Saturday, March 15, 2014

SOLSC #15 Mindfulness Conference





I am posting every day during March as part of the annual "Slice of LifeChallenge for Two Writing Teachers.  Check out their website for lots more reflections on teaching.

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Beware the Ides of March!
(I always say this on March 15th.)

I am not fearing today! I am attending a Mindfulness in Education Network Conference at American University this weekend - yesterday, today, and tomorrow. After day one, I can report - it is awesome! Obviously, no real time to process it all just yet...but I'd love to share some of my notes and get you thinking, too.

Yesterday's sessions were run by Parker Palmer's Center for Courage and Renewal. The umbrella title for the day was "Courageous Schools: Teaching and Leading in Tough Times." There were many provocative discussions.

They shared Parker Palmer's five essential habits of the heart:
  1. An understanding that we are all in this together.
  2. An appreciation of the value of "otherness."
  3. An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
  4. A sense of personal voice and agency.
  5. A capacity to create community.
Are these true in your classroom? With colleagues? With families? In the whole school community?

How do you build the muscle for dialogue and problem-solving?

What makes it possible to see the gifts of students, teachers, colleagues, parents, other? And what makes it hard?

Can we take different perspectives? How can I get your perspective?

In what ways do we, and can we, model in our community of colleagues what we are expecting of and hoping for students in the classroom?

So much to think about! Gotta get over to Day 2 now!


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A Story Collage by Ian





     Once upon a time, there was a house. And lived, a metro station over the tracks.  And a monkey! Then I knocked down the metro station. And the monkeys eat you up! The End

6 comments:

  1. Sounds exciting! The five statements were inspiring! Can't wait to learn more. I loved Ian's art. Keep up the hard work.

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  2. Sounds wonderful, Maureen, and I'm happy to get your provocative questions! Hope today is terrific too!

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  3. So happy you are at this conference! We missed you! I am glad you are learning a lot and can't wait to see what you have to share. These would be great questions to ponder at summer PD:
    An understanding that we are all in this together.
    An appreciation of the value of "otherness."
    An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
    A sense of personal voice and agency.
    A capacity to create community.

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  4. We missed you on Friday but I am glad you are at the conference. I can't wait to see what you share when you return. These questions are great to ponder at the start of summer PD, a good way to get us all in sync.
    An understanding that we are all in this together.
    An appreciation of the value of "otherness."
    An ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.
    A sense of personal voice and agency.
    A capacity to create community.

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  5. Mindfulness is something I have been thinking a lot about in the past couple years, mindfulness in teachers, mindfulness in students, and mindset that allows for growth. . . Sounds like an interesting conference. . . "Appreciation of the value of "otherness" is really something that strikes a nerve with me---yes.

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  6. Thanks for sharing what you learned!

    Love this list of five things. I need to take some time to think about this... maybe even through my own writing.

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