Presenter Cynthia Weiss discusses images created representing labyrinths
Photograph by Sophie Barbasch

In the summer of 2010 educators, artists, and organizational leaders gathered to participate in the Habla Teacher Institute. Participants collaborated with a team of international artists in multiple artistic disciplines to explore the concept of labyrinths through contemporary and classical art works and literature. Participants created original work in various art forms considering how labyrinths resonate as a metaphor in our lives today. Through this process educators envisioned how to transform educational settings into cultural communities rich with writing, reading, and art making.

Habla partnered with CAPE (Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education) to document the teacher institute. Arnold Aprill, founder and creative director of CAPE, led a team of researchers–Rebekah Bergman, Maggie Thulson, Sophie Barbasch, and Jessica Vosburgh–to thoroughly documented the institute with video, images, and transcriptions of presentations.

Visit CAPE/Habla's collaborative website here to see the full Habla Teacher Institute documentation.

The 2010 Habla Teacher Institute partners included CAPE, The ArtsLiteracy Project at Brown University, Project AIM in The Center for Community Arts Partnership at Columbia College, and Manigua.

On June 15th-19th, 2009 Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE) and Habla collaborated to design a new kind of professional development institute for teachers at the Walt Disney Magnet School in Chicago, Illinois. The staff for this week-long institute involved many of the artists and educators who work with Habla on a regular basis (and who will be involved in the Habla Teacher Institute "Cabinet of Wonders" July, 2009). These artists and educators included Arnold Aprill, Cynthia Weiss, Kurt Wootton, Morris Bowie, Robert Possehl, Sarah Roodhouse, and Catherine Mann.

CAPE and Habla documented the entire process with video, photography, and text.

Visit CAPE's website to view the process (and to learn about thorough ways to document teaching and learning).

In her two-part talk titled “Through lines” and “Translations” given at the 2nd Annual International Education Summit, Ms. Weiss defines through lines as the central and recurring forms and structures that unite personal and professional work.

To watch the video of this talk click here.
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To listen to the audio of this talk click here.
To download the audio of this talk, right click and Save Link As here.

To download the text of this talk click here.