Our Projects

Human Listening & Machine Learning

We spend so much of our lives learning to read, write and do math. We spend very little time learning how to listen. But listening is essential in almost everything we do.

For this project, the School of Thought has partnered with Cortico, a non-profit that works closely with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. The goal is to grow knowledge and practice on human listening and machine learning.

On March 19th, 2024, youth from four schools and professionals from four sectors met to listen and learn. They identified issues with direct impact on them. From March to October 2024, youth are leading projects that involve facilitating and recording small-group conversations to gather stories rooted in personal experiences. After listening to the recordings, they will be using Fora’s tools to analyze the conversations and unearth valuable insights. The insights gathered were used to advocate for positive change, empowering young people to speak up and understand that their voices matter.

Topics include food justice, workers’ right, voting, belonging, criminal justice, and co-creating schools.

We will be celebrating progress in the fall of 2024.

Click here to see some of the in progress projects.

To learn more, or participate now or in future learning cohorts, contact us at jane@schoolsofthought.org.

People Based Learning

People Based Learning is an approach to learning that is rooted in the durable, memorable, lived learning experience that happens when there is an emotional connection with a person in the learning (teacher, storyteller, friend, stranger) who aids in making learning come alive.

For this project, we are organizing facilitated conversations with small groups and conducting in depth 1:1 interviews with People Based Leaders and Learners. The goal is to uncover the insights, ideas and maybe some secrets and make them accessible and usable for others.  

To learn more or participate, contact us at jane@schoolsofthought.org.

We are looking for mentors.

We need you! Our young people are engaging in projects all the time and we need mentors! Connections are virtual and short, but mean a lot. Click the button below to learn more.