Hi all. I was the principal of the alternative school in which Birgitt held the Open Space. The students had no trouble at all with the process. Some of the teachers, however, felt uncomfortable sharing power with the parents and students. This was very useful information for me as it let me know that we had work to do in this area if we wanted to achieve a truly collaborative school environment. Monica
-----Original Message----- From: Larry Peterson [SMTP:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 1998 11:16 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Messages from Michael Pannwitz Michael: I have led Open Space events with varieties of groups in schools. Principles and Board of Education, whole school staff teams, teacher's unions and highschool students from a number of schools who came without teachers. I have also led such events in Universities. I have not Opened the Space in a traditional "elementary" school per se. Elementary here means 6th grade or below. I have led an Open Space with "Cherrywood" and alternative school where parents, teachers and a few students were involved. Birgitt has led an event with an alternative high school (9-13 grades) including parents, teachers and students. My experience is that young people and kids have little trouble putting up topics or going with Open Space if the theme "moves them". If it is not their agenda, but one the parents or teachers think they "ought to have" then they will be less enthusiastic. Most certainly know how to do computer recording here. Have fun. Larry Larry Peterson Associates in Transformation 41 Appleton Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada, M6E 3A4 Tel:/Fax: 416-653-4829 [email protected] http://www.inforamp.net/~lpasoc
