The Process of Continuing This Work
There is every reason to hope that Portfolio Workshops will become, little by little, a recurring event. If they become only a bit more regular, they will not only become the backbone of the Friends World Education Seminar that is supposed to happen at every Center (mandated by the World Conferences of 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1996, at the very least), but will also, with a little effort and coordination, result in written material, which will form a comprehensive and user-friendly guide for new students and faculty, as well as important resource for the rest of us. The 1991 Handbook of Inspiration has a lot of good suggestions for getting workshops together, but basically, all you need is a few people who want to do it.
In summary, though, it helps if you can make a plan:
- how many workshops will you have? When?
- Any meeting will generally go more smoothly if someone is moderating or facilitating it.
- Brainstorm ideas for discussions if you don't have a set of goals already, and then pick the most important ones.
- Try to make the workshops involve activity as well as talk.
- Please record what you say and do so that the rest of us can learn, too. Examples of minutes (from the 1991 Journal Writing Workshops) can be found in these sections:
Tips on taking minutes can be found in the section on MINUTE-TAKING (J.2.b).
I am suggesting that the written version of this guide be put in ring-binder format of one kind or another to make it easy to add to (different Centers will prefer the type of loose-leaf binding common in their respective Areas). Every time you read a section, and think of some idea or tactic that is painfully absent from this Resource Guidebook, all you have to do is type it (preferably) or even scribble it on a piece of paper and insert after the relevant topic. Send it to the editor or to Gina (the Registrar) to make sure it goes into the next edition. If you're feeling industrious, make seven copies and send them to the other Centers, to cut down on the work that someone will have to do eventually, compiling all the versions of the newer Guidebook.
Input can include new ideas for entire sections, advice and discussion on topics already partly covered, items for the "Workbook" segments at the bottom of each section, corrections of typos and content, other suggestions, and questions for clarification. Be creative. We need the issues that need to be aired, and also the advice that you can give on issues already raised.
Your input is important whether you are a student, a member of faculty, a staff member, an alum (of whatever era!), or anyone else who has ever had a connection with Friends World at any time. Suggestions from outside the Learning Community (i.e. from other parts of LIU or anyone else who reads these pages casually) are also worthwhile.