The Northern Lights Conference in Findhorn: What Schools are Getting Right
Wed, Jun 7th 2006
This first Northern Lights Conference starts on Saturday 30th September 2006 and continues for three days. It is for everyone interested in education and the learning process of our young people. The event will explore how we can develop a supportive and creative climate in schools, celebrate what is working well, and build on our success stories. The conference is offered to teachers and educators as part of their Continuing Professional Development.
The 'What Schools are Getting Right' Conference offers practical and supportive tools to make a difference in the everyday experience of education provision in our schools, including presentations by:
Teacher Support Network
Centre for Supervision and Team Development
Alchemy Associates
with case studies from local schools and presentations from pupils.
Keynote speakers will be Jenny Mosley, Brian Boyd and May East.
The event will also feature workshops on:
- Nonviolent Communication
- Solution Oriented Schools
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Cultural Transformation Tools
- Supervision, Mentoring and Coaching
- Circle Time for Secondaries
- Respect: Understanding Youth Culture
Besides presentations, workshops and opportunities for networking, there will be exhibitions, performances and perhaps some surprises, all in the uniquely refreshing surroundings of the Findhorn Foundation Community.
The event is called the Northern Lights Conference to help see Scotland as a beacon of excellence.
See the following website for further information about this event:
www.findhorn.org/schools
This is what Robin Shohet of Findhorn has written prior to this Conference.
Imagine these scenarios
A school in-service day in the North East of Scotland. 60 teachers are gathered together as part of an Appreciative Inquiry event. They are telling stories to each other in pairs about what is important to them about their school, particularly focussing on their relationships within the school, either with pupils or with each other. Two teachers leave the room in tears. I wonder what has happened and discover they have been moved to these tears by the stories they hear, and are embarrassed to stay in the room. Everyone in their groups is touched.
A school in London. The staff have taken a risk and invited students to a residential team building weekend for senior management using Appreciative Inquiry. At the end of the weekend, we ask students and staff to appreciate each other, and one of the students, who had been a gang leader and rebel, says that her teacher had 'brought the light back into her life'. The students are so delighted to have been trusted and heard that they decide to take Appreciative Inquiry to the rest of the school, which they do over a period of months.
A school near Glasgow. A teacher tells the story of a girl who has not spoken for two years at school. The staff decide to take her away on a canoeing trip and she opens up and speaks to this teacher. 'It’s moments like this,' she says, 'that make teaching worthwhile.'
We hear countless horror stories about school. By contrast, Appreciative Inquiry focusses on what is working well and builds on it. In other words , we hear the stories of success, of love, of connection. I was warned that teachers are a cynical lot, but given the right context , I have found an openness when a safe space has developed.
I am fortunate enough to be leading a project taking Appreciative Inquiry into seven Scottish schools over the next year. Already after our first meetings, there is a buzz in the air as people realise how much there is to appreciate.
This September ,The Findhorn Foundation is organising a conference called What Schools are Getting Right - An Appreciative Look at Schools , which aims to get together examples of good practice. Of course Appreciative Inquiry is an important part of the conference, but so are Non Violent Communication and Circle Time. What all the approaches will have in common is a place of coming from the heart. We could have called it Putting the Heart Back into Education.
Our aim is to make an autumn education conference an annual event. Next year we would like to focus on eco schools and already there is interest. If you would like details for this year’s conference the dates are 30th Sept-October 2nd and the web site is www.findhorn.org/schools.
We invite you to join us to co-create an exceptional event.
Robin Shohet
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