Tuning in
to Each Other
Common Ground
We need young people who can talk with everyone in any room.
Before their first seminar at their dream school, or that first question they’re asked
in an auditorium lecture, adolescents can apply discussion skills in countless contexts. In history class, wondering out loud how a given current event will play out in the next 25 years and using historical precedence to support their ideas. The debate among friends about what to do this weekend. The moment the group chat becomes a conversation on whether to give in to the latest episode of peer pressure. Bringing up a question they’ve been wanting to ask a current teacher: comfortably starting that conversation, then holding their own respectfully and confidently.
Even negotiating the pros and cons of what to have for dinner tonight can see a transformation with these skills.
Drawing on Harkness teaching, this virtual workshop will ask students to discuss subjects collaboratively for the good of the group.
They will practice offering empathy to peers as they develop tools to:
Open a discussion
Develop an idea
Synthesize seemingly opposing points
Affirm a previous comment
Challenge a previous comment
Invite completion of a thought
Cite textual evidence / anecdotes / current events
Clarify differences of opinion
Transition to a new / old topic
Lead peers to an observation / a question / a pivot
Create closure
This is not a new idea.
Worthy books teach communication.
This workshop leads kids to
own their learning.
As they practice the skills, they will be asked to get to know their minds, harness their listening and thinking, and collaborate.
Step by step
I’ll be there
for them.
Time and again, as I listen to youngsters’ voices and hesitations, as I honor their instincts, they
let me help them learn.
With time
The more each person sees the value of another, the more interdependent we become. We can solve problems with each other, we can expand our learning and, through this process, maybe tilt the world a little.
One 12-week workshop offered for fall 2026.
Limit 9 students.
What’s Included
12 weeks of twice weekly 60-minute Zoom sessions
Check-ins with students between sessions
Leadership opportunities for each student: every group member will be empowered to try different roles
Weekly emailed updates on what’s happening in the group
Monthly emailed updates on your teen’s progress
What we’ll talk about
Approaching media as literature, we’ll begin with movie and tv show clips that demonstrate communication issues. We’ll explore implications of the characters’ words and actions for their relationships with each other and for each character’s personal growth. Obviously this is a way to get learners comfortable with talking about talking and listening, from a safe distance.
To keep the work relevant to the individuals in the group, I’ll respond with content driven by the kids’ interests.
To actively develop students’ discussion skills, I’ll steadily ask them to connect their insights about the material to their roles in conversation.
Respect
Community norms of respect will be established from the first day.
Bigotry, bullying, harassment, intimidation, and abuse directly oppose the workshop’s goals — most importantly because these behaviors hurt individual and community safety. If blatant abuse, intimidation, harassment, bullying, and/or bigotry surface in the group — or if an equally disturbing behavior repeats after a warning — I reserve the right to remove the offender from the workshop without a refund.
My job is to protect the group.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Tentatively, Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:30-9:30pm ET.
We’ll take a week off around Thanksgiving. -
Mainly 9th grade - PG. Some 8th graders are ready to learn alongside older students. I’m open to having 8th graders in the workshop on a case by case basis.
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In independent schools and in private tutoring for adolescents at public schools, I have worked with many students with learning differences. I am glad to engage with you on neuropsych evaluations, IEPs, and related considerations.
Adolescents with various diagnosed learning differences can thrive in this workshop. When I know their diagnoses, I can support them more fittingly.
If you think your teen might have a learning difference, we can connect on possible paths for them.
The hourly rate applies to all communication outside of the weekly and monthly updates listed above. -
$4200. This includes:
12 weeks of twice-a-week, 60-minute workshops
Check-ins with students in and between sessions
Weekly emailed updates on what’s happening in the group
Monthly emailed updates on your teen’s progress
Flexible payment plans available.
Consultation and conversation in any form that stems from the updates, or that begins outside the updates, happens with a $500 hourly rate. -
Students will gain awareness of what it takes to participate actively and lead a group productively. They will become more conscious of their role in a community — their strengths, potential, and what they can focus on to reach their potential. Quiet thinkers and eager talkers will learn tools to balance their individuality with others’.
While this is an introductory class, learners will be shown strategies to keep growing this attentiveness across contexts throughout their academic, personal, and professional lives.
In a private workshop, the learner will have more chances to practice these roles and skills with moment-to-moment feedback. The student will get frequent guidance on transferring the lessons from the one-on-one to a group context. -
A one-on-one workshop is $12,000. This includes:
12 weeks of personalized 60-minute workshops, with in-depth attention on your learner’s questions and needs
Twice a week
Check-ins with your youngster between sessions
After each session, an emailed update on your teen’s progress
Adding weekly sessions is possible.
Flexible payment plans are available.
Consultation and conversation in any form that stems from the updates, or that begins outside the updates, is at a $500 hourly rate.