Kate Kennedy Institute launches teachers into novel realms
by David Giesen

In view of the primary role of public and private schools’ mis-sion being to convey culture from one generation to another we won-der, what about conveying the fundamental value that earth is home to all people, equally?

Though it sounds merely rhetorical to ask, think again. Currently, though social studies curricula take up ancient Egyptian culture, Latin empire under Rome, European feudalism, Renaissance mercantilism, 19th century industrialization, American westward expansion, and 20th century warfare and economic debacles, at no point is there the prescriptive intellectual and spiritual investigation of how alienation from land affects the living student of today. Instead, every chapter of history, every simulation of past culture is treated as a fossil phenomenon. Though it was but six years ago that Rwandan Hutus massacred a million Rwandan Tutsis so that they might hold spatial right to land, and though it was just 60 years ago that our grandfathers battled to the death for land, no classroom by textbook design engages in the higher levels of Blooms Taxonomy of thought and investigates the presence today of history’s imperative story, Who controls the land?

With the launching of the Kate Kennedy Institute for Teachers The Henry George School of San Francisco strives to mend that deficiency, joining the roster of other georgist schools which have established programs and materials for the k-12 classroom.

Kate Kennedy was a leading georgist in San Francisco 1877-1890. She was a personal acquaintance of Henry George’s, a charter member of the California Land Reform League, an avid lecturer on georgist economics, instrumental in the 1873 California legislation establishing equal pay for women in the field of education, responsible for securing civil service dismissal only for cause law, and a school teacher and principal in San Francisco 1857-1890.

In honor of this courageous woman the HGS-SF has created programs specifically designed to illuminate the social and economic relevance of land control in the lives of today’s youth. Under the banner of The Kate Kennedy Institute for Teachers, three hour inservice programs are now offered to schools. At a more personal level, half day hikes and kayak outings on San Francisco Bay are available to Bay Area teachers. During these programs the connection humans have with place is stressed, and the all-pervad-ing influence on politics and social arrangements which land control construes is iterated. Age appro-priate lesson plans are distributed at the conclusion of these events.

Fulfilling the title of Institute is the three day intensive program open to teachers seven times a year beginning in 2004. This program will be based at Camp Hank Chautauqua in the Sierra foothills. Camp Hank is a georgist retreat sporting rustic camping in California’s Gold Country near flat and white water.

Mario Chang, a First and Second grade teacher at San Francisco’s school for non-native English speakers dipped a kayak paddle into the Bay in late August, becoming the first participant in Institute programming. As luck would have it, Mario’s school is . . . Kate Kennedy School. How marvelous that the program should commence with an unanticipated palpable connection to its namesake! It’s true, there is a school in SF named for this inspiring georgist.

Institute programming doesn’t only serve social studies curricula. Indeed, the inspiration for a teachers’ georgist assist awakened in my thought several year ago when I, myself, was teaching literature to 7th and 8th graders. My background in theater led me to introduce a specific approach to reading literature based upon character motivation. The story could be figured out, if it wasn’t understood, by asking, page by page, what was the motivation for action of one character and another. And, as a surefire way to ascertain character motivation, I recommended looking for character control of place, immediate or larger, as the decisive motivation in nearly all instances.

For example, in John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men any number of good essays could be written taking up territorial considerations. Why are so many men, willing and able to work, tramping about, looking for employment while in the midst of the vast orchard and farm lands of California? Or, who controls the bunkhouse? Or, why are the stories two heroes always talking about “livin’ off the fat of the land”?

By no means do I suggest this is THE way to approach literature, but it surely opens up plenty of discussion.Q