Casa de Samwell

First Name:

Sam

Last Name:

Chaltain

Hometown:

Hanover, NH

School/Organization Name:

Democracy. Learning. Voice

Job Title:

Chief Troubador

City:

Washington

State:

DC

My Story:

On the path . . .

My Ideal School is a Place Where:

all children are visible, and all people have the skills and self-confidence they need to be seen and heard by others in meaningful, responsible ways.

My Religious Views:

In search of . . .

My Political Views:

Nonpartisan bridgebuilder

My Favorite Freedom:

freedom of conscience

My Personal Heroes:

Martin Luther King, Myles Horton, Fannie Lou Hamer, Vic Chaltain, Charles Haynes

My Personal Motto:

Do your work, then step back.

My Favorite Journey:

A mid-afternoon walk in Rock Creek Park, on a sunny day, with my dog

Recommended Reading:

Professional: The Courage to Teach (Palmer), Theory U (Scharmer), The Art of Changing the Brain (Zull), Presence (Senge et al), Leadership & the New Science (Wheatley)
Personal: The Brothers Karamazov, Mama Day, Coming Through Slaughter, Blood Meridian, All the King's Men, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, anything by Ray Carver or James Baldwin

Recommended Web sites:

www.samchaltain.com
www.fivefreedoms.org
www.facesoflearning.net

Recommended Blogs:

http://www.samchaltain.com/blog

Quotable:

“What would happen if rather than thinking of democracy as something we inherit, like a suit of clothes passed on from our grandparents, we thought of it as a learning process – one where we’ve only taken the smallest baby steps so far.”
-- C. Otto Scharmer