Services:
Experiential Learning & Certification
“THIS IS THE MOST IMPACTFUL LEARNING I’VE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE. IT HAS TOTALLY CHANGED ME AND MY WORK”
~ Laurie Yaussi Teacher, Thompson Valley School District
“Rather than some work of this nature that uses shame and blame to address issues of race, gender, etc., The Sum’s team’s approach honors perceptions of both self and others. Before we can dismantle unjust systems and institutions, we must understand ourselves. This work, does that.”
~ Susan Sherman, Executive Director, Shenandoah National Park Trust, Charlottesville, Virginia
,, – “
| # | Service | Cost | When/How |
| 1 | 30-minute workshop: Intro to the Power of Difference Certification (PDC)–required before registering for the PDC Red Belt/Level 1 | Free | 2nd Monday of each month–noon. To attend, click HERE at the appointed time or cut and paste this link: https://meet.google.com/jxc-hoba-mww |
| 2 | Group “Power-Hour”: 1-hour weekly. Let’s grow a community of practice together: share your challenges, questions, scenarios, wisdom with others! | Suggested $10 donation–donate HERE | 3rd Monday of each month from noon to 1. To attend, click HERE at the appointed time or cut and paste this link: https://meet.google.com/jxc-hoba-mww |
| 3 | Power of Difference Certification (PDC): Red Belt (Level 1) | $200 for each “belt”/level | Email info@thesum.org with your decision after attending the PDC Intro Workshop (#3 above). |
| 4 | Tailored Workshops: groups of all sizes, online or in-person. Let’s have a conversation about what you need. Click the green button below for a list of ideas/descriptions. | VARIED | Email info@thesum.org or book a video call: HERE |
RESULTS
The PDC has been shown to significantly improve personal and professional effectiveness related to our differences of religion, race, culture, class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. It was originally developed for educators over 20 or 30 years with many brilliant contributors. Over time, it has been found to be just as effective for anyone from any field: business, law enforcement, healthcare, nonprofits, and government. This is because it’s a process of going inside and getting the support we need rather than trying to change people, organizations, or the world. We become the change. We Inspire the change. We support ourselves (and others) to become the people we want to be: to find what lights us up, what calls us, to POWER-UP, and to live from solidarity across our differences…for a thriving and just world where all are honored and celebrated and no one stands alone.
THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE CERTIFICATION (PDC) KEY POINTS
- 7 belts/levels (red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, black)
- You must demonstrate all learning outcomes (& pass a test) to proceed to next belt/level
- Participation in a 1-hour intro is required (no cost) before registering for RED BELT/Level 1
- The cost is $200 for certification for each belt/level (money back guarantee)
- Payment plan, sliding scale, scholarship information, or work trade possible
- Ask about graduate credits
- Meeting dates/times decided by cohort
- Learning happens independently, w/ a partner, in the small group, and in the large group
- Activities are primarily experiential but include, articles, videos, book chapters, & reflections
- Each belt includes weekly independent work (~2 hrs), partner work (~1 hr), small group (1 hr), and a large group (1 hr): total of ~30 hours over 4 weeks.
- High feedback and high accountability
AS A RESULT OF THE PDC, PARTICIPANTS REPORT EXPERIENCING:
- greater effectiveness across difference
- recognition of our own privilege and how to use it effectively
- impact for others, generally, as intended
- an ability to live from solidarity across differences
- pride without prejudice
- an ability to “courageously refuse both silence and violence”
- the courage to withdraw participation in violent aspects of systems
- the capacity to catalyze meaningful systemic change without effort
- greater internal stability: less rising and falling on external conditions
- greater personal clarity, mission, and fulfillment
- an ability to hold others accountable without blame or shame
- less burnout and overwhelm related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
THE POWER OF DIFFERENCE CERTIFICATION (PDC) KEY POINTS
- 7 belts/levels (red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, black)
- You must demonstrate all learning outcomes (& pass a test) to proceed to next belt/level
- Participation in a 1-hour intro is required (no cost) before registering for RED BELT/Level 1
- The cost is $200 for certification for each belt/level (money back guarantee)
- Payment plan, sliding scale, scholarship information, or work trade possible
- Ask about graduate credits
- Meeting dates/times decided by cohort
- Learning happens independently, w/ a partner, in the small group, and in the large group
- Activities are primarily experiential but include, articles, videos, book chapters, & reflections
- Each belt includes weekly independent work (~2 hrs), partner work (~1 hr), small group (1 hr), and a large group (1 hr): total of ~30 hours over 4 weeks.
- High feedback and high accountability
AS A RESULT OF THE PDC, PARTICIPANTS REPORT EXPERIENCING:
- greater effectiveness across difference
- recognition of our own privilege and how to use it effectively
- impact for others, generally, as intended
- an ability to live from solidarity across differences
- pride without prejudice
- an ability to “courageously refuse both silence and violence”
- the courage to withdraw participation in violent aspects of systems
- the capacity to catalyze meaningful systemic change without effort
- greater internal stability: less rising and falling on external conditions
- greater personal clarity, mission, and fulfillment
- an ability to hold others accountable without blame or shame
- less burnout and overwhelm related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
Learning Outcomes for RED BELT, LEVEL 1 – WHO I AM
“To know where we are going, we must know who we are. To know who we are we must know where we came from.”
Participants explore identity and intersectionality both in general and our own: past, present, and future.
It’s also an opportunity to listen and share with others and to discover our similarities and differences.
| Learning Outcomes: “Participants will be able to…” |
|
1. Articulate the ways you most strongly identify, how these came to be, how much they matter to you, & why – including how your different identities intersect. 2. Connect identity, quantum physics, consciousness, and the Power of Difference Model. 3. Identify your/others Cultural Communication Styles and Values and Cultural Conflict Style. 4. Identify your cultural assumptions and Values according to Kohl’s research. 5. Identify your areas of marginalization and privilege and their impact for your identity. 6. Describe the concept of fragility regarding differences and the places you experience it most. 7. Clarify and summarize your history and trauma (the ACE–Adverse Childhood Experiences) and your Attachment Style and how this has played out in your life. 8. Describe your primary PDM pattern/assets/limitations/learning edges according to the PDA 9. Articulate how external systems represent unconscious externalizations of internal systems & vice versa. 10. Identify your personality type (Meyers/Briggs) and primary intelligences (Gardener). 11. Identify their “calling”/mission/purpose/what they would accomplish with no limitations–and how it relates to standing in solidarity across our differences. |
If you would like to be notified of the next online, hour-long, introduction to the Power of Difference Certification and the RED BELT/LEVEL 1, (or have any other questions), please submit the information below and let us know in the message box. Thanks!
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