Recent Panels
Narratives of Founding Early Childhood Programs: Experiences of Art of Teaching Alumni
November 2, 2022
A panel of Art of Teaching Alumni who have gone on to found their own early childhood programs share their journeys. They discuss the vision, values and inspiration behind their programs, the process of making them realities, and how what they learned in the Art of Teaching program helped prepare them for all of this. The panel is moderated by Jerusha Beckerman, Interim Director of Art of Teaching.
Important New Research on Preschool Education
Friday, April 22, 2022
A panel discussion featuring Dale Farran of Vanderbilt University, who recently published a surprising study demonstrating adverse effects of a Tennessee state-funded Preschool Program, alongside Sarah Lawrence Art of Teaching Director Denisha Jones, Child Development Director Barbara Schecter, and Graduate Dean Kim Ferguson, to discuss what these findings say about the state of preschool education and the need for developmentally appropriate early childhood experiences for all children.
Young Children & Teachers' Experiences During COVID: Perspectives From the US and Scandinavia
Saturday, November 13, 2021
A panel of teachers from Scandinavia and the United States will discuss their experiences teaching in very different contexts during the pandemic, ranging from a forest school to a NYC public school to a small private school. What were the challenges? What have we learned from all of this? What do we want to hold onto from this period?
Play's the Thing
Tuesday, June 22, 2021, 6:30 p.m. EDT
This panel discussion will focus on working with historically underrepresented and underserved youth. Hassiem Kambui, PhD, and Toni Sturdivant, PhD, will each present their work followed by a conversation moderated by Denisha Jones, PhD, JD, play advocate, Director of the Art of Teaching Graduate Program at Sarah Lawrence College and Co-Director of Defending the Early Years.
Children’s Play During the Pandemic: Therapeutic Aspects, Equity and Access
Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 6:30 p.m. EDT
This panel discussion will focus on the work of three professionals who use play in their clinical work with children. They will share with us how the pandemic and the transition to virtual learning and telehealth have impacted children and their own work.
Working with Children and Families: Clinical, Cultural, and Community Perspectives on Stress and Resilience
Friday, April 30, 2021, 4 p.m. EDT
This panel discussion will focus on working with historically underrepresented and underserved youth. Three panelists, Zoë A Berko, PhD, Aubrey Uresti, PhD, and Tommy Chou, MS, will each present their work, followed by a discussion moderated by Arietta Slade, PhD.
Teaching as a Political Act
Friday, November 20, 2020 5 p.m. EDT
The inequitable treatment of people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic and protests of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more have called for us to evaluate our values and engage in political activism. The complexity of racism in America made its way into schools across the country, bringing to mind Paulo Freire's description of teaching as a political act. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire writes, “Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” In this panel we will discuss what it means to teach as a political act during these uncertain times.