The Future of the Academy - Participants
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John P. Coleman
John P Coleman is a life-long learner who performs many educational functions under the title of 'Academic Resources Coordinator' for Fairmont Private Schools in Anaheim California. Working with from ten to one hundred pubescent students each day, he counsels, tutors, observes classroom teaching and learning, listens, explains, motivates, tells jokes and keeps parents, teachers and administrators informed about the ups and downs of many very talented and tried children entering adulthood.
As part of his administrative duties John coordinates similar student academic assistance efforts on the other six Fairmont campuses while continuing research into the 'International School' and the 'International Baccalaureate Organisation' in order to facilitate Fairmont's membership in these 'mind, body and spirit' boundary breakers.
Mr. Coleman's life has been in and about the 'Academy', its contents, locations, parameters, transferences, limitations, usefulness, quality, inequalities, ideals, ideas, and values. Recently, the "e" world has exploded the once narrow walls of information. Now Pari becomes the 'locus' through which discussion, and exploration adds to its definition by describing academia 2000+ coalescing this Zeitgeist.
John applies knowledge and skill accumulated through nearly forty years of higher education and almost as many years of maverick, inventive teaching methods and strategies exchanged with public and private school students, teachers and administrators at all levels of schooling from K-14.
He began his formal education in the Sciences and English at Fordham College, when a black academic robe worn atop a coat and tie were an absolute necessity for admission to required senior year Philosophy and Theology courses. 'Coursaholic' describes his collection of graduate courses at Columbia Teachers College, U. of Massachusetts, U. of New Hampshire, U. of Southern Maine, Antioch New England, Keene State and most recently, Harvard. He accompanied his wife Jayne Persch to the 1993 Asissi Conference in Italy where he first met F. David Peat.