Last spring’s inaugural Courageous Conversations program on diversity drew an audience of 100 adults and youth, and participants found it so meaningful that planners have created two additional events to continue the conversation. Both programs will be free, open to the public, and held at Ashland High School (AHS) cafeteria.
Wonder: 2017 One Book, One Community Selection
AHS sophomores, Irene Katolichenko and Sahil Muthuswami, working under the guidance of program volunteer, Betsy Emberley, are building on their experience as Courageous Conversations table hosts to plan the second town-wide event slated for Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
That night, conversations will spin off R.J. Palacio’s new release, Wonder, a New York Times bestseller, and her companion picture book for children, We’re All Wonders.
Palacio tells the story of a ten-year-old home-schooled boy, August (Auggie) Pullman, born with a facial deformity and his struggles to be accepted by others at his new school. The Wall Street Journal touts this as “a beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformations.”
After an initial program introduction, a World Café format is planned with roundtable discussions, each being hosted by an adult and a teen. Table hosts will ask a core question to create a public narrative using a learning approach based on Marshall Ganz’s A Story of Self, A Story of Us, A Story of Now. The focus theme will be: What makes up human connections?
Ganz, a senior lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, believes that public narrative is the way we turn values into action. It is the “process by which individuals, communities, and nations construct identity, formulate choices, and motivate action.”
He teaches this leadership art and explains it is composed of three elements: a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now. According to Ganz, stories not only teach us how to act – they inspire us to act. Stories communicate our values through the language of the heart. By telling our personal stories of challenges we have faced, choices we have made and what we have learned from the outcome, we can inspire others and share our own wisdom. Because stories allow us to express our values not as abstract principles, but as lived experience, Ganz believes stories have the power to move others.
Katolichenko and Muthuswami have prepared a series of questions for small group discussion in three separate 20-minute rounds, followed by a 15-minute debriefing session. Assembled participants will also brainstorm possible actions and next steps. Youths, ages six through 10, will experience a customized discussion relevant for their age group, based on Palacio’s picture book.
“We hope to bring in people from diverse groups again,” Muthuswami remarked. “It’s helpful to have a wide range of perspectives sharing in this experience.”
You need not have read Palacio’s book, Wonder, to participate, but if you are interested in a summary, visit Shmoop or SparkNotes online.
“Feedback from our first program was really positive,” Katolichenko added. “Participants had a chance to listen to different people’s voices and become more aware of issues others might experience. It’s a great opportunity to meet people and make new friendships with people we might not normally connect with.”
The One Book, One Community program takes the idea of a localized book discussion club and expands it to cover a whole city or town, as a means of building a sense of community and promoting literacy. Hundreds of other communities across the country participate in similar One Book activities.
Love. Inclusion. Trust.
The Tuesday evening, Oct. 24, conversation focus topic, Love. Inclusion. Trust., will continue the work of promoting a welcoming, inclusive, and respectful community at AHS. Join students (grades 8-12), parents, teachers, and community members from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
An introduction and reflections on building a community of diversity will be presented by Jamele Adams, dean of students at Brandeis University and featured speaker at TEDxNatick, an independently-organized event held in Natick for thought-provoking talks, conversations, and networking.
Adams will be joined by a panel of students, parents, and faculty who will field audience questions about the culture at AHS. There will be smaller group discussions, facilitated by students to share thoughts, opinions, and ideas on this important and often complicated topic.
A reception celebrating Ashland’s diversity and the courage of our students will conclude this special evening.
Both events are part of the POWER program series co-hosted by the Decisions at Every Turn Coalition and the Friends of the Ashland Public Library, and co-sponsored by the Ashland Public Schools, Town of Ashland, Ashland Police Department, and the MetroWest YMCA Family Outdoor Center. A special thanks to all the AHS students who participate.