The
Dialogue Education Movement
by
Peter Noteboom
Executive
Director
Global Learning Partners
Nutrition
education in California, primary school education in Haiti, peace-building
education in Virginia, faculty development in Ghana, student union
activities in Wisconsin, community discernment in Toronto.
These
are instances of Dialogue Education at work lead by experienced Dialogue
Education practioners. These instances are evidence of the birth of a movement.
At the recent Dialogue Education Institute Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina,
we heard many more instances like these, some with connections to Global Learning
Partners, some with connections to Jane Vella, and some with roots in related
fields. We reviewed designs and were lead in workshops in the areas of appreciative
inquiry, malaria prevention, micro finance, obesity prevention,
faculty orientation, evaluation and educational theory.
Movements
are different from institutions. Movements can burn like a wild fire or sustain
themselves through generations. They are usually not led by individuals but live
and flourish through the shared commitment of a community of practitioners.
With over 3,000 graduates in more than 60 counties and nearly 25 years of programming,
Global Learning Partners (formerly known as Jubliee Popular Education Center),
has made important contributions to the Dialogue Education Movement.
I
posed the question to Michael Murray (a venerable Dialogue Educator with decades
of experience in diverse communities): what role does he see for Global Learning
Partners in such a movement. He suggested that our role might be to serve as "guardians
of the sacred fire". For the Dialogue Education Movement to flourish
over many generations we will need guardians, practitioners of the Principles
and Practices of Dialogue Education. We will always need to be searching for more
congruence, designing for greater relevance, and creating the space for learners
to be decision makers--subjects of their own learning.
Global
Learning Partners is honored to be the institutional home that hosts the Dialogue
Education Institute Conference, bringing together--if only for a weekend--many
different strands of the Movement for mutual encouragement, challenge, and innovation.
We look forward to celebrating 25 years in 2006! Stay
tuned for more details on our 25th anniversary conference in the next newsletter.
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