Along with my friend Kathryn Thompson, I did an Open Space with an alternative school in North Vancouver in 2004 who was confronting a major philosophical shift on the part of its school board. The OS was aimed at revitalizing the school community's leadership around the school itself.
A few months later the sponsor wrote to say the following: ** "It's truly remarkable to see how a few hours spent in OS can affect a community...I have seen the parents, staff and students go from hopelessness, despair and anger to action and strength. It seems like somehow everyone suddenly remembered what their true purpose was. They've organized action groups, committees, totally revamped the school website, created a very professional proposal and accompanying powerpoint presentation to the school district trustees and best of all, everyone seems to have come together and pooled their energy to really take this school in the direction that we all want. I'm not sure how many of the people who have been actively involved in this work over the past few months would credit that time in OS with having been the turning point for our community... in a way I think that's a credit to your facilitation, that they see the energy and action as coming together in an organic way from within the group. Regardless, I think that the gift you and Kathryn gave us by holding that space for a few hours and making it possible for us to have true open dialogue together, has been exactly what our school needed to continue existing." Here on Bowen Island, where I live, I lend support to our community of homelearners and their families by convening Open Space events to provide parents with an opportunity to connect around various approaches to homelearning. In the fall my nine year old daughter and I will be holding space with the kids themselves around the topic of creating projects where the kids can make contributions to the community. This will be my first Open Space working with my daughter, and I'm really looking forward to it!. Chris On 7/6/06, Jennifer Hurley <[email protected]> wrote:
Hello everyone. I may be holding space for a group looking at school design issues. The group will include architects, parents, and teachers, and will be exploring the issues in general (not designing a particular school). I know many people have posted resources and links here before. Could someone point me in the direction of resources about: 1. OST with children 2. OST around architectural design issues 3. OST related to schools Thanks so much! Jennifer Hurley ===================== Hurley~Franks & Associates Planning & Urban Design 215-988-9440 http://www.hfadesign.com 1429 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19102 * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-- CHRIS CORRIGAN Consultation - Facilitation Open Space Technology Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com Open Space Resources: http://tinyurl.com/r94tj * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
