In June, R.E.A.L.® is virtually convening Humanities teachers to discuss discussion.

Why? Because discussion is hard in-person, harder online, and more important than ever. 

We hope you'll join us. 

We're working on building a website with more info about R.E.A.L. But, until then, we wanted to let you know that the conversation will unfold in three formats. Choose your own adventure!
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• Synchronous seminars (2 days each, 3 date options in June / July, $200. Discounts available for schools enrolling multiple teachers).
• An asynchronous course (10 hours, open June 15-August 15, $150, Discounts available for schools enrolling multiple teachers).
• On In R.E.A.L. Time: a blog edited by Katherine Burd that functions as an online table for teachers to gather around to share ideas, pain-points, and hard-earned wisdom. 

All seminar and course participants will leave with routines to make student-led discussion rigorous, equitable and efficient. R.E.A.L. will be introduced as mastery model that can direct planning, integrating, and assessing student-led discussion; we hope you’ll adapt it to fit your students, style, and content!  Teachers from independent, international, and charter schools will share their experience using R.E.A.L. in their own contexts. Everyone will receive copies of the R.E.A.L. Teacher Guide, expanded to include materials for Gr. 6-8 and Gr. 9-12 as well as a toolkit for implementing R.E.A.L. online. 

A note on pricing:  We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has undercut funding at many great schools. That said, equity is a cornerstone of R.E.A.L.! We will do whatever we can to bring your – and, ultimately, your students’ – voices to the table. If you or your team is interested in learning with R.E.A.L. this summer but unable to pay full price, please email Liza. 

A Note from the Facilitator

My mission started at the end of second period. My eighth graders had just scraped through a "Harkness" discussion about Lord of the Flies....and I wondered: "How can we do this differently?"

Since then, I have spent seven years studying discussion – in my own classroom, at grad school, and in conversation with honest students, generous colleagues, and experts kind enough to return cold calls. From the beginning, I’ve been oriented by two guiding principles: first, that Gen-Z students deserve to experience the tradition of collaborative intellectual inquiry that has defined the Humanities across generations; and second, that when done well, student-led discussion is a powerful opportunity for students to feel known, respected, and equipped to be citizens and contributors in the “real" world. Here’s what I know, now.

• In 2020, the work of student-led discussion matters more than ever. Our students crave deep connection with each other and are primed to find meaning in our content. The current reality of more time on screens has rendered traditional discussion skills less intuitive and more valuable – both in the present, as a stay against feelings of loneliness and isolation, and in the future, as a marketable skill. Even amidst what feels like unprecedented uncertainty, adolescents are still just trying to grow up, feeling around for their place in the world. As ever, our syllabi stand ready to help students encounter and process big questions and, perhaps, to offer much-needed comfort through the patterns of history and people of literature.

 

• Right now, student-led discussion is also more difficult to do well. As our operating context evolves daily – are we meeting in-person or online? on a regular or modified schedule? do we address the day's headlines or try not to? — there is less literally less time and shared space to “feel it out.” Now is the moment for routines that can reliably connect us, wherever we are, in deep discussion. It's time to build shared language so we can talk about the art, science, and impact of great classroom conversation. It's time to approach ​Discussion as a Discipline with a mastery model. Enter R.E.A.L.®

I hope that in R.E.A.L., you find a solution to make your students’ voices heard — but I also hope that you join the conversation. The true power of R.E.A.L. transcends individual classrooms. It lies in the discovery that will emerge when we, as educators, commit to equipping students from diverse schools with common standards for discourse. I cannot wait for that discussion to take off!
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With gratitude and excitement,

Liza Garonzik

• Experience teaching middle school Humanities and high school English
• Fellowships at Klingenstein Center, The Athena Project, Shady Hill Teacher Training Course, Exeter Humanities Institute​
• Education: A.B. Harvard College (History & Literature), M.S.Ed University of Pennsylvania,  additional graduate work at Lesley and HGSE
• Grateful for: friends and family who tolerate my weird obsession with conversation patterns 
• Excited about:  helping Gen-Z experience the art, science, and impact of great discussions 
• Unsolicited Confession: I'm burned out by Zoom, too. Join me anyway! We are in this together, for the kids. 

E-mail Liza

(She'd love to hear from you!)