Emphasis on standardized tests, fading novelty, lack of motivation, and increasingly regimented school structures contribute to a decline in engagement as kids progress through school.
Chris Zorn is an artist, musician and educator, mentored in the practices and mindsets of contemplative and deep ecological education. For the past three decades, he has applied the principles and practices of ecosocial literacy to deepen the learning experience for students of all ages from kindergarteners to seniors. In response to the multiple growing crises of planetary and human health and well-being, he developed a year-long transdisciplinary leadership course, Transforming Ecosocial Leadership, which offers older students (grades 10 and up) the opportunity to immerse themselves in the mindsets and daily practices of ecosocial literacy. He applies the same underlying principles and practices in his work with younger students. He holds a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and has taught at CU Boulder, Naropa University, a number of community colleges, private and public schools, the Honolulu Museum of Art School and many other locations. For the past 20 years he has taught music, art, social and emotional learning, and leadership at the University Laboratory School to students of every grade level.
Emma Chiappetta teaches mathematics at Wasatch Academy in Central Utah. In her classroom, Emma focuses on educating each student individually by facilitating a competency-based curriculum in which students learn the material at their own pace through a medium of their choosing.