Booktalk: Take a walk through Friends Council Resources

Invite a Friends Council staff member to give a 20-minute booktalk to your faculty. Resources abound—titles on Reflective teaching and learning, worship, decision-making, and diversity, created specifically for Friends school teachers and administrators. Let us show you!

Friends Schools and the Religious Society of Friends

The Care Relationship
For Meeting and school communities to engage in lively discourse and resource sharing about Friends schools and the Religious Society of Friends. Topics may include developing effective and meaningful relationships between meetings and Friends schools and strengthening practices for care relationships. Engaging in dialogue and nurturing positive interactions between Friends meetings and Friends schools is an important aspect of Friends moving ahead into the 21st century. (Text: The Care Relationship: Friends Schools and the Religious Society of Friends)

Friends Education

Rooted in Three Centuries of Quaker Faith & Practice
Learn about the history, beliefs, and traditions of the Religious Society of Friends at the roots of Quaker education. Identify testimonies and explore how they are lived in schools. William Penn envisioned a society dedicated to religious toleration, participatory government, and liberty. Central to this Holy Experiment was his belief that all children deserved a moral education. Using images and historical information from the Arcadia publication, Philadelphia Friends Schools, we will explore an educational philosophy now lived in 85 Friends schools across the country, rooted in three centuries of faith and practice. We will explore historic photos from the archives of the oldest Friends schools, discuss the themes that they illustrate, and talk in small groups about what the images evoke for us in contemporary Quaker education. (Text: Philadelphia Friends Schools)

Mindfulness for Educators

Contemplative Practices in Quaker Education
Explore a variety of contemplative methods that can be implemented with any curriculum to support the development of self-awareness, stress reduction, empathy, emotional intelligence and social skills. This session draws on the rich connections between mindfulness practices and Quaker practices rooted in being in touch with the Spirit within oneself and others. Through disciplined practice, participants will strengthen the core skills underlying all learning: concentration, observation, and open, receptive awareness with a positive, curious attitude. (Text: Tuning In: Mindfulness in Teaching and Learning)

Quakerism & Quaker Education: A Conversation with Parents

(1 ½ hour program)

• What draws families to Quaker education?
  • What are the roots of Quaker history and belief?
    • What is “Quaker” about Quaker education?
      • What are the Quaker testimonies and how are they relevant in today’s world? 
        
        The goal for this parent workshop is to generate discussion that begins to answer these questions for families in Friends schools. Through individual, partner, and whole group reflection, parents engage in an overview of Quaker history and beliefs, and how they influence the life of a Friends school. 
        
        (Texts: “The Roots and Witness of Quakerism,” by Steve Cary, “Quaker Decision-Making,” by Barbara Caldwell, “Toward a Clearer View of Quaker Education,” by Sam Caldwell, “Meeting for Worship: Written for Students by Students,” by students at Delaware Valley Friends School, “What Does a Friends School Have to Offer?” Friends Council on Education, “What do Quakers say? What do we do in Quaker schools?” Friends Council on Education)

Friends School Community Life

The Spirit that Informs the Practice
What makes an organization "Quaker"? The FCE publication Advices and Queries for Friends School Community Life supports Friends schools in exploring how daily practices and interactions reflect Quaker values. Join a discussion about how we might encourage this growth, as we consider the joys and challenges in our work. (Text: Advices and Queries for Friends School Community Life)

Quaker Pedagogy

Exploring a Quaker Philosophy of Education
Teachers in Friends schools are part of a three hundred year tradition. As we review recent research and ideas exploring what is Quaker in Quaker education, we will stimulate conversation about how we are implementing a Quaker philosophy of education. This session lays the groundwork for future learning and reflection on how we teach in Friends schools, while inspiring the spirit at the heart of the school. (Text: Readings on Quaker Pedagogy)