October 10, 2006 - 10:31am
4 comments

Whats up now.

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Well lets see, I'ts been a while since my last entry and I should be better at this but hey what you gonna do. Anyway Im working on a new project as well as the other two, I'ts called Citizen Schools and is an excellent program for youth, It Takes locale People who want to teach what they do and puts them in a classroom to pass on what they know. As for the other projects we are comming along nicely. We have set up numerouse meetings with clients and I've started to find some potential Mentors. I think that catches us up to date. So if you got any questions please let me know and I will see you all next month here.

Comment from gariet cowin on October 10, 2006 - 1:17pm

gariet cowin's picture

What sorts of things do these local people teach? And are these classes free for everybody to attend? I do a similar thing in my spare time, just for fun, and I'm interested in knowing more about the citizen schools. Where does the funding come from?

Anyway, it sounds pretty cool.

Comment from Rebecca White on October 10, 2006 - 4:59pm

Rebecca White's picture

I'm really interested in this as well; my highschool had a program that sounds like this. Is there more info about this on the web somewhere? Anyhow, I hope you post about the process of getting it started and what kinds of things are being taught. (:

Comment from danielle martin on October 11, 2006 - 10:22am

danielle martin's picture

I actually got approached by someone from the Boston Citizen's Schools program (Moriska) about getting VISTAs to teach classes in Boston, but it was in the middle of the day and the trainings were during the PSO. But anyway, this is a great plug for linking in your blog entries...the site is:

http://www.citizenschools.org/index.cfm

-Danielle

Here's the blurb she sent me that I mailed to the list:

 

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*Be a Citizen School Volunteer!*

The apprenticeship model of Citizen Schools that is designed to engage volunteer (citizen) teachers to share specific content knowledge through experiential learning. A Citizen Schools staff member is appropriated to each citizen teacher to support in student engagement and make sure that the class runs smoothly. As for who oversees the classroom, it's best to think of this as a joint effort between the Citizen Teacher and the Team Leader there to co-facilitate.
The goal is to pair the citizen teacher's vision and content expertise with the team leader's student engagement experience and perspectives with individual students. As an organization, Citizen Schools is committed to supporting teachers during apprenticeships, and there are also extensive trainings for all Citizen Teachers that will give background, context, and support for defining the goals and outcomes of the apprenticeship.

The students self-select a specific apprenticeship and are divided into groups of approximately twelve students. The first week of the apprenticeship is actually a school-wide fair where all the different apprenticeships basically "sell" the concepts to the students. After the week of pitches, the apprenticeships are 90 minutes for 10 weeks with an additional post-apprenticeship reflection session.

The apprenticeship, made up of a Citizen Teacher, staff member and approximately 12-13 students, would run ONCE a week for ten weeks (for an hour). Our schedule at the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, places apprenticeships on either Tuesday or Thursday. The VISTAs would meet with students for 10 weeks, with the 10th week culminating in a presentation or performance of some sort. This does NOT include the apprenticeship fair (where all the different apprenticeships "sell" the concepts to the students so that they are making an informed choice regarding apprenticeship placement) the week before the sessions start, or the 11th week that is scheduled to allow for reflection (teacher attendance is optional but strongly encouraged).

 

Comment from William Martin on November 6, 2006 - 3:36pm

William Martin's picture

 This is the blurb I got from Danielle about citizen schools

Be a Citizen School Volunteer!*

The apprenticeship model of Citizen Schools that is designed to engage volunteer (citizen) teachers to share specific content knowledge through experiential learning. A Citizen Schools staff member is appropriated to each citizen teacher to support in student engagement and make sure that the class runs smoothly. As for who oversees the classroom, it's best to think of this as a joint effort between the Citizen Teacher and the Team Leader there to co-facilitate.
The goal is to pair the citizen teacher's vision and content expertise with the team leader's student engagement experience and perspectives with individual students. As an organization, Citizen Schools is committed to supporting teachers during apprenticeships, and there are also extensive trainings for all Citizen Teachers that will give background, context, and support for defining the goals and outcomes of the apprenticeship. The students self-select a specific apprenticeship and are divided into groups of approximately twelve students. The first week of the apprenticeship is actually a school-wide fair where all the different apprenticeships basically "sell" the concepts to the students. After the week of pitches, the apprenticeships are 90 minutes for 10 weeks with an additional post-apprenticeship reflection session. The apprenticeship, made up of a Citizen Teacher, staff member and approximately 12-13 students, would run ONCE a week for ten weeks (for an hour). Our schedule at the Edwards Middle School in Charlestown, places apprenticeships on either Tuesday or Thursday. The VISTAs would meet with students for 10 weeks, with the 10th week culminating in a presentation or performance of some sort. This does NOT include the apprenticeship fair (where all the different apprenticeships "sell" the concepts to the students so that they are making an informed choice regarding apprenticeship placement) the week before the sessions start, or the 11th week that is scheduled to allow for reflection (teacher attendance is optional but strongly encouraged).

William B. Martin

CTC VISTA

Cyber Cafe @ Malden square

Mentor and Gateway Project