David Metler shares the Kindred Fellowship’s What We Did This Summer Report below:
In the video above, you will meet David Metler, Kindred Fellowship Program’s co-founder, facilitator, and Kindred World board member, and his overview, takeaways, and insights into this summer’s pilot program and its exploration of centering childhood in social justice education. KFP is an educational initiative of Kindred World.
Learn more at www.KindredFellows.org
About the Kindred Fellowship Program
KFP’s mission is to guide college students on an innovative, educational journey that explores the systemic roots of social (in)justice in childhood through kindred activism: a theory of activism centering childhood in activism that is authentic, reflexive and relational.
During the program, fellows are led by experienced instructors to explore the promise of kindred activism and its practical application to community engagement. With the mentorship of Kindred’s network of thought-leaders, Kindred fellows will be prepared and supported to launch their own innovative community action ideas and begin a life-long journey of maximizing their impact on social justice. The program and its exploration of centering childhood in social justice education has been featured on the Centers for Partnership Studies Leadership blog, the Rutger’s University’s Childism Institute blog, and Kindred Media. An ongoing Centering Childhood in Social Justice Education Series can be found on Kindred here.
For a quarter century, Kindred World thought-leaders have been exploring the connections among human consciousness, human and nonhuman kin, and ecological systems. As awareness of “One Family, One World” expands, humanity connects more authentically with ourselves, our family, and our world, but also with our capacity to achieve lasting social justice. Kindred’s new connected story of human kinship is bringing forth the possibility for a new story of activism.
About David Metler
Ever since David served in college on the Pangea World Service Team in Nicaragua his soul has been on fire to figure out how to maximize his impact on social justice. He received his BA in Secondary Education from The University of Michigan with a specialization in facilitating social justice dialogue. He went on to create the first-ever Leadership Dialogues on Diversity course for high school students, which was incorporated into the International Baccalaureate curriculum, and then served with Teach for America in Detroit. David then earned an MS in Human Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a thesis on practical wisdom in parenting dilemmas and a focus on developing social justice educational programs. David created and then led the EcoWell Initiative at UW-Madison, which innovatively furthered the university commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. He then served as a spiritual advisor at the University of Michigan Children’s Hospital with a specialization in pediatric oncology and is now serving as the Mindfulness Coordinator for Equity Education’s Detroit Leadership Academy. David also is the founder of his own business, Inner Passport, which is a creative social justice education platform.
He has over 10 years of experience creating and facilitating creative social justice education initiatives and working with leading child and family activists across the globe. He is currently working with a wonderful team at Kindred World to create the Kindred Fellowship Program which centers childhood in social justice education and serves as Kindred’s social justice editor and treasurer. In his free time, he has traveled to over 30 countries, is in the process of running a marathon on every continent, and enjoys creating and performing musical comedy with his band. David is the current treasurer of Kindred World. He is the co-founder of the Parent Liberation Alliance and founder of the Kindred Fellowship Program. Read David’s posts on Kindred Media.