Jane’s Walk School Edition

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Jane’s Walk School Edition

University of Toronto Schools, Toronto 2009 (Credit: John Caffrey)

In 2008, Jane’s Walk debuted its first-ever School Edition. Over a four to five-week period, Jane’s Walk animators worked with teachers and students in several Toronto high schools, to create a series of student-led walking tours around the school neighbourhood. In the classroom and on the street, animators used social mapping exercises and participatory techniques to help kids get engaged in thinking about-and interacting with-their built environment in new and exciting ways.

Both teachers and students found the curriculum was a great way to introduce fresh thinking about urban planning, local history and community-building. Sites on some Jane’s Walks School Edition tours included:
insider explorations of a Jain Temple,
debates about whether pigeons are a ‘nuisance animal’,
hand puppet shows about condo development,
meetings with local business owners like the short order cook in High Park who often cooks bacon and eggs for the Mayor,
examinations of the shape and look of post-war suburban home presented by students wearing “the kinds of clothes people wore back in the 1950’s”,
a visit to a local fire hall,
strolls through hydro fields to explain ideas about infrastructure and good places for firecrackers,
insights into the architectural style and function of the school buildings,
revelations about little known history and ghost stories or
tours of the boys’ and girl’s washrooms!

The Jane’s Walk School Curriculum is divided into five classroom days, usually with one or two lessons per week. In the first lesson, animators use a PowerPoint slideshow to introduce students to thinking about cities, urbanism, and the built and natural environment, as well as to the life and work of Jane Jacobs. Then, using photocopied maps of the school’s neighbourhood, animators and students brainstorm sites of interest. Students are asked to think about places in the area: places they like or fear, are proud of or hang out in, places that have a story to tell or would like to see change. As homework, students go individually to look at a building, street corner, park or business, and write down in detail everything they observe there (assignment one).

The second lesson helps introduce students to the ins and outs of guided walking tours, nudging them towards effective and creative ways of organizing a tour. The animators then get feedback from students about the places they’ve visited outside of class time. Drawing on this information, the group decides together on the stops that they will make on their walk, and on a potential route. Animators take care to ensure that the tour stays walkable and doesn’t cover too great a distance, but the bulk of the organizing is done by the students themselves.

The class then divides into small groups of around four people, with each group responsible for animating a specific site on the tour. Research techniques (libraries, interviews, online searches) are introduced, helping the kids give their presentations some depth. For the next assignment (assignment two), each group will take some time outside of class to scout out their location and begin to work on their public presentations.

The third day the class usally breaks up into two or three groups and covers parts of the proposed route of the tour. Teachers and animators work with students to gauge the feasibility of the tour, and help students come up with creative ways to engage with the public. In 2008, their presentations included skits, posters, in-person interviews with firemen, business owners, activists, politicians and religious leaders, and even reenactments of local history. Overall, the emphasis is on helping students look at their built environment as something made and changeable, something they have a stake in-a perspective that often leads to fun and inspiring results. After this class, for assignment three, the groups meet and begin working on a script for their Jane’s Walk tour.

During the fourth class, students return to their small groups and finish organizing their presentations for the big day. Animators and teachers circulate and help students add pizzazz and creativity to their presentations. Some groups think big-with guest appearances, costumes, or theatrics-but the specifics get worked out by each group of students. The animators help iron out any kinks in the proposed route, and the stage is set for the walk itself, which takes place during the fifth class.

For its debut in 2008, the Jane’s Walk School tours were mostly given to students, teachers, and a few friends, but many students expressed interest in opening up the walks to the general public and inviting neighbourhood personalities to attend. The walks themselves were a great mix of learning and fun, of research and creativity, of exploration and experimentation. Students encountered ideas about urbanism for the first time, and gained a new appreciation of the architectural, cultural, and historical diversity of their school neighbourhoods.

Teachers were equally enthusiastic: they loved the energy and participatory learning that the curriculum brought to their classrooms, and their leadership ensured the success of all the school walks. At University of Toronto schools, the Jane’s Walk program was so popular students brought it back in the fall session as an extra-curricular club. They had invited guests and speakers and created several more walking tours for the public.

It’s important for youth to learn about cities and urban issues because urban design profoundly affects them. Few people, young or old, know a lot about how these decisions in design and planning get made and even less about how to influence them. This program encourages young participants to take a more active role in shaping the places and cities where they live. The importance of engaging youth in these conversations is clearly demonstrated in the conversation that occasionally takes place about skate parks, but a more insidious version of it is present in the paranoia that you hear from some people about teenagers ‘hanging out in public places’, as though this is an illegal activity. Better spaces for young people to hang out, play some sports and socialize would help the situation, and most would agree that is the solution. Informing youth about their right to take part in that conversation, and educating them about how architecture, design and planning create these situations, raises everyone’s urban literacy.
Jane’s Walk School Edition is available to all interested teachers and students. If you decide to use the Jane’s Walk School Edition curriculum, we ask that you let us know so we can continue to monitor and improve this initiatve.

Although spring is a great time to do a walk, in order to coincide with the national walks on the first weekend in May, any time of year is fine.

Below is downloadable powerpoint presentation that can be used to help develop a walking tour and supplement the school editions. We’ve also posted PDF files of the teaching notes to go along with it, which you can print out and use for getting discussion going, asking questions and digging deeper. Let us know what you think and if there’s any way we can make this presentation more useful.

Download Jane’s Walk Powerpoint (PDF)
Download Jane’s Walk Powerpoint (PPT)

SCHOOL WALKS CURRICULUM

LESSON 1: INTRODUCING JANE’S WALKS
Download Lesson 1 Teaching Notes (PDF)
Download Assignment 1 (PDF)

1. Introduction (20 minutes)
• Thinking about cities, urbanism and the built and natural environment
• Brief Jane Jacobs biography
• Talk about previous Walks
• Outline of plan for the rest of the curriculum

Objective: to introduce Jane Jacobs’ philosophy, to generate ideas for a guided Walk in the area

2. Exercise (20 minutes)
• Break into small groups
• Ask groups to mark the following locations on photocopied maps of the area:
• What are some important meeting spaces in your area? (important for food, prayer, recreation, laughing with friends, local politics - think broadly)
• What spaces are you most proud of in your area?
• What are some important green-spaces?
• What are some interesting short-cuts you take?
• Where do you feel most comfortable?
• Are there any important historical spaces in your area?
• Where do you not feel welcome or safe? Is there turf that is off limits to you?
• Are there spaces you would like to see change?
• Are there any important or interesting landmarks, spaces or shops not yet marked on the map?
• Can you think of an important question or idea that should be identified on this map?

Objective: Get the people to take their own observations and experiences seriously, and not think of the Walk as a tour of places that might matter to other people. Jane’s Walks are highly personal, idiosyncratic and a view of the neighbourhood from the perspective of the guides. They decide what’s important and relevant.

3. Conclusion (20 minutes)
• Based on the exercise, discuss some examples of possible stops on the Walk
• Give a few examples of moving from the mapped ideas to creating stops using the maps to stimulate ideas
• Steps towards next lesson: explain that we will be picking locations and groups
• Assign homework.

Homework: on your own time, walk around the area and/or think about possible stops on the Walk.
Objective: Prepare for following lesson.

LESSON 2: DEVELOPING THE WALK
Download Lesson 2 Teaching Notes (PDF)
Download Assignment 2 (PDF)

1. Quick Review (5 minutes)

2. Deciding on the stops (15 minutes)
• Ask everyone to report back their findings re: stop ideas. Review the ideas and come to some decisions as a group about which locations/ideas should be developed further
• Remind people that ‘you decide what’s important and relevant’, ie: the place that you care about the most.

3. Exercise (20 minutes)
• Work in small groups to identify information-gathering required to animate their location and discuss ideas.
• Review of images, maps, and
• Mapping or sketching ideas
• Small groups report back to the larger group (20 minutes)

Objective: To identify possible points of interest, and what information is needed to develop the stops.
Homework: Research your stops

LESSON 3: SCOUTING THE STOPS
Download Lesson 3 Teaching Notes (PDF)
Download Assignment 3 (PDF)

1. Review/progress report (5 minutes)

2. Exercise: Small groups visit their stops (50 minutes)

Objective: To refine scripts/talking points about each stop on the Walk

3. Wrap-up and assign homework (5 minutes)

Homework: Complete any further necessary research and complete scripts/talking points

LESSON 4: PERFECTING THE WALK
Download Lesson 4 Teaching Notes (PDF)

1. Review (5 minutes)

2. Break into small groups and prepare presentation at each stop (55 Minutes)
• may include a trip to the library, use of maps and materials
• May include additional guest animators to work with groups (e.g. architect, city planner, local activist, artist, local resident historian)

Objective: To be ready for the Walk; complete research, scripts/talking points and finish up any final details, such and inviting additional animators, etc.
Homework: Prepare for your Jane’s Walk; take one last look at your stops, rehearse/review your script/talking points

THE DAY OF JANE’S WALK
Download The Day of Jane’s Walk Notes (PDF)

Encourage the student guides to take on an ambassadorial role, this is their tour and the participants are eager to hear what they have to say. Guides shouldn’t assume any of the other students know the material that they are about to present. They are there to enliven, teach and share their stories with others, their enthusiasm will be contagious. These are places they care about, and as we have learned, the places where we live, work and go to school all have interesting stories behind them.

And don’t forget to take pictures, share them, post them on our Flickr site, or send them along to us here at Jane’s Walk. We’d love to see what you’re up to.

• Jane’s Walks usually happen the first weekend in May.
• Jane’s Walks are free and open to the public
• Community walks are open to the public, and Jane’s Walk can help with promotion of the community Walk.
• School Edition Jane’s Walks do not have to take place on the official Jane’s Walk weekend, they can happen before or after since they are usually not included in the public schedule of the walks (this is entirely at the discretion of the school). Walks could be open to other teachers, parents or local guests (as appropriate)