Frequently Asked Questions about Doors to Useful Learning and Jo Montie
- How did Doors to Useful Learning start?
- What are Jo Montie’s professional credentials spanning the last 20 years?
- What has Jo been up to in more recent years?
- Why is literacy work woven into everything that Doors to Useful Learning does?
- What other people and experiences have influenced Jo?
- How do I hire Doors to Useful Learning, or explore this possibility?
- How are fees determined?
- What if I have work that is more than a “one person” consulting job?
- How does Doors to Useful Learning promote sustainability and being green?
- How can the information on this website be used, and do I need to get any permission?
- Why the name “Doors to Useful Learning”?
- Why a dedication?
- Who are Carol Montie, Len Montie, and Jane Addams?
How did Doors to Useful Learning start?
Doors to Useful Learning started as a seed in 2005 and grew into Doors to Useful Learning, LLC (limited liability company) on October 6th, 2008. Jo Montie (founder of the business) chose to formalize the consulting work that she had been doing over the years, and to clarify the focus on core life skills (e.g., conflict resolution, social-emotional learning, including others) that interface with other areas of learning.
In entering a partnership with Doors to Useful Learning, you will work with Jo Montie, consultant and learning catalyst. Read on to learn more about Jo and her credentials, experiences, core beliefs, and inspirations.
What are Jo Montie’s professional credentials spanning the last 20 years?
Jo Montie brings a range of teaching, organizational, and visionary skills needed for growing imaginative, responsive, and useful consulting and learning work. Jo’s capacities are a result of her life experiences and professional credentials and training, and these strengths continue to expand due to reflection and action on these experiences.
Ms. Montie holds a graduate degree, a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota (1997) with an emphasis on reflective practice and coursework in special education, and teaching and learning. Ms. Montie also holds an Interdisciplinary Studies Certificate (1997, University of MN) reflecting training in policies and services affecting the lives of children, youth, and adults with disabilities from multiple disciplinary viewpoints.
Jo’s undergraduate work grew out of extensive training work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Dr. Lou Brown (special education for students with cognitive disabilities) and Dr. Lisbeth Vincent (early childhood special education) resulting in a Bachelor of Science in Behaviorial Disabilities/Special Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1984), and graduate work training (inclusive education and reflective practice) with Dr. Jennifer York-Barr and Dr. Terri Vandercook during the 1990’s.
Jo Montie has over 20 years of professional work experience in schools which started through work as a special education teacher. Work over the past two decades has included consulting and adult education on topics ranging from inclusive education, collaborative partnerships, social-emotional learning topics, and conflict resolution. After completing her undergraduate work as a special education teacher, Ms. Montie taught for seven years in several Minnesota school districts as a special education teacher, and then moved into consulting and teaching work including serving as project coordinator with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and consulting work including work with Project CREATE (formerly a conflict resolution nonprofit affiliated with Educators for Social Responsibility).
These experiences provide a powerful base of understanding and contextual knowledge for current day work in schools and communities, informed by Jo’s core values that include the inherent dignity and worth of all people and the need for unconditional belonging.
What has Jo been up to in more recent years?
In addition to providing consulting and collaboration services through Doors To Useful Learning, Jo Montie is also an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas (since 2003) where she works on both general education and special education issues, and delights in the hope and possibility of adults entering the teaching profession.
Another area of past as well as current work is in the area of using thoughtful children’s literature to support a wide range of learning goals. From 2003 to 2008 Jo served on the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award committee where she developed extensive knowledge of this amazing collection of books. Current work includes classroom and community partnerships using these books, combined with other learning tools, to develop perspective taking, conflict resolution, and social-emotional literacy skills.
Why is literacy work woven into everything that Doors to Useful Learning does?
Access to free and appropriate education is a basic human right, and language arts literacy development (reading, writing, speaking, listening, nontextual visual information, nonverbal communication) is a pivotal aspect of educational growth. In addition, expanding one’s reading/writing/communication literacy can be an important vehicle for learning about and advocating for other human rights.
Ms. Montie is deeply committed to literacy growth for all people. All people should be supported to expand their literacy development, including experiencing the joy, meaning, and power in accessing ideas written/communicated by other people, and all people should have ways to express their ideas (e.g., learning to write, access to writing tools) so that others can learn and listen to their voice. In situations where someone has severe intellectual disabilities, having support and access to literacy experiences should still be a part of that person’s experience, and can be done creatively and with individualized goals in mind. Jo’s recent work has further fed this desire for supporting people of all ages in expanding their language literacy that includes attention to reading, writing, speaking, listening, as well as nonverbal communication and other methods to communicate our ideas and learn about the world around us.
Jo is committed to literature and resources that promote the development of thinking and caring people, and in particular children’s literature genres of peace and justice, historical fiction, nonfiction, and social justice. Work on the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award committee expanded her understandings and commitment to using “children’s” literature as a source of reflection and social justice education for all ages.
Ms. Montie considers writing as an important vehicle for opening doors into new learning, including prompting new questions. Jo has written a number of books in partnership with colleagues, can be hired for writing work, and has a free monthly E-note that you can sign up for.
What other people and experiences have influenced Jo?
Jo’s work in schools, businesses, and community settings is informed by not only professional knowledge but also other critical life-changing experiences. Jo is a mom of Emma and Amelia, two incredibly energetic and awesome daughters who help her learn in new ways each day. Jo learns so much from and with her loving, life-long spouse, Carl. And being with both her mom (Carol) and dad (Len) during their living and dying processes were life-transforming experiences that have had lasting impact on how life is lived day-to-day. These people and experiences with these people are thickly woven into Jo’s being.
In addition, Jo’s brother (Jerry) and her other parents (Joyce and Don) continue to be powerful sources of grounding in her life work. And there are so many others to acknowledge in Jo’s supportive, creative, loving community of family, friends, and colleagues who are a part of that compassionate anchor of community. This unique combination of professional experience, family support, and community service has deeply impacted Jo’s view of the work to be done and how to best do this work. Although too numerous to name all of you, just know that you, too, are a part of Doors to Useful Learning if you have had a presence in some way in Jo’s life!
How do I hire Doors to Useful Learning, or explore this possibility?
To discuss the possibility of hiring Doors to Useful Learning, simply phone (612.481.2714) or email to begin sharing about what you/your organization needs and also to ask any questions about Doors to Useful Learning. In that initial conversation, Jo Montie of Doors to Useful Learning will then offer a suggested direction to go in our work together if you think that Doors to Useful Learning will meet your needs/your organization’s needs.
If you decide to hire Doors to Useful Learning for services, we negotiate a fee. Jo also outlines a plan (scope and sequence of the work, timelines, agreements) in an email before moving forward, to ensure that plan attends to your expressed needs since the bottom line is about useful learning individualized to your situation.
How are fees determined?
Depending upon the type and scale of the work, services can be charged at either an hourly rate or a “by gig” rate. We negotiate a fee that considers the type and amount of work to be done, the “going rate” for such services, and your ability to pay.
What if I have work that is more than a “one person” consulting job?
No problem! Jo and Doors to Useful Learning is equipped to both do solo consultant work, and also delighted to collaborate with other consultants and learning partners. When there is a consulting job that requires more than one person, there is a cadre of colleagues that Ms. Montie and Doors to Useful Learning can recommend to you, or you may already have someone in mind to join the partnership. Doors to Useful Learning is highly collaborative and works well across and within many groups.
How does Doors to Useful Learning promote sustainability and being green?
Ms. Montie and Doors to Useful Learning are committed to practices that contribute to the health and sustainability of the earth and all the interdependent life that lives on this spinning, miraculous green and blue planet. To this end, Doors to Useful Learning seeks to reuse, reduce and recycle as much as possible, and to make purchasing choices that consider the impact on future generations. Our web site host ThinkHost is powered by 100% renewable energy, running on solar and wind power. Many classroom materials are from Artscraps and many of our teaching artifacts are thrift store finds or hand-me-downs. Paper is printed on reused or post-consumer waste paper when possible.
A second big way that Doors to Useful Learning contributes to the sustainability of the planet is by focusing consulting work on attitudes, actions, and practices that build thoughtful responses to conflict and difference, and living in relationship instead of using violent and destructive responses to conflict and difference. And our work embraces a belief in the capacity for human beings to learn new things, and to learn to make positive choices. Human beings have the capacity to survive and learn to live interdependently with the living planet. We need to develop more will, skills and habits to support a long term view of life on the planet.
How can the information on this website be used, and do I need to get any permission?
Doors to Useful Learning, LLC offers information on the internet to provide background on the types of services available for hire. If you like what you see on this website, please pass along the site link to others. And we hope that at some point in time you contact us to explore hiring Doors to Useful Learning for services.
This website also provides information to feed and inspire you in your learning process about social justice and conflict resolution. If you wish to use these ideas further--which we hope you do, here are a few requests:
Please appropriately quote the source of materials used and provide citations, and point people toward this web site and our work. Print “Doors to Useful Learning” and the website name (Doors to Useful Learning, LLC, www.d2uLearning.com) on materials reproduced or quoted.
As a courtesy and also as a way to keep us informed as to what is the most useful, please tell what you are using and how it is being used. In particular please seek permission from us to use full articles or any other work with a copyright symbol © on it.
Do not use the word Doors to Useful Learning, the graphic designs (doors logo), or any photos from the website without seeking permission, since they are specific to this work. In particular, the phrase “Doors to Useful Learning” and the doors logo were developed specifically for this business, Doors to Useful Learning, LLC.
Why the name “Doors to Useful Learning”?
The idea of naming the business Doors to Useful Learning was generated by Ms. Montie, after much brainstorming and pondering.
In selecting the word and images of “Doors”, consider:
- there are many entrances into meaningful learning, many openings to useful learning;
- sometimes with learning, one needs to find the right key to open up a certain door to new learning;
- at times a new door opens as another door closes;
- doors are openings that can lead inward and outward, symbolic of the learning journey that all can pursue—both internal and external knowledge are important.
In choosing the phrase “Useful Learning” consider:
- learning must be connected to one’s situation and perceived as relevant, not detached and irrelevant…in other words, it needs to be useful.
Doors to Useful Learning is about opening and moving through doors that help us access learning that holds connection, meaning, and usability…the bottom line is about creating useful learning and increasing our capacity to think, care, and connect.
Why a dedication?
The work of Doors to Useful Learning and Jo Montie is inspired by and dedicated to 3 people from the past, and to all children and adults of both today and into the future. A dedication is a way to honor the legacy of work started by others; we follow in the footsteps of many before us and have an opportunity (some would say obligation) to carry on this work. A dedication that also honors those now and “yet to come” reminds us that we are not alone in this work, and are intertwined with the lives of others. We will not be the last ones to work on issues of peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution, yet, what we do now matters. What we do now is a part of influencing and making history.
Who are Carol Montie, Len Montie, and Jane Addams?
Doors to Useful Learning continues the legacy of Jo’s mother Carol Louise Panetti Montie, her father Leonard Alvin Montie, and kindred spirit Jane Addams. Carol Montie (1928-1999) offered the world affirmation, intuitive knowing, reaching out, and working out conflict. Carol also brought perseverance and organizational savvy to her peace and justice work, one of the results being the Mediation Center of Greater Green Bay who has named an annual award in her honor. Leonard Montie (1927-1999) offered friends and the world his deliberative and intentional living lightly on the planet, inquiry skills, sense of humor, and modeling actions as a world citizen. Leonard worked on systemic solutions to create a world beyond war (through committee work, letter writing and educational/action event planning), and sought to leave a low carbon footprint on the planet. Jane Addams (1860-1935) worked and walked with people, listened and reflected upon her learning with people, and used her writing, public speaking and lived experience as ways to transform the world. Many of her actions are noteworthy, although she is best known as founder of Hull House Settlement House in Chicago, for being the first American woman to received the Nobel Peace Prize (1931) and for her prolific writing and social reform actions.
Jo is called to do this work as a way to create a more peaceful, just world with the people of today and for generations yet to come. She is seeking to follow in the footsteps of Jane Addams, Leonard Alvin Montie, and Carol Louise Panetti Montie who made active choices, again and again, to take active roles in changing the world for the better instead of simply standing by and watching. Let us choose this path, people of today, and we move ourselves into creating a hopeful future!
