What If the Classroom Was a Relational Field? - A Conversation with Catherine Brentnall

Catherine doesn't see the classroom as a space for delivering content - she sees it as a relational field where she's deeply interested in what's happening between people. Driven by a strong sense of justice and what she describes as an "obsession with inequality and unsustainability," Catherine's teaching journey took a decisive turn in 2021 when the IPCC's "Code Red for Humanity" report made continuing with business-as-usual education not just difficult, but impossible. In this episode, Catherine shares how she practices compassionate pedagogy - drawing from an interest in uncompetitive, cooperative learning interactions - and why she invests so much energy in learning students' names and understanding their realities. From exploring democratic ownership structures like steward ownership and cooperatives to insisting that we constantly question our assumptions, Catherine demonstrates what it means to build education on relationships, critical thinking, and hope in the face of climate breakdown.

Key themes: Relational pedagogy, compassionate teaching, justice orientation, questioning assumptions, democratic ownership