Teacher applications OPEN
Teacher applications OPEN
Good morning and welcome back to your neighbourhood design school experiment ᯓ☆
In this edition, you'll hear about how YOU can apply to teach at irid… a mysterious new team member… and reflections on packing the Isabel Bader Theatre last month.
Website is UP! Teacher applications are OPEN!
Hi. We have a secret for you. It's a secret not many people know, but that we are excited to share with you. The secret is this:
YOU could be a teacher.
It doesn't require field expertise or a graduate degree. You don't need a diploma saying that you're qualified. With the right mindset and training, you can just… do it. And you can do it well.
This fall, would you like to:
create a course developing your unique thoughts on a topic of your choosing
be coached by Michelle, who's coached graduate students in design for nearly a decade
get 50% of incoming profit for your course
teach an incredible experimental course (!) that contributes to the intellectual and moral vibrancy of our city
while having classrooms, infrastructure and branding taken care of?
If so, check out our applications, due end of June!
Application deadline: June 29th, 11:59PM EST
Classes begin: Late September 2026
Or: can you think of interesting, odd thinkers you'd love to take a course from? Send this to them!
Check out our FAQ for more details about the application process and fall semester.
Finally, if you love the fresh new website, thank you to Anthea Tawiah, who we met through working together on The Great Conversation (see two sections below)!
Speaking of meeting folks…
Introducing the newest member of the irid team
Michelle: Chloë, we've been friends for a few years now, and collaborated a few times, but what drew you to saying yes to working together on irid?
Chloë: So happy to be here! It’s really the “ri” in irid that gets me: I’ve nerded out over relational intelligence and forms of human connection for the better part of my adult life. I’m so excited to explore what happens when we merge that with my other great love, teaching.
Michelle: Totally! I feel like you've experienced a lot of the "ri" in the Bay Area, where we both spent some time… me, working and for school, but you grew up there, right? Can you tell me a bit about the community contexts that have shaped you and your understanding of relating?
Chloë: Yes – I was born in Toronto but spent my whole life in the Bay, where I dropped in and out of spaces like One Salon, T-groups, and authentic relating circles that really shaped my understanding of vulnerability and connection. My favorite projects I’ve ever worked on have always involved teaching socioemotional skills, mostly to teens and young adults, with organizations like CODE2040 and Orenda Academy.
But I’m so excited to get the chance to learn from you in your area of expertise – not just design thinking, but building people and their dreams up – and make something amazing with you! What are you looking forward to most in working together?
Michelle: Well, I feel like you're just a genius at all the things that make an organization work from the inside -- long-term strategy, planning, but also sensitivity to the small touches that make people feel welcome and like they belong. I've seen you organize cottage trips, ceramics classes and hold together the volunteer troupe for a 500-person event with just a clipboard and sheer force of will. I really think our students and teachers will benefit so deeply from that energy. Is there anything else you want to say to our listeners at home? ;)
Chloë: Aw thanks so much my friend – I guess I’d just like to end with: get ready for the magic that happens when Michelle & Chloë team up, because it’s already feeling like a grand adventure!
… and finally, thank you for joining us at The Great Conversation!
On the evening of May 27th, we packed the Isabel Bader Theatre with nearly 500 guests for The Great Conversation. For those of you who were there, thank you.
As I (Michelle) said in my opening statement, I felt we created a powerful gathering -- not just a lecture centered on a single speaker (tho we could hardly do better than virtuoso Matthew Jordan) but a book fair with some of my favourite people, interesting sponsors from south of the border, and a room full of well-dressed, thoughtful people who wanted to understand where technology really comes from.
As it turns out, what we call "technology" is really the end result of a series of processes that begin with human relationships and the production of knowledge in real time… scenes, histories, friendships, and rivalries. To be a historic actor is to respond to tradition in living time.
What are your lineages and how can you deepen your involvement with them? Who are your heroes, your influences, your peers? Can you work together? Can you challenge each other to grow? (Is it time for a steamy workplace fling?)
You'll hear more from this group of folks -- Joss, Matty, Ben, and me -- in the months coming, including about TTW 2027. Stay tuned there.
Welp, that's all the news that's fit to print… for now.
Thanks for everything you have given us with your attention and belief.
Keep it cool, and stay in school.
Love,
Michelle and Chloë
˙⋆✮ ✴︎˚｡⋆⋆