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First EFL International Online Conference July 6-8, 2020
*All times are PST. Use this link to convert to your time zone
Monday
6:15 am – 7:15 am Universal Centering Practices – Cora Chiavedale
8:00 am – 9:00 am Welcome – Nitai Deranja and Kabir MacDow
9:00 am – 9:15 am Break (or stay on Zoom to chat with others!)
9:15 am – 10:15 am EFL wiki development workshop – Aryanvan McSweeney
10:30 am – 11:00 am EFL interview: Progressive Development with Premjyoti Mantilla
7:30 pm – 8:00 pm EFL interview: Creativity and Consciousness with Dana Lynne Andersen
Tuesday
6:15 am – 7:15 am Universal Centering Practices – Kshama Kellogg
8:00 am – 9:00 am Online Instruction – Italian School team and Luka Pintarič from the Lila School in Slovenia
9:00 am – 9:15 am Break (or stay on Zoom to chat with others!)
9:15 am – 10:15 am Stages of Maturity breakout sessions
10:15 am – 10:30 am Break (or stay on Zoom to chat with others!)
10:30 am – 11:00 am EFL interview: Flow Learning with Sundara (Greg) Traymar
7:30 pm – 8:00 pm EFL interview: Brain Development and the Body with Ariya Lorenz
Wednesday
6:15 am – 7:15 am Universal Centering Practices – Tina Ruter
8:00 am – 8:30 am Treasures Along the EFL Path – Helen Gorman and Trina Gardner
8:30-9:00 am Integrating Fun and Fantasy-Irene Schulman and Erin Vinacco
9:00 am – 9:15 am Break (or stay on Zoom to chat with others!)
9:15 am – 10:00 am Closing and Next Steps – Nitai Deranja
10:00 am – 10:30 am Break (or stay on Zoom to chat with others!)
10:30 am – 11:00 am EFL interview: Parent Education and Communication with Usha Dermond
Online Platform
We will be using the Zoom platform for all the meetings. You will need to download the app before the meeting time. We will post the link on this page. Please send in your payment prior to class.
Here is a helpful link to learn more about Zoom and how to connect: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting
Cost & Payment Information
Cost for the conference is $50 for guest and free for Education for Life teachers. Checks can be made out to EFL International and mailed to 14618 Tyler Foote Road, Box 198, Nevada City, CA 95959. For more information, scholarships, etc., please contact Irene at irene@edforlife.org.
Education for Life Blogs
Joyful Education: Forty Years and Counting
by Nitai Deranja
In this blog I’d like to share various vignettes and insights that have come to me in the course of exploring our Education for Life philosophy.
A Living Wisdom School Blog
by Rachel Van Boven and Rose Neal
by Rachel Van Boven and Rose Neal
A Cucumber Seed is a blog devoted to telling the story of Living Wisdom Schools and Education for Life.
Educating Preschool Students From the “Inside Out”
by Chandi Holliman
Preschool-Kindergarten teacher shares inspiration and activities that work.
Education for Life in Public School
by Elizabeth Aguilar
Documenting how the EFL principles translate into the public school system.
Live in Laughter
by Premi Grenell
Co-creative, child-centered, experiential, and joyful. “Lightly I walk,” “Hands on!” “Proof is the pudding!”
by Premi Grenell
Co-creative, child-centered, experiential, and joyful. “Lightly I walk,” “Hands on!” “Proof is the pudding!”
More Than the Car
by Brian Powers
Welcome friends, to the Living Wisdom School’s Vintage Car Restoration and Preservation honors elective.
From Two-year-olds to Teenagers
by Irene Schulman
Experiences and valuable lessons I have learned from students of all ages.
Core Principles of Education for Life
The Tools and Stages of Maturity
The Goal of Maturity: As people advance along the Progressive Development scale, they experience a gradual expansion of consciousness that in Education for Life is defined as Maturity, or “the ability to relate appropriately to other realities than one’s own.” The primary means for developing this ability are the Body, Feelings, Will, and Intellect, which are referred to as the Tools of Maturity.
Flow Learning
Flow Learning™ is easily adapted from its origins in nature education to a broad-based approach that lets teachers in any discipline help students gain an intuitive as well as an intellectual understanding of the subject matter. There are four phases to the process: Awaken Enthusiasm, Focus Attention, Direct Experience, and Share Inspiration. Read an interview with Joseph Bharat Cornell, founder of Flow Learning and the Sharing Nature Worldwide organization.
Progressive Development and Specific Gravity
Progressive Development is the central principle of Education for Life, providing the underlying map for all-around student development. Generally speaking, growth along this dimension is motivated by a person’s desire to avoid pain and to achieve happiness.
Specific Gravity identifies the general level of consciousness along the Progressive Development spectrum that a particular child tends to manifest, so we can help guide them toward maturity.
Curriculum Categories
Education for Life is child-centered, in the sense that every aspect of school should be focused on supporting the all-around, balanced development of each student.