Update curriculum source files to current versions

content/curriculum/Sessions/Session 1 – Coop Principles and Power.md

@@ -5,11 +5,12 @@
 - Slide: Tag Yourself activity
 - Slide: Anonymous feedback form reminder
 
+---
 ## Intro - 3 min
 
 Working in an environment that focuses solely on shipping, profit, and growth denies us the opportunity to practice our values collectively. Worse, the outcome of those capitalist values is exploitation and dehumanization of everyone but whoever is at the top of the org chart. How can we connect with our deepest-held values to shape collective practices that challenge this harmful hierarchy?
 
-We have some guidance to start with: the principles adopted in 1995 by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which now form the ethical foundation for cooperative work around the world and are deeply reflected in cooperative history and practice in the Global South. We'll trace a line from these principles to your personal and shared values, and then to what cooperative practice can look like in your context.
+We have some guidance to start with: The principles adopted in 1995 by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which now form the ethical foundation for cooperative work around the world and are deeply reflected in cooperative history and practice in the Global South. We'll trace a line from these principles to your personal and shared values, and then to what cooperative practice can look like in your context.
 
 Through this work, we can create a culture that stands up to extraction and burnout, and practice something different in its place.
 
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ Today we’ll be talking about:
 
 - How to cooperate (cooperative capacities)  
 - Coop histories/lineages  
-- The cooperative principles  
+- The ICA cooperative principles  
 - How to move from the principles to values
 
 ### Check-in - 5 min
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ Today we’ll be talking about:
 *Thinking back on the Power Flower reflection you did...*
 
 - what's one thing you noticed about yourself that you hadn't named before?  
-- no need to share details -- just notice what came up
+- no need to share details, unless you are compelled! Just notice what came up
 
 ---
 
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ We've been socially and economically shaped by systems that reward competition,
 
 "Most human beings have a natural propensity to cooperate." -- Russ Christianson, *Effective Practices in Starting Co-ops*
 
-The capacity exists. We already practice solidarity economics in daily life without calling it that when we contribute to a GoFundMe or babysit our neighbor's kids. But these practices get buried under what Black economist Jessica Gordon Nembhard calls "the assumptions of neo-liberal capitalist ideology."
+The capacity exists. We already practice solidarity economics in daily life without calling it that when we contribute to a GoFundMe or babysit our neighbour's kids. But these practices get buried under what Black economist Jessica Gordon Nembhard calls "the assumptions of neo-liberal capitalist ideology."
 
 Can cooperation be recovered and practiced until it's reliable?
 
@@ -56,13 +57,13 @@ We're going to introduce tools throughout this program, but tools only work if y
 Here's what we'll be practicing:
 
 **Active listening**  
-This means unlearning the tendency to simply wait for your turn to talk. It means actually focusing on the other person and trying to understand what they really mean, especially when you disagree. One practice to support this is reflecting back what you hear.
+This means unlearning the tendency to simply wait for your turn to talk. It means actually focusing on the other person and trying to understand what they really mean, especially when you disagree. One practice to support this is reflecting back what you hear. You can also take notes.
 
 **Honest communication**  
-Without making accusations, say what you actually think, and use "I" statements. The purpose is to open up conversation.
+Without making accusations, say what you actually think, and use "I" statements. The purpose is to open conversation up wider.
 
 **Perspective-taking**  
-Your collaborators experience situations differently from you, and from each other.
+Your collaborators experience situations differently from you, and from each other. Try to put yourself in their position/mindset and hear what they are telling you about what they are feeling.
 
 **Emotional self-regulation**  
 It can be difficult, without prior practice, to stay present when things get uncomfortable instead of shutting down, lashing out, or agreeing just to make the tension stop. Notice discomfort and choose how to respond rather than just reacting.
@@ -70,8 +71,8 @@ It can be difficult, without prior practice, to stay present when things get unc
 **Self-awareness about your patterns in groups**  
 Do you talk first? Go quiet when you disagree? Say yes to avoid tension? Take over tasks because it's faster than explaining? Notice your ingrained habits!
 
-**Giving and receiving feedback**  
-This is a tough one for a lot of people. When you have a concern, do you hedge so much it disappears? And when you hear critical feedback, do you get defensive or collapse? Both directions are skills.
+**Giving and receiving feedback**
+This is a tough one for a lot of people. When you have a concern, do you hedge so much it disappears? And when you hear critical feedback, do you get defensive or collapse? Both directions are skills. Look at feedback as a *gift*.
 
 None of these are natural talents, but all of them can be practiced. In fact, you'll be practicing them throughout this program, starting next session!
 
@@ -79,9 +80,9 @@ None of these are natural talents, but all of them can be practiced. In fact, yo
 
 ---
 
-### Cooperative lineages -- and whose knowledge gets credited - 10 min
+### Cooperative lineages – and whose knowledge gets credited - 10 min
 
-The foundational principles of cooperatives are rooted in survival. But the Rochdale Pioneers of 1844, often credited as cooperative "founders," didn't invent cooperation -- they simply codified practices that had existed for millennia. We’ll cover those principles in a minute, but first let’s talk about the longer lineages of cooperative history.
+The foundational principles of cooperatives are rooted in survival. But the Rochdale Pioneers of 1844, often credited as cooperative "founders," didn't invent cooperation – they simply codified practices that had existed for millennia. We’ll cover those principles in a minute, but first let’s talk about the longer lineages of cooperative history.
 
 - Indigenous communities worldwide practiced mutual aid, collective resource management, and consensus decision-making long before European contact. Many Indigenous governance systems also held space for Two-Spirit people in leadership and decision-making roles.  
 - Enslaved and formerly enslaved Black communities in the Americas created mutual aid societies, burial societies, and informal credit systems out of necessity and survival  
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ The Rochdale Pioneers formalized these practices into a movement. But when we cr
 
 Source: *Locating the Contributions of the African Diaspora in the Canadian Co-operative Sector* [WIKILINK-01: needs URL] Additional info: [Indigenous Governance and Tomorrow's Democracy](https://www.colorado.edu/lab/medlab/2025/07/28/indigenous-governance-and-tomorrows-democracy-join-conversation)
 
-This matters for us because you likely already hold cooperative knowledge. It's in your family, your culture, your community.
+This matters for us because you may already hold cooperative knowledge. It could be in your family, your culture, your community.
 
 Consider your own "cooperative lineage":
 
@@ -109,14 +110,14 @@ Consider your own "cooperative lineage":
 
 Or:
 
-- Why did you become interested in forming a game studio coop?
+- Why did you become interested in forming a cooperative?
 
 Most of these practices go unnamed as "cooperative" but they are part of a long, global, grassroots, and informal tradition.
 
 There are many types of cooperatives (coop housing, community land trusts, community financing like credit unions, worker cooperatives like you’re trying to build) – but also barter clubs, fair trade, solidarity markets.   
 [TODO-IMAGE-02: Types of cooperatives/solidarity economy image from art.coop]
 
-Cooperatives are expansive and these skills are already in your toolkit!
+Cooperatives are expansive and we can add skills to your toolkit!
 
 Share one cooperative practice from your experience in the chat. *And pay attention to what values are present.*
 
@@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ Brief large group share - 5 min: Each group shares 1-2 values they identified.
 
 The values you just named have been recognized and formalized by cooperative movements worldwide. In 1995, the International Cooperative Alliance adopted these 7 principles that now guide cooperative work globally.
 
-*For each principle, consider How might your co-op incorporate this principle? What policies or practices would bring it to life?*
+*For each principle, consider: How might your co-op incorporate this principle? What policies or practices would bring it to life?*
 
 ### 1. Voluntary and Open Membership
 
@@ -209,7 +210,7 @@ Where do we meet each other? And how do we build from there?
 
 ---
 
-## Homework (with Peer Supports) - 10 min
+## Homework - 10 min
 
 1. **Journal about your values** – What values guide your work or collective efforts? Your values can be discovered through observation. Your task isn't to decide what matters to you, but to notice what already does.
     - What holds your attention without effort?
@@ -219,7 +220,7 @@ Where do we meet each other? And how do we build from there?
 
 1. **Do the team values map with your Peer Supports** – Use your PS session to do the values mapping exercise as a team. Where do you align? Where do you differ?
 
-2. **Prep individually for "The Talk" (Session 2)** – Next session, you'll practice having direct conversations about money, time, skills, and decision-making with your collaborators. Reflect on these questions –**write your answers down** before we meet. Try to time-box to about 5 minutes per section.
+2. **Prep individually for "The Talk" (Session 2)** – Next session, you'll practice having direct conversations about money, time, skills, and decision-making with your collaborators. Reflect on these questions – **write your answers down** before we meet. Try to time-box to about 5 minutes per section.
 
    **Financial reality:**
 
@@ -247,7 +248,9 @@ Where do we meet each other? And how do we build from there?
 
    And finally: **Does being part of this studio make you feel something? What is that feeling?**
 
-   Adapted from Obvious Agency's "The Talk" worksheet. *These are for you first. You'll share with your team in Session 2.*
+   Adapted from Obvious Agency's "The Talk" worksheet.
+   
+   *These are for **you** first. You'll share with your team in Session 2.*
 
 ---
 
@@ -259,7 +262,7 @@ It might seem easy and fun to chat about these ideas with your collaborators, bu
 
 Studios built around a shared problem - "we can't afford to make games alone," "we refuse to work in exploitative conditions again" - tend to hold together under that pressure. Studios built around a shared *aesthetic* preference for cooperation sometimes don't. Try to notice which one is yours.
 
-The industry tells us to brute force our way through these situations -- with the boss ultimately "resolving" the issue the way they want, probably guided by "move fast and figure it out later." But cooperative work requires something different. What Indigenous organizer Ruth Łchav'aya K'isen Miller calls "patience for the pace of trust."
+The industry tells us to brute force our way through these situations – with the boss ultimately "resolving" the issue the way they want, probably guided by "move fast and figure it out later." But cooperative work requires something different. What Indigenous organizer Ruth Łchav'aya K'isen Miller calls "patience for the pace of trust."
 
 Next session, we'll explore what it actually takes to align with collaborators beyond just sharing values on a Miro board. Even the closest friends can discover they have very different expectations about work, money, and decision-making when those conversations inevitably come up.