A half day workshop with Peter Slattery

PRICE INCLUDES DVD and SPECIAL EDITION NOTES

When: Friday 10th July 2009
Time: 9.30am – 12.30 pm.
Where: 2606, VIE 2/4 Sterling Circuit, Camperdown.

The workshop will
• Present the key elements of the framework of ‘Conversations’
• Guide participants through the DVD as a training tool for presenters
• Guide participants through use of the DVD as a self-directed learning tool
• Take participants through a set of handouts prepared especially for this occasion.

COST: $90 for YAPA members. $110 non Yapa members.

How to register:
1. Purchase a place using either Paypal, cheque, or direct deposit (contact Peter for cheque and DD details).

2. Download and fill in this registration form.

For further information contact Peter directly on 0418456577 or email. Payment for workshop must be paid at time of registration. (paypal, direct deposit or cheque accepted). Spaces are limited so get in quick!

Pay with Paypal here!

Conversations Workshop 10/07

YAPA Member $90.00 Non-YAPA $110.00

Download the Registration form here

Hello, gidday, kia ora and welcome to the website.

We are home from our travels and loved the trip. We are also loving being back home. This site will continue to talk about what is happening with young people and those somewhat older. It will also continue to talk about personal and social change. And as always, do let me know if you think there is something that should appear here. Cheers. Pete.

Cheers. Pete

On the 25th March we launched ‘CONVERSATIONS’ DVD. Take a look at the resources page for a bit more info.

Purchase Conversations with Young People DVD here!

Any comments etc just send me an email from the contact page!

The last part of Michael Jackson has finally died. And I am not sure that his passing is any sadder than the passing of any other person in our world. But what does seem sad is the journey from the days of the Jackson Five to wherever it is that he ended up. Of course I make these observations as someone who has only ever been, like most of us, part of a distant and public audience to his life. But to have any interest in music, dance, pop culture or indeed the rise of celebrity in our socities is to be aware of Michael Jackson. To me as an occasional audience member, he clearly physically altered over time. He, as far as I know, stopped performing. Whenever he did turn up in public, the appearances I saw always seemed choregraphed and unnatural.

To my very distant eye, he seemed to fall prey to fame and fortune, and possibly to his own unique talent and possibly to the desires and expectations of others. Possibly his own. I think he could dance. Despite the so heavily edited video clips which could make just about anyone look like a fabulous mover, I suspect he was a terrific and quite unique mover.

I only saw, as an accidental observer in the western world, tiny bits of his life. It looked glamorous and yet not particularly desirable. And of course I might have it all wrong. He may have had a deeply meaningful and happy life. It would be nice to think so.

I have been hearing and reading about unemployment in Australia. And having posted numerous comments about ‘Belonging, meaning and connection’ I have been intrigued to hear that jobless teenagers will be denied the dole unless they agree to undertake training under a government plan to prevent the creation of a new generation of long-term unemployed.

And Kevin Rudd has offered state governments part of a $100 million funding pool if they lift Year 12 retention rates toward 90 per cent within six years. Kevin has apparently said that that he would not allow young people made jobless by the recession to “do nothing” and would instead tighten eligibility rules for the youth allowance to press them to gain skills for use during the inevitable recovery. And there is something in here too about lack of eligibility for the parents of unemployed people under 20 years of age. Have I understood all this accurately?

Okay, it is a really good idea to look after our young people. I am all for it. And a really good idea to make sure they are occupied. (Mind you, I could apply the same thinking to people of all ages). And a really good idea to make sure they are included as a meaningful part of our communties, our society. Alll very good.

And yet there is something here about the fine tuning, the language, the meaning, the intention, the motivation for this, and dare I say it, the META meaning and the ‘putting into practice’ of all this that matters. Punitive and coercive? Not really such a fabulous idea. Communicating to our young citizens that we care about them, and that we want them and expect them to be a part of the world and contribute to it? A very good idea. It is, as always, in the background thinking and in the foreground doing. I wonder how it is all working out.

Our son smokes. He’s three and a half. This is a picture of him smoking.

He tells us that he only smokes sticks and straws. He took up smoking while we were in Greece and where smoking, and cigarette advertising is still widespread. Though I can’t in fairness point at Greece for his motivation.

Though interestingly, and thoughtfully on his part, he only smokes outside. We spent quite a lot of time with friends from Australia who, being well-practiced smokers, felt a twinge of guilt. They were constantly ducking out for deep breathing exercises. We reassured them that it was all good because he used to smoke inside.

In response to my mini sermon on the health dangers of smoking, our son reassured me that he had a strong body and would be fine. (Interesting early-age rationalization). Though his trump card I must say, was pretty good. I don’t really smoke he said…just sticks and straws.

I am continuing to look into the notion of restorative justice. A profound and worthwhile idea. And possibly the following comments have particular relevance for young people, with their speed and vigour, but then again maybe they apply in many contexts. Some of the ingredients – and there are others – that seem to serve the idea of restorative justice well are the following:

As an alternative to punishment, restorative justice does indeed aim to restore. People being connected and belonging to something…a place, a group, a community…is huge for wellbeing. So restorative justice does genuinely seek to restore things to the way they were. And, amongst other things, restore a sense of welcome and connection for the ‘offending’ person. And if it falls short of this mark immediately, it may still do something to help the person regain their sense, albeit initially tentative, of connection, their sense of being part of something. And if a full-blown welcome takes time, then it does. And we can possibly wait productively and peacefully for time to take its course.

Especially with young people, the process of restorative justice works well if it:
Is immediate…or quick or soon
Is short lived, or at least time limited

And the process may need to help people within this process get alongside the idea that the offending and restoring person may need to:

Learn what genuine restoring means
Learn how to do the actual action.. the reparation
Learn, over time, that this is a reasonable result of their actions
Learn that this really does RESTORE things to the way they were…they are now safe, welcomed back and part of something.

You meet someone on a plane and have a fantastic conversation. You talk about really personal stuff. And it feels just fine. You go to see a financial adviser and you end up putting your money in some fund because the person just seems trustworthy. Mostly your judgements are going to be spot on.

The following is from Michael Shermer writing an article about the book ‘Blink’ by Malcolm Gladwell. And Shermer tells us that:

‘Evaluating whether someone is trustworthy or not, or whether someone is lying or telling the truth, is more accurately done by intuitive “feel” in a brief interaction than by subjecting them to a polygraph test. The best predictor of how well a psychotherapist or marriage counselor will work for you is the impression you have of that person in the first five minutes of the first session. University of Washington psychologist and marriage counselor John Gottman, who has reversed the process, can predict with 95% accuracy whether a marriage will last or not after observing the couple for only one hour. Contempt for one’s spouse, for example, is a powerful predictor of a doomed marriage, and rolling one’s eyes when one’s spouse is speaking, is a proxy for contempt. A lot can be read in the blink of an eye.’

Kind of interesting. Sometimes I do an activity, occasionally in training programs and occasionally with someone who has come to talk with me in my role as mentor or therapist. I ask them to ask me 5 questions…any questions. And to decide from my answers if I am someone they would like to talk to about the intimate details of their life. And whatever people decide, it’s a good choice. Because opening yourself up to someone is important and needs to be done with thought. Or possibly intuition. Possiby speedy thought? Whatever it is, it seems to be real. And worth paying attention to.

Shermer writes that in reading ‘Blink’ he discovered that:

‘The best predictor of whether a physician will be sued for malpractice is not the doctor’s training, credentials, or track record, but a subjective evaluation by observers of short clips of conversation between doctor and patient. Physicians who seem warm and empathetic — traits that can be sensed in a blink — are less likely to be sued by their patients, regardless of the number of errors they commit. As one lawyer explained it, “In all the years I’ve been in this business, I’ve never had a potential client walk in and say, ‘I really like this doctor, and I feel terrible about doing it, but I want to sue him.’ “‘

Mission Australia continues to do both interesting research and good programs. You can read more on their site about what they are doing in relation to young people who break laws and end up in the Juvenile Justice system. Here are some highlights:

Mission Australia’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said an upturn in the number of young people in custody, high levels of recidivism and the significant cost of locking young people up highlighted the need for alternatives to addressing offending behaviour.

“Impressively, these outcomes were achieved for around $2500 per person – the average cost of an individual receiving Pasifika’s support for three-six months.

Something that works…AND saves money.

We are now back home in Australia, after 9 weeks circumnavigating the globe and staying with friends pretty much wherever we went.

We stayed with our friend Kelly (and her family) in Barrie Canada, North of Toronto by about an hour. Kelly lives in a swamp. It’s real cold in winter and real hot in summer. Kind of beautiful too.

Then we stayed with our friend Tom (and his family) who live in suburban Toronto. And we lost the pics…but imagine children playing on a swing…
it is also cold and hot here in excessive amounts in the appropriate seasons. It’s a friendly welcoming home. With a swing.

And we stayed with Adi our friend (and his family). They live in a wood. Adi makes furniture in a shed which he tells us is permanently cold. In winter, impossibly so. And in summer there are bluebells.

And there are always sheep.

And we stayed with friend Sue who lives on the Scottish border in a small village. Not actually in the viaduct pictured but close by.
A beautful big house overlooking the village. Needs a lot of work they say. As does the vegetable patch. We picked our dinner there.

And we stayed with Nick and Theresa (and friends of family) on the island of Symi in Greece. In an uncle’s semi-renovated house. Water brought in by ship each week. Plumbing…sort of. Super hot in summer.
Exquisite beauty everywhere.

And we stayed with our friend Louise (and husband) in Singapore.

They live in an apartment in a Singapore that is ordered, clean, welcoming, friendly…and with great food!

And then of course we finished by visiting big family in New Zealand…home of my partner, a place of great music, wonderful scenery, interesting and often good social politics, very nice food, quite often a lot of rain and wind…and again, family and personal history.

Where did I most like being? Where would I like to spend more time? If I had to move to one of these places, which would it be? Where did I feel most at home?

This all requires some considerable thought…I may be some time…

And it’s nice to be home.

Wesley Fryer continues to say things on his website that I don’t understand…usually to do with digital something-or-other. This says nothing at all about Wesley though a great deal about me and my lack of digital. Wesley often seems far from radical…he does not have dreads and although I can’t say for sure because he does not have THAT sort of website – I would just bet he ain’t got no tats neither. And then he says – as he did on 8th June 2009 – stuff like this.

‘We don’t need legislators with a vision for 21st century literacy that would merely overlay digital tools on top of the existing, traditional secondary bell schedule and core curriculum. We have to not only re-imagine our schools, we have to actually re-architect them. This means changing the bell schedule. This means changing the required curriculum. This means no longer measuring learning exclusively on seat time. It means using portfolio assessment, and requiring that students use a variety of digital technologies to “show what they know.” It requires operationalizing the rhetoric we hear about moving from fact and recall based learning to a model emphasizing AND assessing the abilities to access, process and efficiently utilize information to solve problems and accomplish specific tasks.’

Hmmmm…’…operationalizing the rhetoric..’??? (sound of me scratching unshaven chin…we did just get back from 9 weeks overseas). This is pretty out-there stuff. So even if he aint’ got no tats…

I am always delighted and impressed when I read things like this because it is outside the oblong…kinda thing. There is I think, a quiet joy in the knowledge that people continue to push past, look further…try something else…so here are some grabs from an article by Douglas S. Fox.

He writes of Allen Snyder at the Centre for the mind Sydney University who has been studying savants who of course can do extraordinary things. What I find interesting and encouraging though is Snyder applying his findings more broadly. He says:

‘Even accomplished artists sometimes employ strategies to shake up their preconceptions about what they’re seeing. Guy Diehl is not a savant, but he is known for his series of crystal-clear still lifes of stacked books, drafting implements, and fruit. When Diehl finds that he’s hit a sticking point on a painting, for example, he may actually view it in a mirror or upside down. “It reveals things you otherwise wouldn’t see, because you’re seeing it differently,” he says. “You’re almost seeing it for the first time again
When Diehl finds that he’s hit a sticking point on a painting, for example, he may actually view it in a mirror or upside down. “It reveals things you otherwise wouldn’t see, because you’re seeing it differently,” he says. “You’re almost seeing it for the first time again.”‘

And we may never know just what is happening for a savant, a person of exceptional and unusual talent. But Fox quotes Snyder as saying with vision and optimism:

“I envisage the day,” he says, “when the way to get out of a [mental rut] is you pick up this thing—those of us with jobs that demand a certain type of creativity—and you stimulate your brain. I’m very serious about this.”

Yeah sounds okay doesn’t it.