Dream through collapse, and give incarcerated youth the gift of literacy.

Greetings! I hope that you and your people are doing as well as you can, in these dystopian times.

I’ve been working a lot with grief lately. This brings up loss, alienation, pain, and numbness - but also a sense of being more alive. As Camille Sapara Barton puts it, “I sense that learning to be with my grief will be a lifelong process of repatterning old ways of being and consciously practicing what I would like to embody.”

One of the many things I grieve is dreams - all the joys we could have pursued, nurtured, and fulfilled more easily if only we lived in a more caring society.

My biggest dream is to have an intergenerational learning center on an urban farm and food forest. We’ll have outdoor gathering spaces, a collective kitchen, and a huge sunlit room where children, elders, and disabled adults will gather to sing, dance, play, and tell stories. Caregivers will use the space for mutual aid: sharing support, growing relationships, and building power as the life-saving essential workers that we are.

This dream brings up grief because it feels so far away (real estate, laws, codes, transportation, time, capacity, funding) and yet - this is such a basic dream. Capitalism has twisted us so far from our birthright as human beings: we belong to the land, and we belong to each other.

What are your dreams? Do you have dreams that you have forgotten? Dreams you've let go? Dreams you have deferred? Dreams that you are nurturing, incubating, and caring for?

Prosocial Learning is an incubator of sorts. Over the years, I have resigned from various jobs as special ed teacher, developmental therapist, and community organizer. They were all dream jobs, on some level: sacred work that I loved with all my heart. All were underfunded. None were sustainable. I’m building Prosocial Learning as a socially responsible small business for families who have been marginalized by the school system or just don’t fit in that school “box."

At the moment, I’m facilitating online classes and tutoring, volunteering as a youth educator in a gorgeous garden, and doing reading and writing intervention with adolescents and teens in a juvenile detention center. It’s a scrappy little patchwork of dreams, and it’s not yet sustainable. But as the war on education rages on, we have to build sanctuary spaces on the margins. I’m grateful to be able to do that.

I’d love to hear more about you, and how you’re doing education in these wild times. Write back and share your questions (or dreams). Better yet, schedule a virtual coffee chat. Check out my upcoming offerings, and links to people and orgs who you should know about.

And please don’t forget that we are living in extraordinary times. It’s not normal for a wrestling executive to be in charge of the Department of Education (though it is absurdly, tragically hilarious, as far as I’m concerned.) It’s not normal to seek human help and find nothing but bots. It’s not normal to watch the climate collapse in real time, while our tax dollars pay armed men to kidnap people off the streets.

If you are keeping other people alive, or nurturing their desire to learn and grow, you are amazing. I hope you can take a moment today to love on yourself, and to glimpse yourself - even as life pulls you in too many directions - as the whole person that you are.

Warmly,

Kate

Literacy Tutoring. Learning to read, spell, and write? Want to strengthen your academic or creative writing? Get support from an accomplished writer with master’s degrees in Special Education and Creative Writing, and training in EBLI (Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction)! I tutor all ages - adult learners welcome.

Authentic Tutoring. Get customized solutions for math, executive functioning skills, neuro affirming family behavior support, or planning your homeschool dream schedule.

All classes are disability forward and neuro affirming! Dyslexia, ADHD, autism, 2e, and other disabilities and developmental differences welcome and embraced.

Mindful Movement Adventure. In this fun,social class, we take imaginative field trips each week using creative movement & sensory play to explore the natural world. We play, get exercise, & learn calming self-regulation skills! Sign up for ages 6-9 or 3-7.

Story World. Fiction is good for the brain AND heart. Boost your child’s listening, comprehension, critical thinking & social-emotional skills via quality literature, mindfulness practices, conversations, journaling, & play. Ages 5-8.

Music is Magic: Social, Speech, and Motor Skills Singing Circle for All Ages and Abilities. Singing has a powerful impact on the brain - and heart. Sing, do fingerplays, and improve language & movement skills in this joyful class facilitated by a child development specialist. Ages 3-7.

Read, Spell, Write! Small Group S2P Phonics Intervention. Get excited to read and write! Join this small intensive for EBLI (Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction), a speech-to-print approach for word work in listening, speaking, spelling, and reading. Level K/1 (ages 5-7) and Level 2/3 (ages 7-9) available now! Classes for older readers coming in 2026.

I’ll be expanding class offerings, including classes for tweens & teens, in 2026. I'd love to hear from you about what classes you’d like. Take the survey and get $20 credit towards classes or tutoring!

• Reclaiming Teaching and Learning in the Age of AI. In this podcast, Chanea Bond talks about how she went from “leveraging” AI in the classroom to banning it, while simultaneously giving a master class on how to spark student voice and teach authentic, community-centric writing. It’s so good, I listened twice!
• Thanksgiving, Un-Thanksgiving, or National Day of Mourning? Learn about Indigenous People’s Sunrise Gathering on Alcatraz. Use Native Land Digital to research (and support) local Indigenous communities. Learn about Land Back, and consider going Beyond Land Acknowledgement.
• Learn about Dyslexic Superpowers with Barb Steinberg’s Empowerment Padlet. This is a treasure trove of dyslexia-affirming resources, from books and videos for kids to resources for parents and teachers. And/or check out Barb’s webinar, Celebrating the Strengths of Students with Dyslexia.

Does your child live with chronic illness like Long Covid or ME/CFS? Check out the Youth Advisory Panel, online hangouts, Discord group, or virtual choir at Long Covid Kids.

Genders & Sexualities Alliance/Gay-Straight Alliance: The Official GSA Teen Club "A social & support GSA for homeschool & after-school teens led by student officers. Connect with other LGBTQ+ teens & allies! In this safe space, we learn & talk about various issues teens face, have social time & a lot of fun!” Hosted by Dr. Kai Kafferly on Outschool. Ages 13-18.

Lgbtq+ Rainbow Homeroom & Wrap-Up. "A space for LGBTQ+ and allied homeschoolers to check in, connect, and get organized for the week. We’ll start with a short community check-in, giving learners space to share wins, challenges, and goals. Discounts available!” Hosted by Becca Morris on Outschool. Ages 13-17.

"No one educates anyone else, nor do we educate ourselves; we educate one another in communion, in the context of living in this world.” - Paulo Freire

Kate O’Rourke, Prosocial Learning, LLC

prosocialxd.com

kate@prosocialxd.com