Plus Wonder was proudly represented this week by Connection Architect Bảo Châu Nguyễnlộc Thomas and Program Manager Lindsay Clark at an education summit in Boulder, Colorado. The Teachers of Color and Allies Summit at the University of Colorado Boulder gathers education students and local educators of color and allies to provide collegial support and best practices in education.
Plus Wonder has been working with educators for years to bake the Six Degrees of Connection wisdom into school curricula.
Along with our Education Connection Architect Council, we have been improving our programming, outreach, and infrastructure to better support teachers doing the hard work to scaffold connection skills at school.
Bảo Châu and Lindsay focused on two of the Six Degrees of Connection that provide a valuable reframe for educators looking to improve relationships with their co-teachers, fellow PLC members, and their students:
They highlighted the concept of Magnetic Moments to refresh participants awareness that intentional spaces and bonding can lead to more fulfiling and effective partnerships.
Friction isn’t often celebrated, but they discussed some of the activities in the Celebrate Friction Architect Toolkit that can validate the effort and strategize a way through disagreements to reach a new level of partnership.
Reflections from our participants revealed the Six Degrees framework and strategies presented boosted hope in the prospect of starting and maintaining Deep Connections.
The incredible educators present at TOCA are working tirelessly to give all their students the best chance of personal success through equitable support. The theme of this year’s summit was “Navigating the Nuanced Narrative of Neutrality,” and teachers focused on empowerment through data and new strategies while also making space to heal and recharge for themselves and their students.
The keynote speaker Dr. Vincent Basile presented on decriminalizing practices that connect to our Six Degrees, such as positive reframing & assuming brilliance (celebrate friction), highly respectful interactions & honoring space (unshakable mutual respect), and repair (shared humility).
We were grateful to be featured at this summit as presenters and given the opportunity to speak to Front Range educators and administrators. If you have an educational summit or conference that would be a great fit for Plus Wonder, please reach out!
