Theodore Richards - "Reimaging the Classroom" - Bill Ayers

Theodore Richards will discuss Reimagining the Classroom: Creating New Learning Spaces and Connecting with the World.  He will be joined in conversation by Bill Ayers.

This event will be held in person at 57th Street Books. At this time, masks are required for in-store events.

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About the book: Ours is a world in crisis and transition, which offers us an opportunity to rethink how and why we do what we do. It’s a chance to reimagine how we live as human beings in community, and to begin with the cohort with the most to offer: our children. For educators, this is the time to reimagine every aspect of the classroom and school day and to ask profound questions. Why do schools focus on training our children in skills and knowledge that may soon be obsolete? How can we address the anxiety and depression in our children is its own epidemic? What is the purpose of an education anyway?

Theodore Richards’s provocative book asks us to reconsider some of our basic assumptions about the world, our relationship to it, and our relationships with each other. It helps educators question and recast these assumptions and practices in order to consider how an educated person might not merely attain personal success but find a deeper flourishing and create a better world. And it provides practical steps and examples parents and educators can use to begin to create new learning spaces, approaches, and outcomes.

Our children are a pathway to reimagining our world. This is done not by telling our children what to think, but through a process of shared inquiry and exploration rooted in a renewed emphasis on our relationship to one another and the planet. This book explains why, and demonstrates how.

About the author: Theodore Richards is a writer, philosopher, and educator. He is the founder of The Chicago Wisdom Project and the author of eight books and has received numerous literary awards, including three Independent Publisher Awards and two Nautilus Book Awards. He lives on the south side of Chicago with his wife and three daughters. You can find out more about him and his work at www.theodorerichards.com.

About the interlocutor: William Ayers, Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago (retired) has written extensively about social justice and democracy, education and the cultural contexts of schooling, and teaching as an essentially intellectual, ethical, and political enterprise. His books include A Kind and Just Parent; Teaching toward Freedom; Fugitive Days; Public Enemy; and Demand the Impossible.