If you’ve been to Morning Meetings, you might already know that Tamara and Fiona ’13 are passionate about supporting students with learning differences. They’ve taken it upon themselves to spread the word about resources for students with learning differences such as Student Advisors for Education (SAFE) events. Now, with a national event called Education Revolution (EdRev) approaching, the duo is doing more than ever to raise awareness and encourage the Bay community to get involved.
To promote an event as important as EdRev, Tamara said, Morning Meeting announcements wouldn’t cut it. Instead, Tamara and Fiona are holding “an informal Q&A for anyone who’s interested, so we can tell them all about it” without the time constraints or intensity of a school-wide talk.
“Fiona and I will be at a lunch table, holding up posters,” Tamara explained. “People will come, and we’ll give them the longer version of what EdRev is, and they can ask questions.” The event is scheduled for tutorial – an after-school, pre-athletic activities time slot – to ensure that all students who are interested can attend. But the afternoon chat isn’t just for kids; Tamara and Fiona hope that parents, faculty and staff who are interested will stop by as well.
“One of my missions is to try to get people to go to EdRev,” Tamara said. “I think it’s going to be really interesting. A lot of people at this school like TED talks, and it’s basically a chance to see a live TED talk with Ken Robinson.”
Tamara added that, although it’s “kind of geared toward people with learning differences,” EdRev’s core ideas are interesting to everyone. “It’s about how we can rethink education to make it for everybody, so it’s not an exclusive, homogenous education.” Plus, it’s festive as well as informative. “There are a lot of workshops for parents,” Tamara started. “There’s a student celebration that goes on throughout the day. Last year we had a climbing wall and student bands. There’s face paint; you can get butterflies on your face. I think it’s pretty fun,” she concluded.
The takeaway? If you’re even a little bit interested, stop by the cafeteria Thursday after school, then mark your calendar for the main event April 13. “You don’t have to have a learning difference to come,” Tamara stressed, “in fact, that’s kind of the point.”
If you go:
Q&A with Tamara and Fiona, Thursday, March 28, 3 – 3:30 p.m. in the cafeteria
EdRev, Saturday, April 13, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at AT&T Park, San Francisco
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