seeds visit harvard law school
Seeds Speak to Harvard Law Students in Professor Charles Ogeltree’s Class about the Maine Seeds Program at Seeds of Peace
Tim Wilson, the Director of the Maine Seeds Program, and Dick Romeo, the Director of the Peer Support Program for the Maine Seeds Program, arranged for 6 Seeds to attend Professor Charles Ogeltree’s class at Harvard Law School and speak with Charles Ogeltree and his students about the Maine Seeds Program at Seeds of Peace. The Seeds who attended were: Mohammed Nur, Morrigan Turner, Cole Butler, Molly Lecomte, Muna Mohamed, and Safia Bashir.
Charles Ogeltree is a world-renowned, prominent civil rights lawyer, so for the Seeds to be able to speak with him and attend his class was truly an honor. Here is just a bit of background on Charles Ogeltree:
“Charles Ogletree, a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and Founding and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, is a prominent legal theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law. Professor Ogletree opened the offices of The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice in September 2005 as a tribute to the legendary civil rights lawyer and mentor and teacher of such great civil rights lawyers as Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill. The Institute has engaged in a wide range of important educational, legal, and policy issues over the past 6 years. Professor Ogletree is also the author of several important books on race and justice.
Professor Ogletree earned an M.A. and B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In 2009 Professor Ogletree was awarded the prestigious ABA Spirit of Excellence Award in recognition of his many contributions to the legal profession. In 2008, the National Law Journal named Professor Ogletree one of the 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America. Every year since 2006, Professor Ogletree has been named by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100+ Most Influential Black Americans. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the National Black Law Students Association, where he served as National President from 1977-1978. Professor Ogletree also received the first ever Rosa Parks Civil Rights Award given by the City of Boston, the Hugo A. Bedau Award given by the Massachusetts Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, and Morehouse College’s Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Prize."
You can read more about Professor Ogeltree at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/10635/Ogletree
When the Seeds arrived, Dick Romeo gave an overall introduction to the law students about Seeds of Peace in general. Then he invited Mohamed Nur to speak specifically about the Maine Seeds program, and how the international model of SoP was applied to the domestic program in Maine. Mohamed introduced the remaining 5 Seeds to give the presentations they did at the 2014 Maine Summit on Education. The presentations included: Economics of Education, Educational Standards, and English Language Learner (ELL) programs.
For the Seeds to be able to share with these law students—who are undoubtedly the future leaders of American politics—about the problems they see in Maine school systems, and in school systems in general, was an incredible opportunity that is sure to create change in American schools. Mohamed Nur said directly to the students, “You are the future—you have the ability to make a difference when it comes to these issues we’re outlining for you today.” It was very empowering for the Seeds to be able to participate in something like this.
Because Muna and Safia were unable to give their presentation due to a lack of time, Professor Ogeltree and his students invited us back next Monday, April 21st, to finish the presentations on ELL programs and also to have an extensive Q&A session with the Seeds. For him to ask us back was a great honor and we look forward to attending next week.
After the class, Dick Romeo’s son, Eric, who is a student at Harvard Law, took the Seeds on a Campus tour of Harvard, which they absolutely loved. It was Molly’s birthday and she said, “This is the best birthday I’ve EVER had…I can’t think of a better way to have spent it.”
Overall, the students were greatly impacted by their experience at Harvard. All of them said they felt more motivated than ever to make a difference after speaking directly with civil rights lawyers, and lawyers-to-be, about the American education system.
You can see more pictures of the day here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157644004521764/
Tim Wilson, the Director of the Maine Seeds Program, and Dick Romeo, the Director of the Peer Support Program for the Maine Seeds Program, arranged for 6 Seeds to attend Professor Charles Ogeltree’s class at Harvard Law School and speak with Charles Ogeltree and his students about the Maine Seeds Program at Seeds of Peace. The Seeds who attended were: Mohammed Nur, Morrigan Turner, Cole Butler, Molly Lecomte, Muna Mohamed, and Safia Bashir.
Charles Ogeltree is a world-renowned, prominent civil rights lawyer, so for the Seeds to be able to speak with him and attend his class was truly an honor. Here is just a bit of background on Charles Ogeltree:
“Charles Ogletree, a Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and Founding and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, is a prominent legal theorist who has made an international reputation by taking a hard look at complex issues of law and by working to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution for everyone equally under the law. Professor Ogletree opened the offices of The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice in September 2005 as a tribute to the legendary civil rights lawyer and mentor and teacher of such great civil rights lawyers as Thurgood Marshall and Oliver Hill. The Institute has engaged in a wide range of important educational, legal, and policy issues over the past 6 years. Professor Ogletree is also the author of several important books on race and justice.
Professor Ogletree earned an M.A. and B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In 2009 Professor Ogletree was awarded the prestigious ABA Spirit of Excellence Award in recognition of his many contributions to the legal profession. In 2008, the National Law Journal named Professor Ogletree one of the 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America. Every year since 2006, Professor Ogletree has been named by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100+ Most Influential Black Americans. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the National Black Law Students Association, where he served as National President from 1977-1978. Professor Ogletree also received the first ever Rosa Parks Civil Rights Award given by the City of Boston, the Hugo A. Bedau Award given by the Massachusetts Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, and Morehouse College’s Gandhi, King, Ikeda Community Builders Prize."
You can read more about Professor Ogeltree at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/10635/Ogletree
When the Seeds arrived, Dick Romeo gave an overall introduction to the law students about Seeds of Peace in general. Then he invited Mohamed Nur to speak specifically about the Maine Seeds program, and how the international model of SoP was applied to the domestic program in Maine. Mohamed introduced the remaining 5 Seeds to give the presentations they did at the 2014 Maine Summit on Education. The presentations included: Economics of Education, Educational Standards, and English Language Learner (ELL) programs.
For the Seeds to be able to share with these law students—who are undoubtedly the future leaders of American politics—about the problems they see in Maine school systems, and in school systems in general, was an incredible opportunity that is sure to create change in American schools. Mohamed Nur said directly to the students, “You are the future—you have the ability to make a difference when it comes to these issues we’re outlining for you today.” It was very empowering for the Seeds to be able to participate in something like this.
Because Muna and Safia were unable to give their presentation due to a lack of time, Professor Ogeltree and his students invited us back next Monday, April 21st, to finish the presentations on ELL programs and also to have an extensive Q&A session with the Seeds. For him to ask us back was a great honor and we look forward to attending next week.
After the class, Dick Romeo’s son, Eric, who is a student at Harvard Law, took the Seeds on a Campus tour of Harvard, which they absolutely loved. It was Molly’s birthday and she said, “This is the best birthday I’ve EVER had…I can’t think of a better way to have spent it.”
Overall, the students were greatly impacted by their experience at Harvard. All of them said they felt more motivated than ever to make a difference after speaking directly with civil rights lawyers, and lawyers-to-be, about the American education system.
You can see more pictures of the day here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157644004521764/
World Affairs council of maine invites seeds to attend summit on Citizen diplomacy
World Affairs Council of Maine Invites Seeds to Attend Their Summit, “Citizen Diplomacy Through Education: Promoting Awareness, Networking, and Partnerships”
On Friday, April 11th, the Seeds were invited to attend the World Affairs Council of Maine’s
Summit on Citizen Diplomacy. The topic of this year's summit was: “Citizen Diplomacy through Education: Promoting Awareness, Networking, and Partnerships.” The event was a great opportunity for the Seeds to get a chance to talk about their work and network with other people interested, or currently working in, this field.
The Summit took place at the University of Southern Maine's Abromson Center, Portland, Maine. The Goals of the Summit were:
1. To increase awareness and understanding in Maine of citizen diplomacy and why it is important to individuals, institutions and communities, and to increase understanding of education as an instrument of citizen diplomacy.
2. To generate enthusiasm for citizen diplomacy through education, thereby advancing global citizenship.
3. To build the capacity of Maine’s schools and international education organizations/institutions to become more globally engaged, and to encourage partnerships, networking and cooperation among them.
4. To showcase local initiatives in global education.
The students heard various presentations and speakers. They heard from the President of the World Affairs Council of Maine, Clifford Gilpin, along with Harold Pachious, former chairman of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
They also heard presentations from 2 grassroots organizations about Citizen Diplomacy through Non-Profit. The organizations, Africa School House and Safe Passage, both sent representatives to the WAC Summit to talk about founding, organizing, and implementing grassroots non-profits in rural Tanzania and urban Guatemala. The Seeds heard about their challenges and successes and were able to ask questions and talk with the representatives.
The second part of the day was called, “Bridging Cultural Boundaries through Our Youth: Citizen Diplomacy through Student Exchange.” Students heard about cultural exchange programs in Maine and how various schools were working towards building global perspectives in their school classrooms.
During lunch, students heard from Ed Gragert, the Director, Global Campaign for Education in the U.S. He spoke about global competency and ways in which teachers and educators can help students engage with the world, not just learn about it.
The students also heard various educators, including Lisa Cronin—our Seeds Contact person at Dexter Regional High School who has worked very hard to have Seeds be a major part of their school—on the topic of “Connecting Our Students to the World: Citizen Diplomacy through Educational Technology.” Lisa spoke about various ways she used technology to connect her students to various teachers and classrooms throughout the world who she met while attending the Seeds of Peace Educators Course. She spoke a lot about how Seeds of Peace has opened doors for her students to engage in citizen diplomacy.
Tim Wilson was also invited to speak regarding local initiatives in Global Education. He spoke about Seeds of Peace and what it’s meant for the Maine Seeds specifically and the 14 schools in which the Seeds come from. He spoke about how their school communities have changed as a result of students attending Seeds of Peace.
Overall, it was a wonderful day. The Seeds were able to network and make connections with other local and international organizations currently working in the field of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy while also learning about different ways to engage others in this field of work.
You can see more pictures of the WAC Summit here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157643995658453/
On Friday, April 11th, the Seeds were invited to attend the World Affairs Council of Maine’s
Summit on Citizen Diplomacy. The topic of this year's summit was: “Citizen Diplomacy through Education: Promoting Awareness, Networking, and Partnerships.” The event was a great opportunity for the Seeds to get a chance to talk about their work and network with other people interested, or currently working in, this field.
The Summit took place at the University of Southern Maine's Abromson Center, Portland, Maine. The Goals of the Summit were:
1. To increase awareness and understanding in Maine of citizen diplomacy and why it is important to individuals, institutions and communities, and to increase understanding of education as an instrument of citizen diplomacy.
2. To generate enthusiasm for citizen diplomacy through education, thereby advancing global citizenship.
3. To build the capacity of Maine’s schools and international education organizations/institutions to become more globally engaged, and to encourage partnerships, networking and cooperation among them.
4. To showcase local initiatives in global education.
The students heard various presentations and speakers. They heard from the President of the World Affairs Council of Maine, Clifford Gilpin, along with Harold Pachious, former chairman of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
They also heard presentations from 2 grassroots organizations about Citizen Diplomacy through Non-Profit. The organizations, Africa School House and Safe Passage, both sent representatives to the WAC Summit to talk about founding, organizing, and implementing grassroots non-profits in rural Tanzania and urban Guatemala. The Seeds heard about their challenges and successes and were able to ask questions and talk with the representatives.
The second part of the day was called, “Bridging Cultural Boundaries through Our Youth: Citizen Diplomacy through Student Exchange.” Students heard about cultural exchange programs in Maine and how various schools were working towards building global perspectives in their school classrooms.
During lunch, students heard from Ed Gragert, the Director, Global Campaign for Education in the U.S. He spoke about global competency and ways in which teachers and educators can help students engage with the world, not just learn about it.
The students also heard various educators, including Lisa Cronin—our Seeds Contact person at Dexter Regional High School who has worked very hard to have Seeds be a major part of their school—on the topic of “Connecting Our Students to the World: Citizen Diplomacy through Educational Technology.” Lisa spoke about various ways she used technology to connect her students to various teachers and classrooms throughout the world who she met while attending the Seeds of Peace Educators Course. She spoke a lot about how Seeds of Peace has opened doors for her students to engage in citizen diplomacy.
Tim Wilson was also invited to speak regarding local initiatives in Global Education. He spoke about Seeds of Peace and what it’s meant for the Maine Seeds specifically and the 14 schools in which the Seeds come from. He spoke about how their school communities have changed as a result of students attending Seeds of Peace.
Overall, it was a wonderful day. The Seeds were able to network and make connections with other local and international organizations currently working in the field of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy while also learning about different ways to engage others in this field of work.
You can see more pictures of the WAC Summit here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157643995658453/
Seeds participate in cultivating community workshop
Workshop on Developing Effective Communication Skills for Leadership
In early February, Erica Zane, a Maine Seeds Programming Staff member, facilitated a 3-hour workshop on Developing Effective Communication Skills for Leadership for an organization called Cultivating Community.
Cultivating Community is a community food project whose focus is on growing sustainable communities 1) by feeding Maine's hungry 2) by empowering youth and the community, and 3) healing the planet through sustainable agriculture.
The workshop Erica facilitated focused on communication as it relates to youth empowerment and leadership. The students worked on collaborative problem solving skills; collaborative conflict resolution skills; active listening strategies; understanding the meaning of world views/perspective and how this relates to effective communication and collaboration; and how to communicate effectively in group-settings.
There were 28 youth who participated in the workshop. Some were past Seeds, some were Seeds who have applied to be be Campers this coming summer, and some are not involved in Seeds but are youth that are part of the 4-week leadership intensive at Cultivating Community.
Muna Mohamed, Salma Mohamed, Norah Schlax, Safia Bashir, and Kalgaal Issa were the five current Maine Seeds who helped Erica with the workshop. There were also 2 former Seeds who were participating as part of Cultivating Community--Maryan Isack and Esther Ndikumwenamwe.
Salma Mohamed, one of the Maine Seeds who participated, said, "I feel as though the workshop provided me with an overall better understanding of what it means to collaborate, be a leader, and communicate efficiently and effectively. I liked the challenging group activities we were given because not only did they provide us with a better understanding of others' strengths when it comes to leadership, but our own strengths, too. The workshop did a really good job of challenging my previous ideas of what it means to collaborate with others, be a leader in a room full of leaders, and communicate the best way possible. Every time I am faced with the challenge of stepping in as a leader to a group of people, I will most likely remember the "Zoom Activity" Erica did with us. I'll remember to look at the big picture, beyond myself, to get the desired outcome of the group I lead, placing all the things I learned at this workshop in full effect!"
You can see more pictures of the workshop here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157640986232494/
In early February, Erica Zane, a Maine Seeds Programming Staff member, facilitated a 3-hour workshop on Developing Effective Communication Skills for Leadership for an organization called Cultivating Community.
Cultivating Community is a community food project whose focus is on growing sustainable communities 1) by feeding Maine's hungry 2) by empowering youth and the community, and 3) healing the planet through sustainable agriculture.
The workshop Erica facilitated focused on communication as it relates to youth empowerment and leadership. The students worked on collaborative problem solving skills; collaborative conflict resolution skills; active listening strategies; understanding the meaning of world views/perspective and how this relates to effective communication and collaboration; and how to communicate effectively in group-settings.
There were 28 youth who participated in the workshop. Some were past Seeds, some were Seeds who have applied to be be Campers this coming summer, and some are not involved in Seeds but are youth that are part of the 4-week leadership intensive at Cultivating Community.
Muna Mohamed, Salma Mohamed, Norah Schlax, Safia Bashir, and Kalgaal Issa were the five current Maine Seeds who helped Erica with the workshop. There were also 2 former Seeds who were participating as part of Cultivating Community--Maryan Isack and Esther Ndikumwenamwe.
Salma Mohamed, one of the Maine Seeds who participated, said, "I feel as though the workshop provided me with an overall better understanding of what it means to collaborate, be a leader, and communicate efficiently and effectively. I liked the challenging group activities we were given because not only did they provide us with a better understanding of others' strengths when it comes to leadership, but our own strengths, too. The workshop did a really good job of challenging my previous ideas of what it means to collaborate with others, be a leader in a room full of leaders, and communicate the best way possible. Every time I am faced with the challenge of stepping in as a leader to a group of people, I will most likely remember the "Zoom Activity" Erica did with us. I'll remember to look at the big picture, beyond myself, to get the desired outcome of the group I lead, placing all the things I learned at this workshop in full effect!"
You can see more pictures of the workshop here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seedsofpeaceofficialsite/sets/72157640986232494/