About this Event: 

"When the Walls are Caving in, Can We Turn Backward to Move Forward? Movement Building in Community-Based Teacher Preparation." In this insightful conversation, Jacob Hackett and Ayinde Summers examine the immense potential of harnessing past experiences to propel instructors forward. They deep dive into our local teacher preparation collaborative and how it's impacting the development of teachers in Atlanta.

Abstract:

Recent tensions impacting teachers, teaching and teacher preparation have actually been decades in the making. Illogical Neoliberal teacher preparation pipedreams, school reform initiatives steeped in competition and market-based theories of change and narrow curriculum mandates oriented toward cultural irrelevance and white supremacy – like the lost cause mythology – have all coalesced at this moment. They’re repressing teacher autonomy and teachers’ ability to support critical student action, even on their local environments. What if rather than doubling down on focusing on the clinical skills when preparing teachers – which tend to be standardized, a-cultural, ahistorical and dehumanizing – we turned to past and current movement builders to glean from their philosophies, teaching techniques and collaborative abilities to engage new ways to prepare critically conscious teachers? Though teaching skills are important, instructional strategies alone cannot address all classroom needs of the 21st century. During this talk, we’ll discuss the rationale, design and empirical impact of our local teacher preparation collaborative on the hearts and minds of developing Atlanta teachers. We’ve embarked on 3-year collaborative to mobilize the work of Ella Baker, Lugenia Hope and Septima Clark – each legendary movement builders across Atlanta and the Southeast. Collectively, their writing, work and research can provide a blueprint for teachers to learn and experience a way of teaching that humanizes the educator-to-student relationship while with an eye on justice and democracy-building. A blueprint that doesn’t solely focus on a transmission of skills in the classroom, but rather one that deepens individual and collective critical consciousness for critical action.

Presenters Bio:

Jacob Hackett
Jacob Hackett is a clinical associate professor and coordinator of GSU’s Bachelor of Science in the Middle Level Education teacher preparation program. Dr. Hackett proudly taught for the Atlanta Public Schools district form 2006 – ’11, before earning his doctorate from the University of Washington, Seattle. A cornerstone to his teacher preparation philosophy is integrating strong, active and progressive community partnerships. He has received several grants from both community foundations and the US Department of Education as a teacher and as a researcher to design and research authentic teaching experiences with his students and practicing teachers. Previous honors Hackett has earned include, include the Atlanta Public Schools Families Award for Excellence in Education; the prestigious University of Washington’s Huckabay Doctoral Fellowship; and Georgia State University College of Education and Human Development’s Distinguished Partner award, earned alongside Atlanta Public School’s Dr. MLK Jr. Middle School. Dr. Hackett supports teachers to explore historical discrimination to understand how these oppressive histories affect current institutional forms of inequity. Examples of this include school funding disparities, racial segregation (historic and current) and disproportional rates of representation and discipline based on race, gender, gifted and talented status or perceived disability status. This historical awareness is then used to generate teacher dispositions and teaching practices to mitigate those historical inequities and deepen critical student inquiry. His current research centers on the design and impact of a community and place-based teacher preparation program and practicing educator workshops focused on equity and critical consciousness.

Ayinde Summers
Ayinde brings a wide range of experience and passion to the roles he has played at Project South over the last 15 years. Ayinde is an accomplished outdoor leadership trainer, popular educator, historian and literacy specialist with experience working with children, youth and adults in nonprofit, education and business sectors.

Ayinde is a well known community leader in Atlanta and throughout Georgia with a commitment to linking his African traditions and practices to his community growth and development from the Gullah Geechee coast to neighborhoods of Atlanta.