Jack Pearpoint

Books, Articles & Videos

Jack Pearpoint is an independent Canadian Publisher and catalyst for Inclusion, Diversity, Teamwork and CHANGE!

Jointly with his wife and partner, Lynda Kahn, Jack conducts workshops and consults with organizations and collaborates with people with disabilities and their families, to engage in positive change that honours the gifts and contributions of all. Earlier, Jack, his late wife Marsha Forest and John O’Brien, collaborated to create several person-centered approaches such as PATH, MAPS and Circles of Friends. The collaboration continues now with John and Lynda.

Jack’s forty years of organization experience include seven years in Africa implementing post-war reconstruction; sixteen years as President of Canada’s oldest literacy organization, Frontier College; and nearly two decades as a full-time publisher and presenter.

Jack is the founding director of the Marsha Forest Centre: Inclusion, Family and Community and remains its Executive Director. Jack and Lynda Kahn work internationally and have expanded their network beyond Canada and the United States to include people in Australia, England, India, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, and Uganda.

Books

DVD’s

Videos

• Engaging in Person-Centered Work – Conversations that Could Matter – Nebraska – Feb 6.2021
• The PATH DVD — Two PATH training Videos: Marsha Forest & Jack Pearpoint – Joe’s PATH (1993) & PATH in Action (Working with Groups)
• The MAPS DVD — Two MAPS training videos: Reclaiming MAPS; Shafik’s MAP, +  Judith Snow on Dreaming
• Person-Centered Work – Presentation for Nebraska – Jan. 25.2021 – jack Pearpoint & Lynda Kahn
• Inclusion Classics DVD — Cornell University
• Kids Belong Together (24 min.)   (1988) & With a Little Help From My Friends (60 min.)  1987
• Action for Inclusion — a primer on inclusion
• Facilitation for Inclusion DVD introduction 01
• Facilitation for Inclusion: MAPS Demonstration
• Facilitation for Inclusion: THE PATH Demonstration
• Facilitation for Inclusion: Introducing MAPS & PATH – Jack & Lynda
• Facilitation for Inclusion: Concluding Comments – Jack & Lynda
• Follow Your Passion – Build Around it – Jack & Lynda
• What is Person Centered? – Jack & Lynda
• SCIL – Student Centered Individualized Learning – 1980??

A Selection of Other Articles & Projects

Building from the model of the McGill Summer Institute (now the Toronto Summer Institute), many ‘institutes’ were ‘cloned.’ A few ran for a few years — like the Southwest Institute for Inclusive Schools — which ran for several years with many of the cast from the McGill Institute. This program hints at the spectrum of learning and deep engagement.

At the McGill Summer Institute in July 1993, we undertook to gather and ‘publish’ some of the thinking and  memories emerging from the Institute.  The concept of ‘open space’ emerged and it included the absurd notion of publishing a document by the end of the event.  It seemed like a good idea, so we did.
  Explorations in Inclusion – The Learning Community.McGill SI 1993

In the early 1990’s, a diverse group of committed leaders from the continent gathered wherever and whenever they could to share ideas, think strategically about the future, and renew each other for the seemingly endless battles to promote inclusion.  One such gathering was convened in Toronto, and we ‘published’ the collected thoughts of the group on the spot – so these two volumes were handed to every participant as they departed.   It was impossible, so we just did it.
  Diversity Marketplace.Proceedings.Toronto.Aug.14-16.1993

TASH (the Association for the Severely Handicapped) – later to be just TASH (a good thing) was a hot bed of new ideas and exchange.  It was a meeting place.  So some of us, led by Marsha Forest, Judith Snow and others created the ‘Community Living Gathering’ within TASH as a meeting/exchange forum for families and others to have a ‘home’ at TASH.  And it was the year of creating published booklets of these events…  Here is the 1993 Community Gathering book.
 TASH.Chicago.Nov4-6.1993.Community Living Gathering

Marsha Forest, Judith Snow and a clutch of passionate family members struggling to create futures for their children began the Integration Action Group.  They supported each other, coached, learned and lobbied.  They were a nightmare for many government bureaucracies as they were clear, principled and relentless.  This little booklet captures some of the flavour and identifies some of the cast of pioneers.  Note the term Integration FACILITATORS – 1986.
The Integration Facilitators.Integration Action Group.1986