Action & Advocacy

On Thursday, January 26th, Center for Inspired Teaching will host a special, online, Speak Truth event. Speak Truth is a student-led series of respectful conversations, themed around both current events and larger social issues. Student-facilitators work with teachers to prepare, and then each Speak Truth session is run for and by students. Adults are welcome to attend - to observe, listen, and learn.

Thursday evening’s event is titled “Talking Across Dividing Lines,” It will be an opportunity to understand how and why to engage with people whose experiences, perspectives, and opinions differ from our own. It will feature a wonderful guest speaker, Helanius J. Wilkins. Helanius is a performance artist, choreographer, and changemaker whose own work is dedicated to bridging the differences that separate us.

Inspired Teaching’s Director of Teaching and Learning, Jenna Fournel, interviewed Helanius for more insight into his story, his art, and his passion for curiosity. We hope you find his thoughts as joyful to listen to as we did!

Speak Truth: Talking Across Dividing Lines registration: https://forms.gle/aPAHP1cC2B5L8yjy7

More information on Helanius J. Wilkins and his work: https://www.helaniusj.com/

January 26, 2023: Curiosity is Everything

This week's Hooray For Monday features the conversation on School Connectedness, originally streamed live on Inspired Teaching's Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, between Aleta and Trabian Shorters. Trabian is a social entrepreneur and expert on asset-framing.

Transcript: https://inspiredteaching.org/prime-the-brain-hooray-for-monday/

Conversations on Connection livestream series: https://inspiredteaching.org/conversations-on-connection-livestream-series/

Resources:
Trabian's Website: https://trabianshorters.com/
BMe Community: https://bmecommunity.org/
Donors Choose: https://help.donorschoose.org/hc/en-us/articles/360013012094-How-to-describe-your-classroom-using-asset-framing
Asset-Framing Pledge: http://assetframingpledge.org/

August Inspired Teaching Institute: Aug. 22 @ 7pm EST
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/677063393837

Real World History Application: https://inspiredteaching.org/youth/real-world-history/

August 21, 2023: Prime the Brain

This week's Hooray For Monday features Aleta's conversation with Ann B. Friedman, founder and CEO of Planet Word Museum in Washington, DC. Aleta spoke with Ann for the second in Inspired Teaching's series of conversations on building School Connectedness.

Transcript: https://inspiredteaching.org/words-connect-us-hooray-for-monday/ 

Planet Word Teacher Resources: https://planetwordmuseum.org/for-educators/
Participatory Museum: https://participatorymuseum.org/ 

Inspired Teaching September Institutes
Wed. Sept 6, 7pm EST https://www.eventbrite.com/e/warming-up-with-improvisation-tickets-677064567347 

Tue. Sept 19, 7pm EST https://www.eventbrite.com/e/677066483077

Real World History application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaa7d6bvI1BO3YPxWI8nrhvMPnoD7wvo_IjMlcZt_t6uSieg/viewform?usp=sf_link

August 28, 2023: Words That Connect Us

Jenna Fournel speaks with Dana Mortenson, cofounder and CEO of World Savvy, about building school connectedness. World Savvy’s approach to learning is based on the belief that students learn best when they are engaged in relevant and important issues that impact their communities and the world.

https://www.worldsavvy.org

Written Version: https://inspiredteaching.org/learning-vulnerable-hooray-for-monday/

Resources:
Belonging Barometer: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/the-belonging-barometer

September Inspired Teaching Institutes
Tuesday, Sept. 19, 7pm EST: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/677066483077?aff=oddtdtcreator

Real World History Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdaa7d6bvI1BO3YPxWI8nrhvMPnoD7wvo_IjMlcZt_t6uSieg/viewform?usp=sf_link

September 11, 2023: Learning is Vulnerable

In this week's episode, Aleta speaks with educator, activist, and author Jonathan Kozol about his new book, inequality in education, and -- most importantly -- how educators can combat it. 

Written version: https://inspiredteaching.org/interview-jonathan-kozol-hooray-for-monday

Resources:
Preoroder An End to Inequality here: https://thenewpress.com/books/end-inequality 
Check out the rest of Mr. Kozol's books here: https://www.jonathankozol.com/books

Inspired Teaching Institutes: https://inspiredteaching.org/inspired-teaching-institute/
Teaching with Improvisation Fellowship: https://inspiredteaching.org/teaching-with-improvisation-fellowship/
Speak Truth: https://inspiredteaching.org/youth/speak-truth/

February 26, 2024: An Interview with Jonathan Kozol

In this special episode, Judge Tatel speaks about his recently published memoir, Vision, in which he describes growing up in the DC region; talks about becoming blind and, in later life, welcoming his guide dog Vixen into his family; and offers life lessons that pertain to our work as educators.

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter for Inspired Teaching resources and information on upcoming professional development programming and events: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

August 26, 2024: Teaching in a Democracy

Aleta speaks with educator, advocate, and author Esther Wojcicki about an array of topics -- from AI in the classroom to the benefits of student-led learning.

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter for weekly resources and important updates on upcoming Inspired Teaching professional development programming and events: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

December 9, 2024: Meet Esther Wojcicki

This interview originally aired as part of Inspired Teaching's Curiosity Challenge. Learn more and join the Challenge here: https://inspiredteaching.org/curiosity-challenge-2025/

Xochi Cartland helps to lead Operation Understanding’s year-long Social Justice Fellowship, a program for high school juniors. Throughout this conversation, she offers a lot of valuable insight into supporting young people as they discover their own voices and learn to respect those of their peers’ – a lot of which mirrors the work Inspired Teaching does with our Speak Truth students. And a lot of which adults can apply to their own interactions in the world. 

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter to review resources and important information about upcoming Inspired Teaching programming and events: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

Learn more about Operation Understanding DC: https://oudc.org/

March 24, 2025: Hope is a Discipline

As part of a recent online Inspired Teaching Institute, Jenna and Meag spoke with Mary Brown and Aikta Suri of Life Pieces To Masterpieces (https://lifepieces.org). Mary and Aikta shared strategies, guidance, and real-life examples for conflict resolution and recentering ourselves. 

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday Newsletter for weekly resources and important information on upcoming Inspired Teaching events and programming: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

March 31, 2025: Cultivate Your Inner Peace

This week's Hooray For Monday features a conversation Jenna and Meag had with Deepa Iyer, a lawyer, activist, and author, who shares the framework she's developed that helps us all find our role in building community and advancing the causes we believe in.

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter to receive weekly resources and information on upcoming Inspired Teaching events and programming: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/



June 16, 2025: Everyone Can Play a Role in Resistance

Every teacher CAN have the agency to take the reins of what’s happening in their schools.

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter to receive weekly resources and updates on Inspired Teaching programming and events: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

September 29, 2025: Everyday Advocacy

Listen to this week's podcast episode to learn how to use the Everyday Advocacy framework in the face of book bans and censorship.

Subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter for weekly resources and updates on Inspired Teaching programming and events: https://inspiredteaching.org/subscribe-hooray-for-monday/

October 6, 2025: It's Banned Books Week

Over more than 260 issues of Hooray For Monday, Inspired Teaching has featured the voices of leading activists, educators, and changemakers. Revisit those conversations in the Action & Advocacy playlist today: https://soundcloud.com/inspiredteaching/sets/action-advocacy/s-fAXv2NEd0Gu?si=7182f89e945849b2ba7941b06af5cba2&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing 

October 13, 2025: Inspiration to Action

Hooray for Monday is an award-winning collection of resources from Center for Inspired Teaching, shared at the start of every week. These resources feature questions, ideas, reflections, and actions we can all take to remodel the school experience for students. Hooray for Monday challenges teachers to hone their skills as Instigators of Thought©, includes instructional ideas from our #Inspired2Learn collection, and provides links to other useful tools and opportunities.

About Us
Creating radical change in the school experience — away from compliance and toward authentic engagement. Center for Inspired Teaching envisions a future in which every person is prepared to thrive in and contribute to our complex and rapidly changing world, through an education that teaches students how to think, not what to think.

Action & Advocacy

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