The Education Exchange Program Schedule: Monday, Dec. 7 This group will meet on the first Monday of each month from 4 – 7 p.m. Recommended Participants: Innovative schools, educators, parents, service providers, and organizations shaping the future of K-12 education. Cost: Free December Exchange Topic: The Power of Play The Provocation: Are we over-parenting our kids, turning childhood into a résumé-building exercise, and unintentionally taking the joy, freedom, and spontaneity out of play? What if, in our efforts to give children every opportunity to succeed, we're taking away some of the very experiences that help them grow? This month, we'll explore how adult expectations, overscheduled lives, and the pressure to prepare children for the future may be reshaping childhood. Together, we'll consider what children gain from unstructured play, taking risks, experiencing boredom, and having the freedom to figure things out for themselves—and whether our desire to help is leaving enough room for childhood to simply be childhood. 4 – 4:50 p.m. Workshop & Resource Exchange A short presentation exploring research on play, child development, and the impact of adult involvement in children's lives. Then, we'll reflect on our own childhood experiences and consider how the role of play has changed across generations. 5- 5:50 p.m. Education Exchange Socratic Discussion A facilitated discussion built around one question: Are we preparing children for life, or are we so busy preparing them for the future that we're forgetting to let them be children? 6- 7 p.m. The Social Light refreshments, open conversation, and space for whatever got stirred up in the discussion to settle before it's carried back into classrooms and communities. Education ExchangeAcross Wichita, people are already building more, better, and different ways to educate kids- often without a playbook, working from instinct and conviction rather than a manual. The Education Exchange is a monthly gathering for those reshaping the future of K-12 education, built on one conviction: education gets better when the people doing the hardest parts of it stop working alone and start talking to each other. Each session brings the community into one room for a structured evening of shared learning, honest discussion, and connection- a recurring space to exchange ideas, resources, and support with people doing the same hard work in different spaces. Thoughtfully structured in three parts, participants can register for the individual session that excites them the most or join us for a meaningful night of exchange by attending all three: Workshop & Resource Exchange- a short presentation connected to that month's topic, plus space to share tools, contacts, and resources with the room Socratic Discussion — a facilitated conversation built around a single provocation, open to real disagreement and different perspectivesA Social Hour— an hour to unwind, build community, and grow connections Register as an attendee to join Between the Bells, our discussion group that sends monthly recaps of each Education Exchange topic, key takeaways, and opportunities to continue growing and learning from the peer community. Presented in Partnership with Learning Lab Wichita and Lily Lake Kansas
The Education Exchange
Program Schedule: Monday, Dec. 7
This group will meet on the first Monday of each month from 4 – 7 p.m.
Recommended Participants: Innovative schools, educators, parents, service providers, and organizations shaping the future of K-12 education.
Cost: Free
December Exchange Topic: The Power of Play
The Provocation: Are we over-parenting our kids, turning childhood into a résumé-building exercise, and unintentionally taking the joy, freedom, and spontaneity out of play?
What if, in our efforts to give children every opportunity to succeed, we're taking away some of the very experiences that help them grow? This month, we'll explore how adult expectations, overscheduled lives, and the pressure to prepare children for the future may be reshaping childhood. Together, we'll consider what children gain from unstructured play, taking risks, experiencing boredom, and having the freedom to figure things out for themselves—and whether our desire to help is leaving enough room for childhood to simply be childhood.
4 – 4:50 p.m. Workshop & Resource Exchange
A short presentation exploring research on play, child development, and the impact of adult involvement in children's lives. Then, we'll reflect on our own childhood experiences and consider how the role of play has changed across generations.
5- 5:50 p.m. Education Exchange Socratic Discussion
A facilitated discussion built around one question: Are we preparing children for life, or are we so busy preparing them for the future that we're forgetting to let them be children?
6- 7 p.m. The Social
Light refreshments, open conversation, and space for whatever got stirred up in the discussion to settle before it's carried back into classrooms and communities.
Education Exchange
Across Wichita, people are already building more, better, and different ways to educate kids- often without a playbook, working from instinct and conviction rather than a manual.
The Education Exchange is a monthly gathering for those reshaping the future of K-12 education, built on one conviction: education gets better when the people doing the hardest parts of it stop working alone and start talking to each other.
Each session brings the community into one room for a structured evening of shared learning, honest discussion, and connection- a recurring space to exchange ideas, resources, and support with people doing the same hard work in different spaces.
Thoughtfully structured in three parts, participants can register for the individual session that excites them the most or join us for a meaningful night of exchange by attending all three:
- Workshop & Resource Exchange- a short presentation connected to that month's topic, plus space to share tools, contacts, and resources with the room
- Socratic Discussion — a facilitated conversation built around a single provocation, open to real disagreement and different perspectives
- A Social Hour— an hour to unwind, build community, and grow connections
Register as an attendee to join Between the Bells, our discussion group that sends monthly recaps of each Education Exchange topic, key takeaways, and opportunities to continue growing and learning from the peer community.
Presented in Partnership with Learning Lab Wichita and Lily Lake Kansas
