ATHENS, Ohio -- "Teach Our Children Well: Democracy's Promise" is the theme for the 2002Institute for Democracy in Education (IDE) conference set for Oct. 18 and 19 at Ohio University.
Keynote speaker Susan Ohanian will kick off the event with a pre-conference talk and book signing at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 in Baker University Center's 1804 Lounge. The author, educator and activist will give her main address during the conference at the general session beginning at 1:10 p.m. Friday in McCracken Hall.
The two-day IDE conference features workshops and activities addressing a number of educational issues of interest to K-12 teachers, students, community activists and university professors. Some workshop topics include:
- Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Classroom
- Democratic Teaching Within the Realities of Standards and High-Stakes Testing
- Expeditionary Learning: What Is Violence?
- Teacher Education Situated in Democratic Practice
- Aesthetic Education for Critical Inquiry
- Censorship in Public Schools, Student Liberation and the Struggle for Radical Democracy.
A special workshop focusing on street theater as a teaching method will cap off Friday'sevents. "Democracy Requires Dissent Workshop: Taking It To The Streets! Street Theater Workshop as Pedagogy" - presented by Marty Zinn and Pete Hill and co-sponsored by the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network - will take place from 7 to 9 p.m.
Featured speaker Ohanian will help wrap up the event on Saturday in an afternoon filled with presentations, question-and-answer sessions and time for sharing ideas and making commitments.
The Institute for Democracy in Education, housed in the Ohio University College of Education, is dedicated to helping schools find ways that prepare students to develop democratic habits of heart and mind, so they can become true participating democratic citizens in our communities. IDE began in 1985 as a grassroots organization of local teachers who wanted to have a greater voice in the decisions about how to educate students in meaningfulways.
Registration fees for the two-day event are: $30 for IDE members; $40 for nonmembers; $20 for full-time students, or the conference may be taken for Ohio University credit. Registration information may be obtained from Jaylynne Hutchinson, director of the IDE Main Office, at (740) 593-9827, or through e-mail at democracy@ohio.edu.
