A Pedagogy Designed With You In Mind In the current educational climate, we are encouraged to believe that education is, and always has been, something that is openly available to all. This fails to take into account the historical exclusion of girls and women from educational institutions. For example, though universities have existed since ancient times, Canada did not see its first woman graduate from a university until 1875.  And even after Canadian women became a standard part of university campuses in the mid 1950s, the courses themselves were predominantly geared towards men.

To reclaim our past and insist that it become a part of human history is the task before us, for the future requires women, as well as men, shape the world's destiny. Judy Chicago

At wine women and philosophy our goal is to counter this bias - creating a pedagogy that challenges traditional approaches to learning, and the societal values and prejudices that emerge as a result. Starting with the Greek roots of the word pedagogy itself - 'boy child' and 'leadership' - we attempt to shake pedagogy up into something that appeals primarily to women and that takes seriously how women learn best.

Our pedagogy promotes peer-to-peer relationships.

In order to encourage open and friendly learning relationships and to accommodate different levels of ability and experience, wwp getaways are organized with 4 to 8 participants in mind.  This number, we feel, is small enough to ensure individual support and large enough to generate a lively exchange of ideas.

The quality of our tuition derives from the richness of the material we cover, and the  input of our salonnières and participants.

Wine women and philosophy introduces you to philosophical ideas that are interesting, stimulating and exciting. We recognise, however, that it is how those ideas are conveyed and shared in an educational setting that can make all the difference.  Our spa for the mind is attracting salonnières who are qualified to teach in their field, yes, but equally importantly, who are keen to share their expertise with other women. Our salonnières tend to be outward looking: they are enthusiastic about exploring a philosophical theme in and through a given activity, and they are actively involved in promoting educational opportunities aimed specifically at women. People who are likely to get the most out of wwp getaways are those who are curious about life, enthusiastic about learning, generous toward themselves and others, and open to new pedagogical approaches.

With your help, our aim is to develop a women-driven pedagogy.

Since 2005, and through ongoing discussions with wwp weekend participants, salonnières and friends, we have been shaping a pedagogy that takes the educational needs of women over 35 seriously.  This means: meeting with, listening to, reflecting upon, and responding to what women - our supporters and critics alike - have to say about their educational experiences and interests tapping into women's existing knowledges, social and professional networks, and passions making wine women and philosophy a place where women of different backgrounds can not only create for themselves more imaginative futures with regards to lifelong learning, but also contribute their own particular talents and energies to the world they live in.   If you want to be part of this discussion please contact us.