Swingshift College

Conference

BUILDING
LEARNING COMMUNITIES
ENGAGED IN SOCIAL CHANGE

A Conversation for Activists & Educators

March 26-28, 2004

--JOIN THE CONVERSATION!—

Be part of critical dialogue on “doing adult and worker education for social change.”

We will share what we have been doing here in Gary through Swingshift College , a customized degree program for workers, offered through the IU Northwest campus and the Division of Labor Studies. Swingshift has fought for funding and support every year, and we have now completed our first decade, with the support of hundreds of workers who have seized the opportunity to become active in shaping a different future.

Swingshift College founder Ruth Needleman, looked to the Brazilian workers' schools, Highlander Folk School in the U.S. , popular education worldwide in moving a university labor education program into a center for experienced-based, problem-solving, confidence and community-building collective learning. The challenge was to keep with its mission and at the same time succeed in awarding degrees at the highest academic standards.

We bring both our experiences and questions, as do you. We will all have much to talk about and we have planned the conference so that we can work together exploring pedagogical or teaching approaches. We have flexibility for participants to create their own conversations as well.

The conference includes speakers, work sessions, materials, a special theatre piece entitled “Women of Heart and Steel,” and all your meals: a reception, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a Sunday brunch buffet. The conference begins Friday at 4pm and ends Sunday at 5 pm . We have exceptional participants and unscheduled fun. The cost for the Conference is $75.

For anyone pursuing a college degree, this conference can be taken for one credit from Indiana University . The course will include preparatory readings, notes and analysis of conversations and presentations, and assigned reflections. A one-credit course at IU costs $150, covering registration, student and technology fees. Registrants will not be required to pay the conference fee.

Registration can be done from December 1, 2003 through March 18, 2004 .

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Where Do You Stay in Gary ?

Casinos and sandy beaches do lure folks to the area!

For those arriving by plane, come to either Midway or O'Hare Airports in Chicago . A TriState bus service will bring you to Highland Indiana ($32 round trip) where you will be able to catch a complementary shuttle to the Trump Hotel and Casino. We will have shuttle service between the hotel and the campus on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Our package price per room, two double beds and breakfast, $55. Please call 1-888-21TRUMP by March 5 th to make your reservation. Tell them you're part of the IUN Swingshift College Conference.

• Who's Coming?

Keynote Speaker: bell hooks

Swingshift College faculty, workers, advisors and staff support; we will share what we have learned over the past 10 years and pose problems for discussion.

Canadian popular educators . Two years ago a series of profound conversations took place in Montreal , Toronto and then Saskatchewan on popular education and anti-racist education in a global world. Participants will be invited; some have already confirmed: Barb Thomas and D'Arcy Martin, two very experienced popular educators, Adrienne Paavo, Univ. and Carol Wall, former executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

A Great Cast of Educators : Among those who will help facilitate the conversation and bring their own experiences to share: Jojo Geronimo, SEIU Education, long-time popular educator; Harmon Lisnow, executive director of the Institute for Career Development, overseeing educational programs for steelworkers nationally; Melena Barkman, education director, USWA; John Russo & Sherry Linkon, Youngstown Center for Working Class Studies; Thandabantu Iverson, labor studies professor & activist, IUN; Skip Turner, Univ. of Michigan, Labor Center; Rae Sovereign, IU South Bend educator & theatre artist, sometime Mother Jones; and more…

Invited Guests: union educators from Brazil and South Africa

Featuring Roundtable Discussions on:

• Centering anti-oppression education in all our programs
• Finding a way to address content-process tensions, particularly in a university setting
• Approaches for evaluating learning
• Meeting short-term organizational needs while opening space for education on leadership and movement-building
• Globalization—a part of Everything Else: but how?

Best Practices Examined

We will also hear from educator/activists working on potentially path-breaking programs: AFL-CIO field service education for central labor councils, the USWA's 4-year leadership program; the CWA's Minority Institutes, Swingshift College, the Center for Working Class Studies, and more.

A CHANCE TO TAKE A STEEL MINI-TOUR!

On Friday March 26 th , we are hold a pre-conference set of activities, including a tour of one of Inland Steel's rolling mills, a lunch at Joblink 2000, the Bernie Kleiman Education Center for USWA local 1010 & Inland, catered by the best Mexican restaurant this side of the Rockies, and a chance to talk with faculty and students and advisory board members of Swingshift College.

Cost: $25 per person

Time: 9:30am-2pm

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