PUBLIC FORUMS
ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE PUBLIC FORUMS
The annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forums were started in 1999 as a public space for the university community and the general public to come together to discuss the deeper educational issues that emerge in a pluralistic, democratic society. Since the founding of the Journal of Educational Controversy in 2006, the forums have become a platform for exploring the issues raised in the journal and have included many of the authors whose articles were published in the journal. On this page, we are providing videotapes of the forums for our readers to view.
VIEW VIDEOS FROM THE FOLLOWING FORUMS AND READ ABOUT THE ISSUES IN THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL CONTROVERSY
2018 - 19th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum
Topic: Speech and Protest in Public Schools
Speaker: Vanessa Hernandez, Youth Policy Director, ACLU of Washington
Center for Education, Equity and Diversity (CEED), WWU
Thursday, May 31, 2018
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Topic: A Retrospective of Controversies from the 10th Year Anniversary of the Journal of Educational Controversy
Authors in Person:
- Maria Timmons Flores, Western Washington University
- Daniel Larner, Western Washington University
- William Lyne, Western Washington University
Authors by Video:
- John Covaleskie, University of Oklahoma
- Leslie Locke, University of Iowa
- Dr. Ann Blankenship, University of Southern Mississippi
Facilitators:
- Lorraine Kasprisin, Editor, Journal of Educational Controversy
- Kristen French, Director of the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity
Center for Education, Equity and Diversity (CEED), WWU
Thursday, April 21, 2016
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Panelists:
- Dr. John Korsmo
- Miguel Camarena
- Andrea Clancy
- Ann Eco
- Bill Nutting
- Basilia Quiroz
- Azucena Ramirez
- Veronica Villa-Mondragon
- Stacy Youngquist
- Anne Jones
Controversy:
The Parent Action Team: Bringing Parents and the Community into the Life of the School
2013 - Curtis Acosta Presentation at WWU (10/17)
2013 - 15th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum (5/17)
Panelists:
- League of Education Voters – Maggie Wilkens and Tracy Sherman
- Team Child (Legal Youth Advocacy Group) – Anne Lee
- Dr. Maria Timmons Flores, Professor of TESOL, Western Washington University
- Dr. John G. Richardson, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Western Washington University
- Dr. Thelma Jackson, owner of Foresight Consultants, founder of the African American Think Tank, education and community leader
Controversy:
The School-to-Prison Pipeline and the School-to-Deportation Pipeline.
2012 - 14th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum (5/2)
Panelists:
- Francisco Rios, Dean of Woodring College of Education;
- Susan Donnelly, Head of Whatcom Day Academy;
- David Carroll, Woodring Elementary Education Faculty;
- Annie Parker, 3rd Grade Teacher;
- Vale Hartley, Teacher, Whatcom Day Academy;
- Paul Shaker, Professor Emeritus and former Dean at Simon Fraser University.
Controversy:
The politicizing of education at the national level has centered on issues of standards, accountability, global competitiveness, national economic growth, low student achievement on worldwide norms, and federally mandated uniformity.
There has been little discussion of the public purposes of our schools or what kind of education is necessary for an individual’s development and search for a meaningful life. There is a paucity of ideas being discussed at the national level around topics such as: how school practices can be aligned with democratic principles of equity and justice; how school practices can promote the flourishing of individual development as well as academic achievement; what skills and understandings are needed for citizens to play a transformative role in their society.
Without conversation at this deeper level about the fundamental purposes of education, we cannot develop a comprehensive vision of the kinds of schools our children deserve. We invite authors to contribute their conceptions of the kind of education our children deserve and/or the kinds of schools that serve the needs of individuals and of a democratic society.
All panelists authored articles in the Fall 2011 issue.
MH 005 (CEED)
5/2/2012
5:00-7:00pm
2011 - 13th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum
Topic: Are Teachers Unions a Benefit or an Obstacle to the Education of StudentsPanelists:
- Liv Finne, Director of Education, Washington Policy Center
- Mary Lindquist, President of the Washington Education Association
- William Lyne, President of the United Faculty of Washington State
Facilitators:
- Lorraine Kasprisin, Editor, Journal of Educational Controversy
- Kristen French, Director of the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity
Wilson Library Presentation Room, WWU
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
5:30 - 7:30 pm
2010 - Forum on Volume 5 Number 1 Winter 2010: Art, Social Imagination and Democratic Education
12th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum PresentsAn Evening Salon with Music, Art, Poetry and Conversation On the Topic: Art, Social Imagination and Democratic Education
Weds., April 28, 2010
5:30pm Reception
6-8pm Salon
Solarium in Old Main - 5th Floor
Sponsored by the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity and the Journal of Educational Controversy
Woodring College of Education
Western Washington University
Program
5:30-6:00 Reception with music and refreshments
Welcoming interlude: Bellacorda String Quartet
- Selections from Mozart Quartet in C Major “The Dissonant"
6:00 Musical Introduction to Salon
Quartet No. 1 in d minor (Mvts III & IV) - Randall Thompson (1889-1984)
- Vivace ma non troppo
- Allegro appasionata
Bellacorda Quartet:
- Christine Wilkinson, Violin
- Rosalie Romano, Violin
- Michael Neville, Viola
- Noel Evans, Violoncello
Art Slide Show and Discussion of Children’s Drawings - Susan Donnelly, Whatcom Day Academy
Conversation on Social Imagination, Art and Education with Authors and Facilitators and the Audience:
- Facilitators: Lorraine Kasprisin, Editor, Journal of Educational Controversy and Kristen French, Director of the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity
- Authors: Daniel Larner, Rosalie Romano, Anne Blanchard, Susan Donnelly, Matt Miller
- Video clip of Maxine Greene will be shown. This issue of the journal was dedicated to Maxine Greene, who is broadly recognized as the most important educational philosopher of our century. (Greene is philosopher-in-residence at New York’s Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education and professor emeritus at Teachers College, Columbia University.)
Audience will be invited to bring and share their own justice poems as well as works of art.
2009 - Forum on Volume 4 Number 1 Winter 2009: Rethinking Poverty and Education
11th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum
April 29, 2009
6-8pm, Wilson Library Presentation Room, WWU
View a video of the 11th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum on the theme of Volume 4, Number 1 issue, "The Hidden Dimensions of Poverty: Rethinking Poverty and Education," that took place on April 29, 2009 at Western Washington University. John Korsmo's article entitled, "Poverty and Class: Discussing the Undiscussibles," was published in Volume 4 Number 1 issue of the journal. The Multiethnic Think Tank Position Paper to which Darcy Lees refers was published in the Volume 2 Number 1 issue of the journal. Rose Spidell spoke on the "School to Prison Pipeline."
Panelists:
- John Korsmo, Assistant Professor, Human Services Department, Western Washington University
- Darcy Lees, Multiethnic Think Tank, civil rights consultant, former Equity Coordination Program Supervisor for the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- Rose Spidell, Staff Attorney, ACLU of Washington
2008 - Forum on Volume 3 Number 1 Winter 2008: Schooling as if Democracy Matters
10th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum
April 30, 2008
Miller Hall 163, WWU
See a video from the 10th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum on the theme of Volume 3 Number 1 issue, "Schooling as if Democracy Matters," that took place on April 30, 2008 at Western Washington University. Three authors whose work was published in this issue were on the panel. View a video of their discussion and power point presentations.
Panelists:
- Democracy and Student Rights: Aaron Caplan, Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union--Washington
- Democracy and Race: William Lyne, Professor of English, Western Washington University
- Democracy and Schools: Vale Hartley, Teacher, Whatcom Day Academy
2007 - Forum on Volume 2 Number 1 Winter 2007: Does Race Still Matter in America's Public Schools? Race, Seattle Schools and the U.S. Supreme Court
9th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum
May 2, 2007
6:30-8:30pm, Miller Hall 163, WWU
View a video of a discussion with a panel of lawyers, administrators, teachers, students and community members who talk about the highly influential U.S. Supreme Court case, PICS v. Seattle School District. This forum occurred before the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision. Most panelists have published articles in the Volume 2 Number 1 issue of the Journal of Educational Controversy on the theme, “Jonathan Kozol’s Nation of Shame Forty Years Later.” Two of the panelists, Sonya Jones and Brett Rubio, have also written an analysis of the U. S. Supreme Court decision that was decided on June 28, 2007 for the rejoinder section.
Panelists:
- Andrew Griffin, Assistant Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Washington State (OSPI)
- Thelma Jackson, African American Think Tank
- Sonya Jones, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Brett Rubio, American Civil Liberties Union
- Bruce Bivins, Principal, West Side High School (former Assistant Principal of Franklin High School)
- David Engle, Principal, Squalicum High School (former Principal of Ballard High School)
- Rachel Bjarnason, WWU student who was bused from Ballard to Franklin High School
Earlier Forum Topics
- 2006 - Opening Forum: What Culture Do Public Schools Promote? What Culture Should Public Schools Promote in a Pluralistic, Democratic Society?
- Forum 2: What Teachers Need to Know: Native American Perspectives
- Forum 3: What Teachers Need to Know: Asian American Perspectives
- Forum 4: What Teachers Need to Know: Latin American Perspectives
- Forum 5: What Teachers Need to Know: African American Perspectives
- 2005 - Not in Our Town: Human Rights in Whatcom County
- 2004 - Schooling in a Democracy
- 2003 - Cancelled
- 2002 - Teaching Controversy after September 11th
- 2001 - What are Your Rights? Technology and Rights in Schools and Colleges
- 2000 - Can Student Rights Survive Columbine?
- 1999 - Hate Speech and Free Speech in an Open Society