberation Academy is steadily moving towards demonstrating this (r)evolution. Step with us into the future to see where we're all going - together!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Transformational Change
Our friends at the Q.E.D. Foundation have created a graphic that does a great job describing the type of transformational learning community we are working to develop. We hope it can also serve as a tool for anyone else working to make transformational change in learning and teaching. Q.E.D. Foundation is an organization of adults and youth working together to create and sustain student-centered learning communities. Their work is based on relationships and practices that first and foremost support students’ growth and learning while simultaneously improving the health of our communities and our society.
Download PDF Version.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Graduation by Validation
The New Orleans Liberation Academy (NOLA) educational program for high school graduation is organized around a competency-based, outcome oriented curriculum. In a competency-based system, desired learning outcomes are clearly defined and stated up front. Students are assessed by whether they can demonstrate those outcomes. In the NOLA curriculum, the different learning outcomes are called "competencies." Students progress through the NOLA curriculum by demonstrating that they have met the learning outcomes through a process we call “validation” in a variety of skill and knowledge areas. We call this demonstrating a competency.
What is a competency?
A competency is simply a statement of learning outcomes for a skill or a body of knowledge. When students demonstrate a competency by completing a validation they are demonstrating their ability to do something. They are showing the outcome of the learning process. Lots of the things that people do in their lives can be defined as different competencies - job skills, living skills, etc. In the NOLA curriculum we've taken the different kinds of skills and knowledge that are important for our students success, whatever path they may choose after high school. and we have defined them as different competencies or validation areas.
In most educational programs, a student moves through the requirements by taking a class and being assessed and earning a grade at the end of that class on how well she has done meeting the requirements of the class. The assessment says how well a student has done in a class, but it doesn't necessarily assess what a student has learned. Wherever the student is at the end of the class - that's what the assessment shows. When the semester ends, the student is done with that learning and moves on to the next class.
NOLA’s educational program is different (and we think more like the real world). Students at NOLA know up front what the expected learning outcomes are and each student is expected to fully demonstrate them all. It's not enough to be part way competent in something, our goal is to help every student reach the level of demonstrating their competence/mastery. If it takes less than a semester to acquire a particular validation, the student can demonstrate the competency and move on. If it takes more than a semester, that's okay, too. All students are expected to demonstrate the required outcomes, but different students will do it in different ways and at different paces.
How do students graduate from NOLA?
NOLA students graduate by doing projects, performing internships, completing suplumentary learning packets and/or taking classes towards twelve different learning areas. Not everyone’s learning experiences will look the same; each student, their advisor and their validators will create a plan that will best suit their needs and interests. As the student works on the twelve validations, they will also receive traditional credits for the time they put in. Student’s transcripts at graduation will consist of at least 30 semester credits, and twelve summaries of learning, called validations
NOLA’s competency-based graduation process allows learners to earn a diploma through demonstrations of competence in addition to or in combination with traditionally determined credits. In addition to meeting the state’s minimum graduation requirements, the student must meet the desired outcomes in twelve validation areas, and must demonstrate competence through projects and summaries of real-world learning experiences. Each of these validations must be signed by an expert in that particular area called a validator. The validator should be involved in the creation and execution of the learning plan, as well as its final assessment. Upon successful completion of all twelve validation areas, the learner will amass a portfolio consisting of the twelve validations, or summaries of learning, as well as projects that showcase the student’s work. The student will then present the portfolio to a graduation committee comprised of the student’s advisor, one or more family or community members, a program director, other staff, and a current New Orleans Liberation Academy
Some of the validation areas will be met through traditional classes; however, students are encouraged to create their own learning and assessment plans in most of the areas. The following is a list of the twelve validation areas in which NOLA students must demonstrate competency in order to graduate:
à Effective Communication
à Literary Analysis
à Effective and Informed Citizenship
à Valuing Diversity and History
à Mathematics
à Science and Technology
à Physical and Mental Well-Being
à Artistic Expression and Appreciation
à Accessing Information
à Community Involvement & Leadership
à Employment Skills, Entrepreneurship & Career Exploration
à Philosophical, Emotional and/or Spiritual Awareness
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Humanizing Education
Yesterday, we met with a group of students at Sci Academy, a Charter school in New Orleans East. The students we met with are part of a ReThink club, a group of students who come together weekly to work on creating solutions to challenges students feel in the school.
One topic emerged as central to the students' experiences at school: dehumanization. Students have fealt that in their school they are unable to be their full selves, express who they are or the struggles they face.
Paulo Friere wrote that central to authentic liberation is the process of humanization.
One topic emerged as central to the students' experiences at school: dehumanization. Students have fealt that in their school they are unable to be their full selves, express who they are or the struggles they face.
Paulo Friere wrote that central to authentic liberation is the process of humanization.
What then is a human education?
Currently few schools exist that are actually designed for human learning. Traditional school was designed to turn human children into adult factory workers. It succeeded, but what if we no-longer desire such a system? What if our desired outcomes for children and youth have changed since the industrial revolution?
Our desired outcomes for our children have changed. What are those desired outcomes today, and can the kinds of outcomes you would choose for your child’s life be effectively measured by a multiple choice test?
When parents are asked what outcomes they would like for their children, they often say “I want them to be happy. “ And they also report a desire for a better world for our kids to live in. They applaud ideas like bringing compassion, understanding, caring, creativity, and love.
As we were visioning a school here in New Orleans
So what is the disconnect that allows parents and educators to then turn around and send children into schools where their success and often self-worth is measured purely through a set of multiple choice tests in math, science, and reading, and some letter or number grades which tell us nothing of value?
Why do we not act on what we know intuitively… that who our children are is much more important than what they know? It is who they are in terms of character that will shape our world. All the knowledge in the world has never yet assured that our knowledge will be applied with wisdom.
Fortunately there are schools that get this and parents who are willing to allow their children to go to them, or who even get involved in creating them. Through our continued relationship with the Alternative Education Resource Organization (AERO) and the Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA), we have been able to connect with and learn from some of them.
Many of these schools are democratic schools run by partnership between adults and children. These schools provide education for humans, not for industry. They know that future industry must change to fit future humans, and not the other way around. A human education system serves the human children within it first and foremost. The interests, skills, talents, and physical, mental, emotional and spiritual requirements of children are top of the list when designing schools.
So as we begin with the human, the first task at hand when our students join us is keen observation of how the youth acts, the things they are drawn to, the foods they choose, the friends they empathize with, the information they choose to learn, the clothes they wear, the way they speak, listen, and interact with others. All of this is quite valuable in facilitating the expansion and learning of each student.
Once their strengths and interests begin to emerge, we can then begin to support their journey. This is how New Orleans Liberation Academy
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Get Involved to Help Grow Our School
Do you want to have a significant impact in the lives of New Orleans youth and thier communities?
Do you want to gain experience incubating a grassroots, democratic, community-based school?
Are you interested in contributing to and learning from a powerful learning community of educators, organizers and youth?
Get involved with the next phase of the development of New Orleans Liberation Academy.
We are looking for teachers, artistds, youth development workers, counselors, organizers, youth, community members and others who have experience working with youth and/or are committed to creating an education that is relevant, meaingful and inspiring. We need dedicated, creative and hardworking people interested in working collaboratively to plan and develop a new small school in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.
Our mission is to engage, educate and inspire empowered New Orleans youth to transform their lives while positively contributing to the betterment of their community. Our vision is to support our students in becoming independent thinkers, problem solvers and self-directed learners. Our school community will model the values of dedication, care, creativity and interdepenence that will help shape our students into successful learners and community leaders.
If you are interested in learning more about us and/or think you might be interested in joining a team of committed educators, organizers and youth in furthering the development of something new, unique and empowering for New Orleans youth, please contact us at nolasolidarity@gmail.com and tell us a little about yourself and why you are interested in getting involved.
Do you want to gain experience incubating a grassroots, democratic, community-based school?
Are you interested in contributing to and learning from a powerful learning community of educators, organizers and youth?
Get involved with the next phase of the development of New Orleans Liberation Academy.
We are looking for teachers, artistds, youth development workers, counselors, organizers, youth, community members and others who have experience working with youth and/or are committed to creating an education that is relevant, meaingful and inspiring. We need dedicated, creative and hardworking people interested in working collaboratively to plan and develop a new small school in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.
Our mission is to engage, educate and inspire empowered New Orleans youth to transform their lives while positively contributing to the betterment of their community. Our vision is to support our students in becoming independent thinkers, problem solvers and self-directed learners. Our school community will model the values of dedication, care, creativity and interdepenence that will help shape our students into successful learners and community leaders.
If you are interested in learning more about us and/or think you might be interested in joining a team of committed educators, organizers and youth in furthering the development of something new, unique and empowering for New Orleans youth, please contact us at nolasolidarity@gmail.com and tell us a little about yourself and why you are interested in getting involved.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Reflections on Organizing towards Collective Liberation at Occupy NOLA
Over the last few weeks our students and advisors have been partipating in various aspects of Occupy New Orleans actions and working groups. Most centrally though, we have all been deeply engaged in the Anti-Racism Working Group meeting 3 times a week a diverse collective of anti-racism organizers and activists from participating in the Occupy movement and other longtime organizers from the community. Fellow member of the working group, provided great analysis and a look at the anti-racist organizing that is coming out of the Occupy Movement in New Orleans in her post published today on the Monthly Review Zine, and we are happy to share it here:
Reflections on Organizing towards Collective Liberation at Occupy NOLA
by Lydia Pelot-Hobbs
Over the past few weeks, I have been invigorated and moved by the energy surrounding Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots across the nation. Yet, at the same time I've been faced with the tensions being articulated by so many folks on the Left: how can this energy be connected to and further long-standing organizing work for social and economic justice?
Here at Occupy NOLA, I have been excited about the potential of making these bridges through the project of the anti-racism working group. In less than two weeks, this working group has been developing a collective analysis and strategy that I think has the possibility of contributing towards long-term movement building.
From Difficult Moments to Moments of Promise
This is not to say this work has been easy. Many of these conversations are painful and difficult. At the second General Assembly (GA), a debate emerged regarding the use of the livestream at the GA. Since the initial planning meeting, Occupy NOLA had been posting photos and videos on Facebook without those in attendance's permission. Myself alongside several others from the anti-racism working group raised the concern that having the entire area videotaped led to the space not being safe or secure for a variety of folks: immigrants, trans folks, queer folks, etc. and offered the proposal that 1/3 of the space not be included in the livestream.
In response, several white men got up and declared the purpose of the movement was to be recorded and that having folks on video couldn't possibly have the ramifications that we had explained such as immigration sweeps or people losing employment or housing. Listening to these responses I was frustrated by concrete concerns being seemingly disregarded, but even more so at how privilege operates to convince individuals that their experiences within society are universal -- how security for some makes the lack of safety for others invisible.
Following the GA's inability to reach consensus on this subject, those of us on both sides of the debate were tasked with further discussing the issue. Cynically, I found myself assuming the people we had been debating weren't actually committed enough to the process to enter into further conversation. However, immediately after the meeting, one guy came over to continue the discussion. Within a few moments, a group of a dozen people were talking about how power functions, how Latin@ folks are racially profiled as undocumented immigrants, the policing of trans folks (especially transwomen of color), the precariousness of service industry workers employment, and so much more. Here we were, mostly strangers, spending our Friday night standing in Duncan Plaza engaged in political debate.
Did we end up agreeing on everything? No. Did we make steps together? Yes.
Making these steps together is why I'm involved in the Occupy movement. I recalled that my political analysis was not developed over night; rather it took investment from other activists. I've had years of guidance and mentorship within movements for social justice that has gotten me to the place I am today. Now is the time to offer the constructive encouragement to others that was offered to me when I was first becoming politicized.
But I also know about the rapid politicization folks can go through during moments like this -- moments that radicalize people's understanding of power, systems of oppression, the state, global capitalism, and empire. These moments can literally transform people's understandings of not just what we are struggling against but also what we are dreaming about: what collective liberation can potentially be.
Building Strategies for Collective Liberation
For me, this is why it's so crucial to organize with the anti-racism working group to build a structural analysis within Occupy NOLA of how we got to this period of advanced capitalism. Luckily, I think we have more resources to draw on for this than in pervious periods. Even before the first GA to plan Occupy NOLA, white anti-racist folks here were reaching out to one another to discuss how to critically engage this moment. Many of us had been moved by the writing coming out of OWS by activists of color on their struggles to build an anti-racist and anti-oppressive politic in New York. Several of us were also encouraged by the conversations happening within the national US for All of US network of white anti-racists about the potential for catalyzing this moment. Others of us were calling on our knowledge gained from our participation, both as local New Orleanians and outside volunteers, in anti-racist organizing at Common Relief following the storm. Looking around the space of Occupy NOLA, instead of feeling lost and overwhelmed as I have so many times before in these spaces, I felt hopeful and inspired.
By the second day of Occupy NOLA, a multiracial crew of folks had come together for the first meeting of the anti-racism working group. Gathered together was a group of people with a range of backgrounds: long-term organizers, folks new to activism, people who already knew and trusted one another, and individuals who came knowing no one but believing in the purpose of the group.
Over the course of our first meetings, we strategized together what the purpose and goals of our anti-racism working group would be. Drawing on our collective knowledge gain from previous activism as well as our initial involvement with Occupy NOLA, we solidified together that our goals are based in the belief that this is a moment of possibility and potential.
We committed to working towards: Occupy NOLA being accountable to local community organizing and acting in solidarity with their local struggles; fostering an intersectional structural analysis of power through political education projects; encouraging both Occupy NOLA and the broader #Occupy movement to center both the US South and the Global South; deepening our analysis of how US financial power has been built off the ravages of slavery and colonialism; and continuing to build off the momentum of this moment over the next year regardless of the outcome of this occupation.
We have also committed as an anti-racist working group to be actively participating in other working groups and building with other potential allies. Also, by participating in other working groups, we are able to share our skills in areas such as facilitation, media, and direct action. For me, this is us moving beyond a critique from the sidelines to a structure that is focusing our efforts towards the success of other working groups.
Central to our strategy has also been the ongoing dialogue and discussion with long-time New Orleans organizers of color. Folks from a range of organizations affiliated with the Greater New Orleans Organizers' Roundtable have generously entered into conversations with the anti-racism working group about how Occupy NOLA can be pushed in a strategic direction that furthers the aims of local economic and social justice movements. This work has the potential to strengthen both Occupy NOLA and the work of already existing organizing by building a united front on the social justice issues in New Orleans.
It's also been incredible to be organizing collectively with folks who are dealing with the reality that we need to move quickly since we don't know how long this occupation will last while also thinking through how this work can make a long-term impact on movements for justice. Instead of organizing in crisis, we are organizing for the long haul.
Moving Forward
We're still grappling with a lot of questions: How do we actively engage and support other working groups? What are strategies for building an accountable Occupy movement here in New Orleans that supports and strengthens the long-term community organizing in the city around housing, police brutality, the prison industrial complex, and immigration? Is our goal to build Occupy NOLA as a multiracial, multiclass movement or is there a benefit in leveraging the white and class privilege of the current formation in solidarity with community organizations? How do we both embrace the spirit of participatory democracy while also recognizing how these processes can be alienating?
These are complicated questions for a complicated moment. While I am sure that both the anti-racism working group and the broader Occupy NOLA will make mistakes along the way, I am just as sure of the necessity in critically engaging in this movement. We're in the middle of a powerful opening to connect fresh new activists to radical political analysis, to develop their leadership skills, and to introduce them to the ongoing social and economic struggles here in New Orleans, across the US, and around the globe. Getting down in this messy process is more than just a commitment to the present Occupy moment; it's an investment in our future movements for justice.
Lydia Pelot-Hobbs is a member of and trainer at AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance).
Reflections on Organizing towards Collective Liberation at Occupy NOLA
by Lydia Pelot-Hobbs
Over the past few weeks, I have been invigorated and moved by the energy surrounding Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots across the nation. Yet, at the same time I've been faced with the tensions being articulated by so many folks on the Left: how can this energy be connected to and further long-standing organizing work for social and economic justice?
Here at Occupy NOLA, I have been excited about the potential of making these bridges through the project of the anti-racism working group. In less than two weeks, this working group has been developing a collective analysis and strategy that I think has the possibility of contributing towards long-term movement building.
From Difficult Moments to Moments of Promise
This is not to say this work has been easy. Many of these conversations are painful and difficult. At the second General Assembly (GA), a debate emerged regarding the use of the livestream at the GA. Since the initial planning meeting, Occupy NOLA had been posting photos and videos on Facebook without those in attendance's permission. Myself alongside several others from the anti-racism working group raised the concern that having the entire area videotaped led to the space not being safe or secure for a variety of folks: immigrants, trans folks, queer folks, etc. and offered the proposal that 1/3 of the space not be included in the livestream.
In response, several white men got up and declared the purpose of the movement was to be recorded and that having folks on video couldn't possibly have the ramifications that we had explained such as immigration sweeps or people losing employment or housing. Listening to these responses I was frustrated by concrete concerns being seemingly disregarded, but even more so at how privilege operates to convince individuals that their experiences within society are universal -- how security for some makes the lack of safety for others invisible.
Following the GA's inability to reach consensus on this subject, those of us on both sides of the debate were tasked with further discussing the issue. Cynically, I found myself assuming the people we had been debating weren't actually committed enough to the process to enter into further conversation. However, immediately after the meeting, one guy came over to continue the discussion. Within a few moments, a group of a dozen people were talking about how power functions, how Latin@ folks are racially profiled as undocumented immigrants, the policing of trans folks (especially transwomen of color), the precariousness of service industry workers employment, and so much more. Here we were, mostly strangers, spending our Friday night standing in Duncan Plaza engaged in political debate.
Did we end up agreeing on everything? No. Did we make steps together? Yes.
Making these steps together is why I'm involved in the Occupy movement. I recalled that my political analysis was not developed over night; rather it took investment from other activists. I've had years of guidance and mentorship within movements for social justice that has gotten me to the place I am today. Now is the time to offer the constructive encouragement to others that was offered to me when I was first becoming politicized.
But I also know about the rapid politicization folks can go through during moments like this -- moments that radicalize people's understanding of power, systems of oppression, the state, global capitalism, and empire. These moments can literally transform people's understandings of not just what we are struggling against but also what we are dreaming about: what collective liberation can potentially be.
Building Strategies for Collective Liberation
For me, this is why it's so crucial to organize with the anti-racism working group to build a structural analysis within Occupy NOLA of how we got to this period of advanced capitalism. Luckily, I think we have more resources to draw on for this than in pervious periods. Even before the first GA to plan Occupy NOLA, white anti-racist folks here were reaching out to one another to discuss how to critically engage this moment. Many of us had been moved by the writing coming out of OWS by activists of color on their struggles to build an anti-racist and anti-oppressive politic in New York. Several of us were also encouraged by the conversations happening within the national US for All of US network of white anti-racists about the potential for catalyzing this moment. Others of us were calling on our knowledge gained from our participation, both as local New Orleanians and outside volunteers, in anti-racist organizing at Common Relief following the storm. Looking around the space of Occupy NOLA, instead of feeling lost and overwhelmed as I have so many times before in these spaces, I felt hopeful and inspired.
By the second day of Occupy NOLA, a multiracial crew of folks had come together for the first meeting of the anti-racism working group. Gathered together was a group of people with a range of backgrounds: long-term organizers, folks new to activism, people who already knew and trusted one another, and individuals who came knowing no one but believing in the purpose of the group.
Over the course of our first meetings, we strategized together what the purpose and goals of our anti-racism working group would be. Drawing on our collective knowledge gain from previous activism as well as our initial involvement with Occupy NOLA, we solidified together that our goals are based in the belief that this is a moment of possibility and potential.
We committed to working towards: Occupy NOLA being accountable to local community organizing and acting in solidarity with their local struggles; fostering an intersectional structural analysis of power through political education projects; encouraging both Occupy NOLA and the broader #Occupy movement to center both the US South and the Global South; deepening our analysis of how US financial power has been built off the ravages of slavery and colonialism; and continuing to build off the momentum of this moment over the next year regardless of the outcome of this occupation.
We have also committed as an anti-racist working group to be actively participating in other working groups and building with other potential allies. Also, by participating in other working groups, we are able to share our skills in areas such as facilitation, media, and direct action. For me, this is us moving beyond a critique from the sidelines to a structure that is focusing our efforts towards the success of other working groups.
Central to our strategy has also been the ongoing dialogue and discussion with long-time New Orleans organizers of color. Folks from a range of organizations affiliated with the Greater New Orleans Organizers' Roundtable have generously entered into conversations with the anti-racism working group about how Occupy NOLA can be pushed in a strategic direction that furthers the aims of local economic and social justice movements. This work has the potential to strengthen both Occupy NOLA and the work of already existing organizing by building a united front on the social justice issues in New Orleans.
It's also been incredible to be organizing collectively with folks who are dealing with the reality that we need to move quickly since we don't know how long this occupation will last while also thinking through how this work can make a long-term impact on movements for justice. Instead of organizing in crisis, we are organizing for the long haul.
Moving Forward
We're still grappling with a lot of questions: How do we actively engage and support other working groups? What are strategies for building an accountable Occupy movement here in New Orleans that supports and strengthens the long-term community organizing in the city around housing, police brutality, the prison industrial complex, and immigration? Is our goal to build Occupy NOLA as a multiracial, multiclass movement or is there a benefit in leveraging the white and class privilege of the current formation in solidarity with community organizations? How do we both embrace the spirit of participatory democracy while also recognizing how these processes can be alienating?
These are complicated questions for a complicated moment. While I am sure that both the anti-racism working group and the broader Occupy NOLA will make mistakes along the way, I am just as sure of the necessity in critically engaging in this movement. We're in the middle of a powerful opening to connect fresh new activists to radical political analysis, to develop their leadership skills, and to introduce them to the ongoing social and economic struggles here in New Orleans, across the US, and around the globe. Getting down in this messy process is more than just a commitment to the present Occupy moment; it's an investment in our future movements for justice.
Lydia Pelot-Hobbs is a member of and trainer at AORTA (Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance).
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