Common Ground Training

Educating toward just communities

Designed for high school students, this multi-day program is a powerful experience for young people. Bringing together a diverse group of students, this program takes place in a three- or four-day retreat setting away from campus. Designed to help students to recognize prejudices in themselves and in their surroundings, this powerful program challenges students to become leaders back on their campuses. Because prejudices are not restricted to race, this program also deals with gender, homophobia, cliques and bullying.   The goal of this program is to develop leaders, both traditional and non-traditional, amongst the student populations. Students will return to their campuses with new goals and new allies, united in an effort to make your school a more inclusive and just community.

Michael Sliwa and Lance Huffman are both public school teachers who have dedicated their careers to serving students who often get overlooked by the system. Marginalized and forgotten, their needs are often only addressed in impersonal demographic data, rather than as living, breathing children who deserve the best quality education available. The trainings we offer through Travel to Learn helps students and adults to identify their own prejudices and then become allies in overcoming those prejudices. With workshops ranging from an afternoon to a several-day retreat, Mike and Lance can help you to develop the skills necessary to become allies and resisters to oppression within the school system.

Some of the programs we offer are listed below. Contact us for details or to register a group

Here is a sample of the workshops we can offer for you:

Geared toward all educational professionals, this workshop is designed to help teachers and administrators identify prejudices within themselves. While these internalized feelings are almost never conscious nor intentional, they are ever-present. The first step in eliminating those prejudices is self awareness. Because the diverse needs of our students is not always matched by the same diversity in our faculties, this program will help us all become more aware of ourselves and how we can be allies to our students' needs.

This program can be as short as an afternoon. But it is best experienced over a several-day workshop. It can be conducted on-site or in a retreat setting.

Multi-cultural Leadership and Awareness Camp 

      Teachers Working In Diverse Classrooms 

Contact Mike at

(480)206-0953

 

Or Lance at

(623)570-0091

Or email us at

 

lancehuffman@cox.net

 

msliwa@cox.net

What Teachers Can Learn From At Risk Students

This program guides the teacher through a step by step process of what it takes to be successful in an AT RISK environment. Expect to be challenged about such issues as oppression, privilege, racism, sexism, and homophobia. Participants will actively engage one another and face tough questions about teaching approaches and expectations. Individuals will walk away with a better understanding of the AT RISK community and some tools and strategies to use in the classroom. 

White Supremacy and Patriarchy

What are the links between white supremacy, patriarchy, white privilege, male privilege and such problems and rampant corporatism and global environmental problems?  How can we take personal responsibility as members of privileged groups to address problems around us? 

 

In this workshop, which can range from one to four hours, we will look at our personal roles in creating or maintaining the problems around us.  This is a challenging workshop where we take personal responsibility and begin to work toward change.

Youth Leadership and Social Change

This is a workshop for high school students.  In this interactive and dynamic workshop, students are introduced to racism, sexism, heterosexism, able-ism and other forms of prejudice and oppression.  They are then show that they have the power to confront these social ills on their campuses and in their lives.  Risk-taking is encouraged in this supportive atmosphere as students are given a chance to see the effects of their actions on the world.

 

This workshop can last from three to six hours.