How do you know if you’re making a difference that matters?
This is the year that everything seems to matter— and yet no one knows if what they do day-to-day matters very much at all. It’s certainly the paradox of our time and especially for teachers. I think it’s important to reflect on our everyday practice and put into question our views about the purpose of […]
Lightness of Being
“Look upon the world as you would upon a bubble” said the Buddha in the Way of Truth, “look upon it as a mirage.” In a good dream, I am flying. Soaring high and free. In a not-so-good dream, my flight is wrought with struggle. I go up and down, arms flailing. It’s the inevitable pull […]
Finding Balance in an Age of Uncertainty
This week I met an “out-of-the-box teacher.” He was so out of the ordinary, alive, dramatic and authentic in his unique self, I wondered–what kind of teacher is this man in the classroom? What impact does he have on the thinking of his students and the teacher he mentors? Authentic teaching is magical balance. A […]
What Responsibility Do We Owe Students from Puerto Rico?
“At this point, it might be useful for us to ask ourselves…what is this act, what is this scene in which action is taking place, what is this agency and what is its purpose?” Ralph Ellison, Lecture to Teachers, 1963 Several years ago I had the opportunity to work in Puerto Rico as an education consultant. […]
Offering Refuge
In my last post I spoke about the importance of Setting the Tone after an event like Charlottesville. Pubic acts of hate can divide and distract us from our work in building coalitions across race, religion and class; from creating loving, equitable and holistic learning environments for all children. I encouraged readers to refuse to […]
Setting the Tone After Charlottesville
There is a candle light vigil in Charlottesville now. Instead of violence and the obscenity of a rare vitriolic war dance reminiscent of our tribal past, there are hundreds of human beings standing together holding tiny flames of light, side by side in peace, standing for peace, quietly and gently, taking a stand for love, […]
Moving from Mindfulness to Advocacy
Yesterday I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I meandered into a long, rectangular room until I was face to face with Rodin’s most famous work, The Thinker. It was a smallish sculpture that hovered over three others, each triple in size. To the left, there was Adam who seemed to be emerging. To the […]
In the End the True Nature of Teaching Will Prevail
Teaching and learning is art. The role of the artist is to reveal the essence of reality so that we are moved into compassion for ourselves and the world. So we can respond with kindness and humanity, to grow and flourish, to love each other and experience the effortlessness of unbound beauty, the type of […]
Building a Team
Journal Entry, June 2009 In Aphoristic Style The only way to find freedom is by offering it to someone else. Our destiny unfolds in someone else’s dream. This is not sacrifice. It is reality. Do not disappear into another person; that is not it. Do not give up your own dreams for someone else’s. That […]
The Unfinished Game of Chess
We all have a purpose but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to change our position in life. From this way to that, from that way to this—we are stretched and pulled, relocated, transposed, swapped, transfigured in order to fit into the larger scheme, as needed. We are not contortionists but rather, spiritual beings poured […]