Teachers from schools in Logan Square, Kenwood/Oakland, and North Lawndale spent a full week during July participating in a Community Immersion Institute sponsored by the Service-Learning Initiative and the Office of Social Sciences.
The Institute is designed ngage teachers in the organizations, issues, and history of their communities and seek ways to connect these perspectives and opportunities with their own classroom curriculum.
Logan Square Neighborhood Association, the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation played active roles in facilitating the Institute throughout the week.
Teachers began the week by participating in community building activities and learning about the history of their neighborhoods. The next two days were spent in communities learning about current issues, organizations, and strategies. In Logan Square, teachers were able to have lunch in the homes of families.
Following a day of reflection and learning about three community-based pedagogies - service-learning, place-based learning and social justice education - teachers spent the final day of the Institute developing projects for their own classrooms. Many of the projects will enable students to learn more about the history and development of their communities and become active citizens in their own communities.
On August 25, teacher participants will gather again to share their projects and plan next steps in the process of connecting classroom to communities. For a full story of the Community Immersion Institute go to: http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/index.php/entry/1225/Summer_institutes_get_teachers_into_neighborhoods.
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