Education Showcase and More at "Our Great Education Challenge"

We'll be holding a special Education Showcase featuring local education groups in the Bushnell theater lobby on Thursday, November 11 as a part of our second Forum of the Season, Our Great Education Challenge.

The Education Showcase will be available to Forum audience members beginning at 7pm, during intermission, and immediately following The Forum. The Showcase offers an opportunity to interact with local education groups, ask questions and learn more.

The following organizations will be part of the Education Showcase:

Achieve Hartford: Achieve Hartford is an independent, nonprofit organization of business and community leaders that focuses on student achievement and supporting effective and sustained school reform in the Hartford Public Schools.

CBIA Education Foundation: CBIA's Education Foundation is a nonprofit affiliate of CBIA whose mission is to help develop a skilled, knowledgeable workforce in Connecticut.

CommPACT Schools: CommPACT Schools is a partnership including the American Federation of Teachers - Connecticut; Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents; Connecticut Education Association; Connecticut Federation of School Administrators; and Neag School of Education at The University of Connecticut.

ConnCAN: ConnCAN is a platform for Connecticut citizens to effectively speak up for kids. To close Connecticut's gaping achievement gap, a new ethos of reform must permeate state government, the education establishment, and the wide community of citizens.

The Connecticut State University System: The Connecticut State University System is an exemplary state university system advancing the educational needs of the citizens of Connecticut and the nation within a global society.

William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund: The mission of The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is to improve the effectiveness of education in fostering both personal development and leadership. A belief that education benefits both individuals and society as a whole guides their work.

University of Connecticut Neag School of Education: The Neag School of Education works to develop students with strong ethical standards into leaders dedicated to improving education, health and wellness for all children and adults.

Sheff Movement: The Sheff Movement Coalition is a collaboration of parents, citizens, educators and others who work to educate the public about proven voluntary integration measures and increase support for quality education for all children.

The Connecticut YOUTH Forum Student Voices: With more than 750 high school-aged youth from 40 high schools and community groups, The CT YOUTH Forum comes together year round to exchange ideas and learn from one another. We invite you to ask us about our schools and our views on education.

Exciting Panelist Announcement! Vice President of NEA, the Largest Teachers' Union, Joins CT Forum on Education

We are thrilled to announce that
LILY ESKELSEN
Vice President, NEA
The largest teachers' union, 3.2 million members
will be a panelist at
Our Great Education Challenge on
Thursday, November 11, 2010!



As vice president of the National Education Association (NEA), Lily Eskelsen is one of the highest-ranking labor leaders in the country and one of its most influential Hispanic educators. Named Utah Teacher of the Year after teaching for only nine years, later serving both the Utah Education Association and the NEA, Eskelsen believes that educators are professionals with the responsibility to take action, individually and collectively, to make the promise of public education a reality and to prepare every student to succeed.

Eskelsen began her career in education as a lunch worker in a school cafeteria and a kindergarten aide before pursuing degrees in elementary education and instructional technology. She taught kindergarten to sixth grade in the middle-class suburbs of Salt Lake and its one-room shelter school. She has taught children labeled gifted and children labeled homeless. In 1989, after being named Utah Teacher of the Year, she used the platform to speak out against the dismal funding of Utah schools. She was subsequently elected president of the Utah Education Association, her first elected position in the Association. She has also served on the NEA Executive Committee, and as NEA Secretary-Treasure.

Eskelsen was president of the Utah State Retirement System, president of the Children at Risk Foundation, and a member of the White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education. She has built alliances with parents, business and civil rights organizations, and with advocates for the disabled and the poor. In 1998, she ran for political office as the first Hispanic to be chosen as her party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in Utah, raising close to $1 million and taking 45% of the vote against the incumbent.

Eskelsen authored a humor column on parenting that ran in 22 local newspapers. Her advice for parents has been published in Time, Working Mother and Parenting magazines. She’s been featured on Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” and CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” She has been the invited keynote speaker for hundreds of education events and was highlighted by Education World in their “Best Conference Speakers” edition.

We believe Lily's perspective and experience will bring much to this important conversation.  Hope to see you at The CT Forum!

Great Questions Raised at CT Forum on Civility

From left to right, The End of Civility? panelists David Gergen, Gina Barreca,
Connie Schultz (screen), Stephen Carter, & Christopher Buckley

Now that our first Forum of the Season, The End of Civility? is over, it's truly "the end of civility" - in one sense, at least.

However, there's no end to the questions we all have about civility. We were inundated with audience questions for the panelists during Intermission - many more questions than we could possibly address in the Q&A during the Forum's second half. For now, we can only imagine Stephen Carter's response to the question, Who are we to judge what is civil behavior? or Christopher Buckley's facial expression when asked, In 20 years, will there be anyone left who knows what civility is?

Here are just a few of the thoughtful and provocative questions that we're continuing to think about and discuss. We hope you do the same!

• Is incivility a leading or trailing social indicator?
• How is the loss of civility linked to a sense of hopelessness, a sense of loss of the "civil contract"?
• How can we be a moral leader around the world when we exhibit such vitriol and lack of civility in our public discourse?
• Is an attitude of "we're all in this together" a central element of a civil society? Have we lost that?
• How do we break the cycle of ever-increasing incivility, disrespect, and intolerance?
• Don't you think there's a huge correlation between the lack of religion and the lack of civility?

The Threat of Civility?

Is incivility defensible? Special Forum guest blogger Rosanne Thomas of Boston-based Protocol Advisors, Inc. reflects on the uncivil response to Jon Stewart's call for respectful public discourse. 

Jon Stewart has called for a restoration of respectful public discourse through a "Million Moderate March," scheduled for October 30 in Washington. One cannot argue with the merits of such a pursuit or malign the person who proposed it, can one?

Apparently, one can and many have. Actual defenses of incivility as just "the way to get things done" are lumped in with personal attacks upon Mr. Stewart that include references to his heritage, his intelligence, his leanings, his motives, his audience and the success (read failure) of an event that will not be held for another month. Really? For suggesting respectful discourse? It would seem a "rally to restore sanity" is coming in the nick of time.

The purpose of the March, says Mr. Stewart, is to counter "the minority of 15 percent to 20 percent of the country that has dominated the national political discussion with extreme rhetoric." He holds both major political parties accountable for their roles in the discussion. In calling for the rally, Mr. Stewart has imposed upon himself a very high standard. For his own credibility and to achieve his goal, he will need to both model civility and maintain an apolitical stance, not necessarily an easy thing to do for someone with strong opinions. Yet, it can be done, and if done well, will provide a workable template for us all.

In the meantime, some simple thoughts on promoting public discourse include:

• To be respected, one must respect
• To be heard, one must listen
• To be understood, one must strive to understand
• To teach, one must be willing to learn

Jon Schnur Joins Panel for CT Forum on Education

We are thrilled to share that
JON SCHNUR
Education Reform Pioneer &
CEO, New Leaders for New Schools
will be a panelist at Our Great Education Challenge on Thursday, November 11, 2010.  He will join fellow panelists Davis Guggenheim, director of the highly anticipated film Waiting for "Superman" and Joel Klein, chancellor of New York City schools.

Jon Schnur is CEO and co-founder of New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS), the largest organization in the nation for recruiting and training urban principals. He has served as an advisor to Barack Obama's Presidential campaign, a member of the Presidential Transition Team, and a senior policy advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Schnur has developed national education policies from preschool to higher education - with special focus on teacher and educator quality, reforming urban school systems, charter schools, after-school programs, and early learning and preschools. He believes that quality education for all children is achievable, essential, and urgently needed to create a better future for our nation and world.

Schnur's national non-profit organization, NLNS, recruits and trains about ten percent of the new principals needed for high poverty, low-income schools in the United States. In September 2009, NLNS became the first and only non-profit-led partnership with a public school system to win Harvard University's Innovations in Government Award from the ASH Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation. NLNS has one mission: driving high levels of learning and achievement for every student by attracting and preparing outstanding leaders and supporting the performance of the urban public schools they lead at scale.

Before co-founding NLNS, Schnur served as Special Assistant to Secretary of Education Richard Riley, President Clinton's White House Associate Director for Educational Policy, and Senior Advisor of Education to Vice President Gore.

Schnur graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Politics with honors, took coursework at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated from a Wisconsin public high school.

I'm Sorry: The Art of the Apology

Special Forum guest blogger Rosanne Thomas, certified etiquette and protocol consultant and founder of Boston-based Protocol Advisors, Inc., reflects on non-apology apologies and helps us say we're sorry like a pro.
 
Where civility is concerned, a bad apology---and we know it when we hear it--is truly worse than no apology at all. The reproachful, "I'm sorry if you were offended." The take-no-personal-blame, "Errors were made." The accusatory, "I'm sorry, but you...." The discounting, "I was only joking!" Politicians, sports figures and entertainers have all been known to issue such non-apologies, and we've probably done so ourselves. Those on the receiving end of these "apologies" feel less than satisfied and rightfully so. The issuer is trying to have it both ways: to go on record as having done the right thing, but to leave wiggle room and save face at the same time. It doesn't work.

Why people shy away from honestly apologizing is a mystery. The sincere apology is an incredibly powerful, yet woefully underused tool. A true apology saves relationships, rights wrongs and shows strength (not weakness). It allows us to be human: to make a mistake, to own up to it and to move on. It also allows others to forgive, a good practice, as inevitably we will all need to be forgiven.

So what are some elements of a good apology?

• It is delivered as soon as possible, through appropriate means, i.e., via email, telephone call, personal note, in person, through a gift, etc. The seriousness of the breach determines the means: forgetting to return a call is one thing; forgetting to attend a dinner in your honor another entirely.
• It specifically acknowledges the inconvenience or harm caused, and how this must have made the person feel.
• It is unequivocal; no ifs, ands or buts about it.
• It recalls no past grievances.
• It includes a promise to try and not let it happen again.

Sincere apologies are very likely to accepted, paving the way for stronger relationships and more civil discourse.

Waiting for "Superman" Director Davis Guggenheim Joins CT Forum Education Panel

Davis Guggenheim

Exciting news!
DAVIS GUGGENHEIM
Director of the highly anticipated film
Waiting for Superman, as well as
An Inconvenient Truth
will be a panelist at our upcoming Forum,
Our Great Education Challenge , on November 11, 2010.

He will join fellow panelist Joel Klein, chancellor of New York Public Schools, and other panelists to be announced soon.

Davis Guggenheim is an American film director and producer who is perhaps best known for directing and producing An Inconvenient Truth, the Academy Award winning documentary about global warming.

His most recent documentary, Waiting for "Superman" explores the ways in which the American public education system is failing our nation’s children, and the roles that charter schools and education reformers could play in the future. Guggenheim sees dysfunction in our schools and in the politics around them. “Why can’t there be a great school for every kid in America? It just doesn’t make sense to me. That’s why I made this movie.” His hope for the film is to “engage real people to get involved in the subject so that we can create enough political will to change our system.”

Earlier in his career, Guggenheim focused on the challenging first year of several novice public school teachers in The Los Angeles public school system in his documentary films, The First Year and Teach. He made these films to address the tremendous need for qualified teachers in California and nationwide, to create awareness of the crisis in our schools, and to inspire the next generation to become teachers.

His other film and television credits as a producer and director include Training Day, The Shield, Alias, 24, NYPD Blue, ER, Deadwood, and Party of Five. In 2009, he directed and produced a documentary It Might Get Loud, about the history of the electric guitar and careers and styles of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White.

He lives in California with his wife, actress Elisabeth Shue, and their three children.