Please join the East Central European Center, the Harriman Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, and the Janusz Korczak Association of the USA for a conference devoted to the life and work of the Polish Jewish children's educator and pedagogue Janusz Korczak, featuring a keynote lecture by Dr. Marta Santos Pais, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Coinciding with the publication of a two-volume selection of his writings, newly translated into English, this conference seeks to open up Korczak’s work to contemporary U.S. researchers and educators as a living body of pedagogical theory and practice. The event features presentations both by long term scholars and practitioners in Korczak studies as well as by theorists and educators currently engaged in applying Korczak’s ideas to contemporary situations and challenges, and provides an opportunity for teachers, researchers, and students from all sections of the educational community to explore and experiment with the work of an innovative thinker.
PROGRAM
9:00AM — Registration
9:15AM — Opening Remarks
Christopher Caes (Columbia University)
Mariola Strahlberg (Janusz Korczak Association of the USA)
Anna Domańska (Polish Cultural Institute)
9:30AM — Keynote Address
Dr. Marta Santos Pais (UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children)
"Making Zero Mankind’s Favorite Number: Zero Violence Against Children"
PANEL I: Korczak's Life & Work in Cultural & Intellectual Context
10:30AM - 12:00pm
Batia Gilad (educator, former chair of International Korczak Association)
The Relevance of Janusz Korczak and Stefa Wilczyńska's Educational Legacy Today
Marcia Talmage Schneider (independent scholar, author, educator)
Janusz Korczak: Sculptor of Children's Souls
Sergei Mikhelson (Educare East-West) and Mikhail Epstein (Institute of Alternative Education)
Yearning for the Better Life: The Multiculturalism of Janusz Korczak
PANEL 2: Korczak as Pedagogical Theorist & Practitioner
1:15PM - 2:45PM
Benjamin Paloff (University of Michigan)
Is the Child Neuter?: On Translating the World of Korczak's Words"
Sarah Efrat Efron (National Louis University, Chicago, IL)
Practical Implications of Korczak’s Pedagogical Legacy for Educators Today
Kristin Poppo (Alfred State College, Alfred, NY)
Creating Compassionate Environments in Difficult Times: A Korczakian Framework
2:45PM — Break
PANEL 3: Korczak & Children's Rights
3:00PM - 4:30PM
Marek Michalak (Ombudsman of Children’s Rights, Poland)
Children’s Rights: How We Follow Janusz Korczak Today
Ewa Jarosz (Social Advisor for Ombudsman for Children, Professor at the University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland)
Echoes of Korczak in Ideas and Practices of Children’s Participation
Mariola Strahlberg (Janusz Korczak Association of the USA)
How Can Children’s Rights Find Support in a Classroom through Korczak’s Humanistic Education?
4:30PM — Break
Roundtable Discussion
4:45PM - 6:00PM
