We were honored to be represented this week by Connection Architect Baochau Thomas and Program Manager Lindsay Clark at the Teachers of Color and Allies Summit at the University of Colorado Boulder. Their presentation focused on two of our Six Degrees of Connection and how they can support deep connection-building in the class and conference rooms. We are always looking to reach more educators who seek free support and resources on how to improve connection and engagement. Visit our resource page for more! pluswonder.org/educators
A huge thank you to my sister-in-law Baochau Thomas for pitching the chance to co-present at an education summit yesterday. The Teachers of Color and Allies Summit at the University of Colorado Boulder gathers education students and local educators of color and allies to provide collegial support and best practices in education. I work at Plus Wonder where we've been working with educators for years to bake the Six Degrees of Connection wisdom into school curricula. Along with our Education Connection Architect Council, we have been improving our programming, outreach, and infrastructure to better support teachers doing the hard work to scaffold connection skills at school. We'll be recruiting more council members next year for anyone interested :) The incredible educators present at TOCA are working tirelessly to give all their students the best chance of personal success through equitable support. The theme of this year's summit was "Navigating the Nuanced Narrative of Neutrality," and teachers focused on empowerment through data and new strategies while also making space to heal and recharge for themselves and their students. The keynote speaker Dr. Vincent Basile presented on decriminalizing practices that connect to our Six Degrees, such as positive reframing & assuming brilliance (celebrate friction), highly respectful interactions & honoring space (unshakable mutual respect), and repair (shared humility). It was so nice to come out from behind my home office desk and interact with educators in real life. I hope we made more educators curious about the Six Degrees of Connection framework and brought some new strategies that can generate hope. Thank you: Baochau, TOCA, and front range educators!