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Fundraiser to support retreats for overburdened educators

The Capital Times  —  10/15/2008 4:55 pm

Several of the area's top educators, including state Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster, will participate in a fundraiser Sunday afternoon for the Madison/Dane County Courage to Teach program.

Burmaster, Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Dan Nerad, author Parker J. Palmer, University of Wisconsin professor Gloria Ladson-Billings and bilingual instructor Rebecca Zambrano will take part in the event Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. at Promega Biopharmaceutical Technology Center, 5445 East Cheryl Parkway.

Topics at the event will focus on the challenges educators deal with in regard to academic disparities in a time of budget constraints and increased expectations. The five featured speakers will read a poem they feel outlines an aspect of those challenges, and offer their own perspective.

The cost to attend is $30 per person and proceeds will benefit Courage to Teach, a program that offers K-12 teachers, administrators and educators a professional development and renewal experience and gives them time and space to reflect in order to enhance their professional and personal lives.

Courage to Teach is comprised of five-weekend retreats in a yearlong period that offers insight and activities to help participants better understand who they are as educators.

Palmer, a Madison resident and author of the book "The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life," works for the Center for Courage & Renewal and co-founded Courage to Teach with the Fetzer Institute.

The Capital Times  —  10/15/2008 4:55 pm