Ash Wednesday School Shooting
Repentance: A radical change in mindset and heart, a promise to do better, surrender, a confession filled with remorse In every school or education organization there must be people you can trust. In spite of bureaucracy, complacency, high-stakes political frenzy, we must guarantee a safe space, a place where anyone can find the rhythm and […]
Ode to Dewey: Powers, Prophecy and Dignity of Teaching
I believe that this educational process has two sides – one psychological and one sociological; and that neither can be subordinated to the other or neglected without evil results following. Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed, 1897 The last few days have been dreadful— a real deep freeze. Not only has the weather been unbearably cold, but […]
The Weight or Weightlessness of Courageous Conversations
The heaviness of a small segment of dark brown bodies at the end of a long color line that curves around the room going from dark skin to medium to light. Two outliers insert themselves and evocatively defy the trend. They are motivated by something else; the unexpected psyche of an individual who defies the […]
Where Do Important Lessons Begin and End?
“The pressures of inequality and of wanting to keep up are not confined to a small minority who are poor.” ~Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level, 2010 “While preparing for a presentation, I start a conversation with the custodial worker assigned to our room. He tells me that my type of work is important, but […]
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 […]
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 […]