Teaching with Courage

Teaching With Courage:

Relationship Building in the Classroom

Founders Lindsay Pontius and Craig Maravich bring more than 50 years of combined classroom and artistic practice to Courageous Stage’s signature professional development course.

Teaching with Courage is an invigorating, reflective, and deeply practical learning experience that serves students by strengthening educators first, so they can lead with creativity and collaborate more effectively.

Delivered asynchronously, this fully accredited course goes beyond day-to-day teaching strategy, focusing instead on building process fluency, relational awareness, and courageous practice. Participants learn through curated video instruction, guided readings, and sustained creative work that models the conditions they will later facilitate for students.

This is professional development that restores momentum, expands possibility, and supports educators as architects of courageous, connected classrooms.

DATES

Start date: Mar 9th, 2026 (3/9/2029)**

Length: 6 Weeks
PRICING

25-Day asynchronous course.........................................$1,100

25-Day accredited* asynchronous course......................$1,535

*Includes 3 graduate credits awarded by Vermont State University

***registration for VSU closes February 16th 2026
PRICING

For additional course information

Courageous Stage Team -- gianna@courageousstage.org

For additional registration information

Center for Schools Team -- cfs@castleton.edu
CONTACT

WHO IS IT FOR?

Teaching with Courage is for educators ready to expand how learning feels and functions in their classrooms. Designed for teachers across grade levels and subjects, the course supports those who want to strengthen collaboration, deepen relationships, and reclaim creative capacity in their daily practice. Ideal for educators seeking sustainable strategies that fuel courage, curiosity, community, and joy.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT?

Teaching with Courage is a primarily online, asynchronous professional development experience anchored by three live cohort sessions on Zoom. Each participant engages in sustained creative process work that models the structures they will later facilitate for students, emphasizing iteration, inquiry, and perspective-taking. The course combines multiple modalities for applied learning, including:

Curated videos blending theory and practice
Readings with guided reflection prompts
A relationship-planning workbook
Multidisciplinary creative projects
Three live cohort sessions on Zoom for peer learning and collaboration

This approach equips educators with practical fluency in creative process while strengthening self-awareness, collaboration, and classroom leadership.

COURSE GOALS

Teaching with Courage aims to expand educators’ capacity to lead creatively, teach collaboratively, and design classroom cultures rooted in belonging. Participants will:

Strengthen observation and listening through intentional noticing
Practice powerful question forms to read and respond to the environment
Learn the essential mechanics of creative process without losing momentum
Articulate and own their unique artistry as educators
Apply joy as a tool for equity, justice, and community

The course builds confidence in experimentation, perspective-taking, and relationship-centered learning.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, educators will be able to:

Observe with purpose, using noticing to support regulation, engagement, and insight.
Lead through questions, practicing creative interrogation, strength-based perspective, and “yes, and” responsiveness.
Design and sustain process, breaking work into bite-sized parts, generating ideas, iterating, and holding multiple perspectives.
Define and own artistry, articulating point of view, identifying pitfalls, and embedding creativity in practice.
Build community through joy, applying joy to advance equity, justice, and shared belonging.

These objectives translate directly into improved classroom culture, collaboration, and educator resilience.

Week 1

Me and My Class

Readings: Palmer, Packet: Brentro, Muhammed

Assignments: 3 Journal responses over week, reflecting on Circles and Signals

Complete Evaluation, due Sunday
Week 2

Me as Learner

Readings: Palmer, Pontius pamphlet Packet:

Assignments: Discussion, Me as a Learner, due Monday, 2 journal responses on Strength-based Approach.

Project: Dreamscape due Sunday
Week 3

Me and Process

Readings: Packet: Booth, Rilke

Assignments: Reflection on Creative Capacities due Sunday, Evidence of collaborative time with partner via Canvas on “ Letters”

Projects: Begin “Letters” project based on a TED TALK
Week 4

We as Learners

Readings: Packet: Lederach, Brown

Assignments: Reflections on Me as Artist and list of community agreements

Projects:” Letters” completed project and bibliography due on Friday, Relationship Plan Workbook due Sunday.
Week 5 & 6

We as a Community of Learners

Readings: Muhammad

Assignments: Strategic Relationship Plan completed Friday of week 6.
Required Texts

Booth, Eric. Making Change: Teaching artist and their role in shaping a better world (2023). Betteryet Press.Muhammad, Gholdy. Unearthing Joy: a guide to culturally and historically responsive teaching and learning. (2023) New York: Scholastic.Pontius, Lindsay (2024). Relationships matter: Lessons from a half-ton teacher, Middlebury College.Courageous Stage. Teaching with Courage Packet (2024) with readings fromBrentro, L. (2017), Palmer, P. (2020), Rilke (2017 ed.), Lederach, J.P. (2005), brown, a.m. (2017)

CHECKOUT

Accredited

Use the checkout window to the right to purchase Courageous Stage's Accredited Teaching with Courage course. Please note that you will not gain immediate access to the material upon making your purchase, as the course starts on March 9th 2026. With your purchase, you are reserving your spot. The material will unlock on the first day of the course.

For PO payments, please contact gianna@courageousstage.org.

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Non-Accredited

Use the checkout window to the right to purchase Courageous Stage's Teaching with Courage course, without Accreditation. Please note that you will not gain immediate access to the material upon making your purchase, as the course starts on March 9th 2026. With your purchase, you are reserving your spot. The material will unlock on the first day of the course.