Lunchtime talk: Lessons from the Ed Write Collab on critical love in civically engaged communities
Date / Time
April 17, 2024
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location
The UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement will host our next Civic Engagement Lunch Talk on April 17 at the Daley Library. Civic Engagement Research Awardee Rebecca Woodard will present her research, “Lessons from the Ed Write Collab on the Importance of Critical Love in Civically Engaged Communities,” with her research partners, Andrea Vaughan and Kristine Wilber.
RSVP here.
Although educators are well-positioned to critically analyze the systems in which we work, there are numerous impediments preventing our engagement in public conversations about education. With discussion platforms that drive public policy being overwhelmingly led by men, we need more teachers, particularly those who identify as women and people of color, serving as thought leaders about education.
The Chicago Area Writing Project convened a group of 21 educators to do civically engaged writing that employs a public voice, advocates civic engagement or action and argues a position based on reasoning and evidence. This group, called the Ed Write Collab, included higher education, out-of-school, elementary and secondary educators. Group members identified primarily as women, but there were also some men and non-binary participants. Approximately one-quarter of the group identified as people of color.
Each participant in the collaborative attended a series of Writing to Change the World workshops where participants articulated areas of expertise and drafted an op-ed. In this talk, Woodard and team will share preliminary findings about how teachers in their collective understood the power of participating in a teacher collaborative focused on writing for civic engagement.
Lunch will be provided. We hope to see you there.