connection at a distance

While I'm not currently teaching in the classroom there is still lots of learning happening. One of the wonderful things about Education for Life is that it is something that we teachers can (and do!) apply in our own lives, not just in the classroom.

One of the building blocks of education are the relationships - building a sense of safety and connection so that learning can happen. It's how our brains are wired actually! If we don't feel safe and connected we can't access the higher brain states (in the prefrontal cortex) where learning and decision making happen.

Well, with all of us at a distance these days, connections have become even more important but also a little harder to maintain at times. I'm realizing that simply showing up on a Zoom call does not automatically equal connection. I've noticed myself so focused on the lesson plan that I forget there are real people on the other end! Just like in the classroom, each person needs some little opportunity to feel seen and heard to create that authentic connection each time we interact.

In the classroom we have certain routines and rituals that serve to build this connection, like our class jobs and circle time, but those are harder to maintain right now. So I've started using "would you rather" questions to start our weekly Zoom calls. They're silly but they get the conversation going and get everyone to participate right away. Our last one was "Would you rather play soccer wearing high heels or basketball on roller skates?" I love hearing their answers and being surprised by their reasons!

Put connection first and the rest will follow in my experience. These questions, which may seem "pointless," give a way for each of us to consciously and intentionally show up for our time together and give each person the opportunity to be acknowledged. It brings us into the present moment where connection happens, no matter the distance, and opens our minds to learn, grow and problem solve together.

Comments

look for the light

Some might recognize this quote from the movie Pollyanna. I recently rewatched this movie and was deeply inspired by the way Pollyanna looked for the good in every situation and especially in every person. The people in the town were transformed by her perspective. Our thoughts and expectations can be more powerful than we realize. What struck me is that it wasn't merely positive thinking. Pollyanna genuine looked for the good in each situation, even if she needed to stretch a bit and she felt the benefit of that effort. Then gradually those around her began to feel the effects as well. They weren't instantly won over but with a bit of persistence, they began to see and feel the benefit of the "glad game" as she called it. I still remember taking the first course in Education for Life through the online training program . The instructor gave us our homework assignment the first week: look for the light. We were to look for moment of lightness and childlikeness, moment...

our potential

I think that sense that you have, when you’re caring for a child, that this individual child — just them, just because of who they are — is the most valuable thing in the world — not because they are particularly smart or particularly pretty; it’s just them; they’re incredibly valuable — I think that’s when we’re seeing people clearly. That’s when we’re actually understanding what human values are like. -Allison Gopnik from On Being podcast This is from an interview with Allison Gopnik, a professor of psychology and affiliate professor of philosophy at U.C. Berkeley. She studies the minds of babies and children to help us understand ourselves and what it means to be human. This entire interview was very moving but this part hit me so deeply today that I had to try to share. In the interview, after the above quote, she goes on to say how she and her sisters joke about their grandchild being best. I think, even if we haven't had kids, we all can think of someone special that we...

what's trying to happen?

The unknowns seem to multiply by the day and the questions outnumber the answers. It's an interesting time to be alive! I just finished up a staff meeting via Zoom where we continue to discuss possibilities for the future of our little school, our classes and our community. This "great pause" and the gradual transition back toward movement and activity is giving us an opportunity to rethink how we really want to do things and envision new possibilities. There are many ideas and opinions but as we often ask here at Ananda, what's trying to happen? It's a deep question that gets tossed about a lot but how do we really go about answering it? First, we have to take our opinions, our expectations, our likes and dislikes out of the mix, which is harder than it sounds. Or perhaps just as hard as it sounds! We have to be willing to put those things aside, to consider that there is a bigger picture beyond simply what we currently see or have known. We have to expand beyo...

Live From Joy

Search This Blog