Radically Rural sessions to look at education beyond the classroom

This year's education track at the Radically Rural summit in October will look at learning as a practice that goes beyond the classroom, into rural spaces and the community at large. "I hope that people see that education isn't just for teachers and schools. It's everyone's responsibility and purview, and everyone has something to contribute," says Elizabeth Cardine, the internship coordinator for MC2 School in Keene. Cardine is co-leading this year's education track with Channell Barbour, Ph.D., CEO of Two Dolphins Strategic Consulting in Kentucky. "It's about looking at education in a different way. We're not looking at education in the traditional sense," Barbour says. That means participants will be examining different forms of education and different places where education can thrive. "Do we even mean just schools? How does education resonate in third spaces, workforce development, cultural propagation and other things like that?" Cardine says, explaining some of the ideas she and Barbour plan to discuss at the track. "Schools are unique hubs in rural communities, and we want to untangle that and see how they've been pigeonholed, how they've been ignored, and we want to investigate further." The track, which includes two sessions on Wednesday, Oct. 7, will likely draw participants who are involved in their community's education in many ways, not just as teachers and administrators. "We often get folks who are interested in education and see the value of education in rural issues [sic], but they may be working with nonprofits, or parents, or tied to education in different ways," Cardine says. Barbour says the education track falls in line with the "radical" nature of Radically Rural, adding that the summit itself is pushing participants to think "outside the norm." Though Radically Rural held its first summit in 2018, the education track was first introduced last year. Cardine says she's glad that the summit is shining a light on such an important aspect of local communities. "Where does leadership come from in communities?" Cardine asks, giving state legislatures and politicians — many of whom she says have served on school boards — as an example. "Where does change happen in communities? It usually starts somehow connected to education, whether it's in a classroom or in the structures related to schools." Subsessions The education track will offer two subsessions Oct. 7, both at Birdies cafe at 18 Main St. in Keene, during which participants will examine nontraditional learning. The first subsession, "Anti-Fragile Learning, Failure IS an Option," at 9 a.m. will examine the impact of failure. During group discussions, participants will examine how failure can affect deep learning in a beneficial way, as well as how the stigma around failure can have a negative effect on development. This session, in particular, aligns with the theme of this year's summit, reckoning and reorienting, Cardine says. "Whenever you look back at something and then make a change and then set a new goal or try something new, I think that is the crux of education." Cardine says failure can be viewed the same way. "That's how we felt comfortable leaning into this idea of failure as an educational tool … Part of the reason people don't want to reckon with things and look at the hard things is because they're afraid of failure," she says. "But educators know the deepest learning comes from failure." The second subsession will be held at 1 p.m. in conjunction with the Arts and Culture track. Called "Fostering Intergenerational and Intercultural Learning in Rural Communities," the session will look at nontraditional spaces and modes of learning. Participants will discuss forms of education outside of the classroom, like family or communal learning, as well as third spaces where those methods of learning can thrive. The session also includes a group workshop during which participants will create collages while reflecting on education and the arts outside of traditional settings. "We wanted an activity that could help rural community members reimagine new spaces for learning," Cardine says, "and collage is a great medium for reimagining new uses for old things." For more information on this session and other summit sessions, visit radicallyrural.org.