The First Word
THE POWER OF CONVERSATION By Mark Larson ’93
I believe in the power of conver- sation to shape thought and change minds. “And when you change your mind,” Stephanie Pace Marshall has written, “you can change the world.” For the past three years we, at NLU, have been offering broad access to big ideas in education through free conversations with great thinkers. In a special part- nership with Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Golden Apple Foun- dation, we created an annual two and three-part series of discussion forums, now beginning its fourth year, on Theodore Zelden’s prem- ise that “all invention and progress comes from finding a link between two ideas that have never met.” The series itself began with a sim- ple conversation in the summer of 2010, when I had lunch with Marilyn Halperin, Director of Education and Communication at CST. I said that, in this time of significant turmoil for the field of education, I wished I could create a public dialogue. I wanted veteran educators who, for decades, have been engaged in the struggle for better schools to talk with their younger counterparts who are engaged in similar strug- gles today. In the next breath, Mar- ilyn said, “Do you need a venue?” I talked with my colleagues at NLU that same afternoon. “In fact,” they said, “why don’t we do three?” Marilyn and I quickly joined forces with long-time friends of NLU and CST, Golden Apple Foundation’s
NLU’s fourth education forum series will take place in January and March of 2014.
CEO, Dom Belmonte, and Penny Lundquist, their Director of Profes- sional Development. Soon the first series was being planned as part of NLU’s 125th anniversary, and, by happy coincidence, the 25th anni- versary for both partners. On March 26, 2011, long-time pro- gressive educators Deborah Meier, Bill Ayers, Sonia Nieto and, former New York Schools Chancellor, Har- old Levy, sat down for a conversa- tion with four educational leaders in the early years of their careers. Over the course of the next three years, our guests have included leaders such as Chicago Teachers Union president, Karen Lewis, Rev. Calvin Morris, Senator Miguel De- Valle, and MacArthur Foundation Director of Education, Constance Yowell. We have also hosted au- thors Tony Wagner, Pauline Lipman, Kieran Egan, James Paul Gee, and Stephanie Pace Marshall.
being a part of this series, Marilyn said, “Our work is so much bigger than what happens on our stages. Bringing people into our space to talk about the ‘big ideas’ that matter most as we look ahead at education in our country and beyond is an im- portant part of our work.” Dom Belmonte added, “It has been my desire to make Golden Apple an active agent in education change activity. One aspect has been the convening of ideas and this series addresses that. We are seeking conversations of depth and intensity, but that are also civil. I’ve grown very weary of posturing and blame. I want to counter that with the old fashioned, lively art of con- versation. Real conversation.” If you’re interested in big ideas, I in- vite you to save the dates: January 13 and March 3rd, 2014, and plan to join us for our fourth series which fo- cuses on the place of innovation and creativity in the schools of the future. Be a part of the conversation. Minds may change, including your own.
When asked why Chicago Shake- speare Theater was interested in
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