We Evolve through the Messiness of Engagement

In the Bible, the Book of Genesis tells the creation story from two traditions.

In the first tradition (Gn 1 - 2.3), we witness the smooth flow of God's creative Word: (1) Day and night; (2) The sky; (3) The land and the sea and the variety of vegetation and fruit trees; (4) The sun, the moon and the stars; (5) The creatures of the sea and sky; (6) The creatures of the land and man. At the end of the sixth day God saw all that He had made and found it very good.

The second tradition (Gn 2.3 - 3) appears a little more messy and disjointed.  It does not have the orderly and sequential flow of the first tradition. We read that God forms man from the dust of the ground and blows life into his nostrils. He places man in a garden and gives him a multitude of trees that are good to look at and to eat from. In the garden He also places the tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He gives man the freedom to eat the fruit of any of the trees but warns him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then, God realizes that the man is alone and needs a helper. He creates the birds and the animals and brings them to the man to name but none appear to be a suitable helper. God then puts the man in a deep sleep, removes one of his ribs and forms woman out of it. Then comes temptation, the eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the introduction of sin and suffering.

Upon reflection, the first tradition reveals God's mind and will for the good of creation. The second places man at the center of the story and we see the tension between the free will God bestows on His creation and His will for good. Perhaps the second story of creation is a foreshadowing of all our stories - that we evolve through the messiness of that engaging and testing of wills, until we allow ours to be redeemed by His and we are able to share and live His vision of creation as very good.

New Year Resolutions

Today is the first day of 2015 and tradition calls for the making of resolutions. I have found over the years that specific or particular resolutions tend to fall by the wayside unless they are knowingly linked to some bigger basic need. So, I offer 3 worthy considerations to satisfy each of the needs of our Mind, Body and Spirit in this New Year.

Mind

1. Read every day. Never be without a book you are reading. Pick up a new one when you are done. Reading is much more cognitively stimulating that watching TV or listening to the radio.
2. Keep and write in a journal. Take 5 minutes each night before going to bed to write about one or two highlights of your day, a short reflection, some "aha" moment that presented itself, or something you learned.
3. Filter your thoughts and stretch your thinking. Your brain is a muscle that needs good stimulation - be continuously learning and improving. Learning is satisfying. Take up a new and interesting hobby. With time and effort you can learn anything. 

Body

1. Exercise regularly. Start with something you know you can accomplish regularly, like taking a 30 minute walk every day. Try doing some body resistance exercises (pushups, sit ups, squats) three times a week. Start small and work up as your strength increases. Regular exercise is good for the mind, body and spirit.
2. Have enough sleep each day to recreate your mind, body and spirit. 
3. Eat balanced, moderate and regular meals. Cut out excess sugars, sodas and comfort foods. Include a variety of vegetables in your diet. Try a vegetable and fruit shake with protein powder in the mornings. They are fast and easy to make and energizing. Make water your drink of choice.

Spirit

1. Take ten minutes at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day to pray, reflect or meditate. If this is new to you, begin with short inspirational readings, prayers or spiritual reflections written by others. 
2. Develop the habit of being thankful. Give thanks for being alive, your family, your friends, your job, and for the good you have or have experienced. Share your blessings by supporting a charity or contributing your time to a meaningful cause.
3. Your relational interactions can either nourish or sap your spirit. Remember the Golden Rule - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Make amends or say you are sorry when you have done something wrong. Focus on the good in people. Don't sweat the small stuff. Do something for someone very day. 

Collaborating – Sharing – Learning

In the early nineties, Roland Barth wrote about the power of school improvement through teacher collaboration in his book Improving Schools from Within. He placed teachers in one of three groups when describing the initial resistance to collaboration. It may be useful to personally reflect on these group descriptions and place where one personally stands now, how one has moved, and the possibilities yet to come.

(1)  Teachers who are unable and unwilling to critically examine their teaching practice and unable to have other adults – teachers, principals, parents – examine what and how they are teaching …

(2)  Teachers who are quite able and willing to continually scrutinize and reflect on what they do and make use of their insights to effect periodic change. They plan tomorrow on the basis of how things went today. But these teachers are uncomfortable accepting examination of their practice by other adults …

(3)  A small number of teachers who are able and willing to critically scrutinize their practice and are quite able and willing, even desirous, of making their practice accessible to other adults …

                                                                                                            Barth, 1990, p.53 

Global Survival Skills

Our children today live in an environment, which demands educational experiences to help them cope and succeed in a rapidly challenging global society. This in turn demands that as educators, we examine and tend to the practical ends and means of their educational experience. Harvard professor and researcher Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap questions whether conventional curriculums in the United States pay sufficient attention to what other researchers have named 21st. Century skills. He posits seven “survival” skills that our children will need in order to engage, succeed and excel in their future environments.

1. Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
2. Collaboration (including across networks) and leadership by influence rather than authority
3. Agility & Adaptability
4. Initiative & Entrepreneurialism
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication
6. Accessing & Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity & Imagination

In his research Wagner gives examples of countries that understand the importance of education to their social and economic futures. One example is Singapore, whose educational motto is: Thinking Schools, Learning Nation. To quote from Singapore’s Education Reform Movement: Thinking Schools will be learning organizations in every sense, constantly challenging assumptions, and seeking better ways of doing things through participation, creativity and innovation. Thinking schools will be the cradle of thinking students as well as thinking adults and this spirit of learning should accompany our students even after they leave school.

This is the kind of learning community we should be developing in our schools: where teachers engage in collaborative and reflective learning and in turn provide learning opportunities through teaming and collaboration in the classroom; where questions are asked and welcomed and used to influence, reason and promote thinking and deep understandings; where teachers and children are both encouraged, supported, empowered and motivated to be the best they can be.

The Concern for Climate and Learning

Educators strive to create a positive climate in their schools by promoting collegiality, collaboration, teacher initiative and positive discipline. They also seek to improve the learning experience of their students through curriculum initiatives aligned to missions of academic excellence. Ideally, when the two concerns for climate and learning are well integrated, synergy occurs and great things can happen.

A simple model that looks at the concern for climate and the concern for learning, allows us to locate our schools in relation to four quadrants.

While our institutions may not exactly fit in any of the four quadrants, the location allows us to try to correct the balance between the concern for climate and learning. Some schools may find themselves located close to the bottom right quadrant, where test results are everything, with teachers and staff burned out in the process. Others may identify with the upper left quadrant where everyone is nice but where learning takes a back seat. This model suggests that we can do better than that by moving towards the upper right quadrant.

In moving towards a high climate-high learning model, trust issues may surface, especially among staff members used to a low climate-high learning environment. Collaboration and collegiality, important components of high climate, need to be learned and nurtured in safe ways first. Gradual progression can occur as trust builds among the community. Small, manageable and purposeful commitments towards high climate-high learning are a sure and steady path to becoming a great school.

Lessons from the Jesuits

This summer I attended a Catholic principal's orientation in Menlo Park, California in the quiet and reflective retreat setting of the Vallombrosa Center. While there, I recalled a recent book by Chris Lowney called Heroic Leadership. The book traces the history and achievements of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. In the book Lowney draws out the leadership qualities and personal experiences of a number of Jesuit protagonists, all to illustrate the foundational principles that still form the core values of the order.

Lowney describes a unique way of working and living that integrated four leadership principles – self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism. Translated into practical application for the layman, these principles offer an interesting leadership perspective.

"Heroism encourages people to aim high and keeps them restlessly pointed towards something more, something greater." Such leaders are filled with a conviction of meaningful purpose that it "brings energy, imagination, ambition, and motivation to their work." In the early Jesuit context this often meant the ultimate sacrifice. In our current context, this means staying the course and having the courage to make the tough decisions; to question why things are done; to face and overcome our challenges, daunting as they may be; to have those difficult conversations that need to be had; to take the side of right rather than the expedient or mighty.

"Ingenuity disposes people not just to think outside the box but to live outside the box." It is the belief that there are solutions to problems and that we are capable of thinking through and arriving at those solutions. It is the love of learning and the ability to continually put our learning and talents to creative use.

"Love lends purpose and passion to ingenuity and heroism." It is the belief in theory y rather than theory x, the ability to give people the benefit of the doubt and to view people as well intentioned, trustworthy and as "uniquely endowed with talent and dignity."

"Self-awareness roots and nourishes the other leadership virtues." Through self-awareness, we learn who we are, what we stand for and what we believe in. Self-awareness is a life-long project and the Jesuits practiced the virtue three times a day – upon arising, after the noon meal, and after supper. In our context, it is asking "did I teach the last class with loving interest in my students, or did I go through the motions?" It questions whether we are practicing ingenuity, love and heroism in our daily routines.

Heroic leadership invites us to consider the impact we have with our many daily interactions. We are challenged to consider how we relate to those around us and whether our presence adds to or diminishes the beauty of our world. It is to believe in a world of love rather than fear; to re-invent ourselves while holding true to the principles of self-awareness, ingenuity, love and heroism.

Quotations are taken directly from Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney.

Chado - The Art of Tea

During my six years in Japan, once a week, I would learn to make and serve a traditional bowl of tea. To the uninitiated, the Japanese Tea ceremony may appear forced, tedious and even contrived. At its very core however, it is all about serving others through a dedicated craft. The Way of Tea is the call to take the time to ensure that whatever you do offers the greatest possible benefit for others, and to remember to be thankful for things received. It is expressed in the sincere and simple act of preparing and serving a bowl of tea and receiving it with gratitude.

The Way of Tea is based on the four principles of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. Harmony dispenses with pretensions, walks the path of moderation and embraces humility. Respect opens us to a proper relationship with nature and our fellow human beings. Purity, the act of cleaning the tea utensils, represents the clearing of worldly attachments that enable people and things to be perceived in their true state. tranquility is arrived at by practicing the first three principles. (adapted from Tea Life, Tea Mind by Soshitsu Sen XV)

As educators, we can apply the principles of Chado in our relationships with colleagues and students. Harmony reminds us that openness and humility is the key to all learning. It is the humble that realize that the more they learn, the more they do not know. Respect reminds us to look deep into another's heart to come to understanding. As an administrator or teacher, have I given my colleagues or students the time they need with me? Purity helps us look beyond the effects of social and economic influences on our students, understand their individual needs, learn how to help them, and view instructional differentiation in an imperative light. Hopefully, by trying to do this consistently, we may achieve pride of craft and arrive at our own sense of peace and tranquility.

In my move from Kobe back to Florida, I packed my Chado utensils in the hope that I may still have the opportunity to prepare and serve a simply delicious bowl of tea.