Live From Joy

I've been a little stuck trying to find things to write about now that school is over. I want to share thoughts and inspiration here but I think sometimes I get weighed down by expectations that it must be a particular length or profound in some way. I have to admit that I don't feel inspired to keep writing but I made the commitment so I will do 40 blog posts. It's just going to take a bit longer than I thought. So what is inspiring me lately? Where is there joy? I've been preparing to give a talk on Education for Life and it's been fun to ponder all the amazing ways the EFL principles are present and expanding and spreading in our world and throughout education. People are starting to really rethink the purpose and methods of education in a whole new way. The old systems are breaking down and suddenly we're trying to prepare children for a world that doesn't yet exist, that we can't imagine, that they will create! In the midst of the pandemic even we a...

Somebody asked him, “Did you win?” He said, “No, but I won against myself” (laughter), meaning that he beat his own record. How beautiful for an eight-year-old child to understand this! You find that in Ananda schools there is this same kind of cooperative effort to help each other – not to put each other down, which is so normal with children. Swami Kriyananda in Light of Superconsciousness We don't avoid competition all together at our school but we do try to guide students to be aware of their energy, of how they feel and how they act, when they do compete. Sometimes we'll change the rules of the game to make sure each player is being challenged appropriately. For example, we might make a team of athletes vs. "non-athletes" but the non- athletes score points for making contact with the ball. Or a skilled player has to make at least 3 passes before each attempt at scoring. (Just as a note: these are blanket suggestions, they're solutions that arose based on spe...

Sometimes when I tell people that I'm a teacher they say something like, "I don't know how you do it!" and I laugh and reply "I don't know either!" But the truth is, I do know: I'm not the one doing it. So who or what is? Well, you can call it what you want - grace, magic, energy, intuition, Divine Mother or God - but sooner or later you start to realize there is something else at work that you can't quite see or fully understand.  I had a sweet, magical moment one afternoon that reminded me that Divine Mother knows just what each of us needs in each moment. I had gone down to the Village center to use the stronger internet connection to upload something for my class. While I was there waiting for things to upload I sat in this beautiful communal space all by myself feeling a bit sad and out of sorts. Not even a few moments later a little boy from the community came walking by and went to check on a nest of birds they'd been watching in a bus...

Today I'm feeling so quiet and still. There are dishes to be washed, books to be read, walks to be taken and yet all I want to do is just be. Not even meditate, just sit silent and still and do absolutely nothing at all. Of course then come all the thoughts: I should be using this time wisely! There's so many things on the list! What will I have to show for this day? But I've noticed that there are days of high energy, flow and productivity where a sudden burst comes and then there are days like today where it seems like nothing happens. It's okay to let this be a moment of rest. Again and again I seem to be learning that we are not what we do . One of the most powerful lessons I've learned about Education for Life is that it's not about what you do, but about who you are. It's not about what your students do (or don't do) it's about who they are. Not merely their personalities but their soul-self, their highest and best selves. In the classroom ther...

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...

Swami Kriyananda once shared a superconscious dream he had where he talked with Yogananda about a difficult situation saying "The doors are closed." Yogananda's response: "Don't overlook the possibility of a skylight" and then he added, "A sense of adventure is needed." We are definitely looking for skylights these days when it comes to planning for the upcoming school year. The number of considerations and possibilities seem endless. Now this can seem frustrating and overwhelming but it can also seem incredibly expansive.  Anything is could happen.  There's at least two ways you could say that: with a sense of dread or a sense of excitement. Will we trudge through, wishing it could be otherwise, focused on all that is lacking? Or will we embrace the opportunity before us to completely reimagine our school year and the learning experience we provide? So far it seems, we are choosing to have a sense of adventure. The ideas that are coming up see...

I was watching a class that was given recently about how to teach online. The instructor pointed out the move to online learning is highlighting and supporting certain changes that have been happening in education overall. The old model was the "sage on the stage" which is a teacher centered model where an instructor imparts their knowledge. The new model is the "guide on the side" where the learners are actively engaged in the learning process. The goal of this particular class was to help give people alternatives to simply using a video conference platform to offer their courses and to introduce people to the potentials of learning management systems to make online learning more engaging and interactive.  It was wonderful to hear this perspective since our school and the Education for Life approach is firmly grounded in these types of more dynamic and experiential methods. Our curriculum is student centered meaning we develop the themes and lessons around the stud...

I was thinking about distance learning and Zoom classes and sharing with a friend the many challenges. So much of what it means to be an Education for Life teacher is about magnetism and energy. It's not as much about what we do, the lesson we prepare or the activities we offer but who we are as individuals and the energy and attitude we bring into our classroom. How do we get that to go through a computer screen? When I began my journey as an EFL teacher I spent a lot of time looking at what other more experienced teachers were doing and trying to find ways to bring that into my classroom but I felt like I kept coming up short. I couldn't be like those other teachers and gradually I realized that "being a good teacher" was much less about any outward performance or product and much more about being myself; bringing my whole, authentic, fully-present self to the classroom in each moment. It wasn't about being perfect, it was about being me. That is in essence what...

I finally ended up cleaning my classroom and moving all the furniture to prepare for the annual carpet cleaning. I kept putting it off partly because those bookcases are heavy! But it’s also another confirmation that this school year is actually over. The classroom was pretty much frozen in time from mid-March when quarantine started. Paper snowflakes still on the windows, our last math lesson still on the board, so many unread books piled up on my desk and cobwebs everywhere marking the passage of time; the absence of activity. Well, I got some help moving the heavy bookcases and I vacuumed all the cobwebs. I boxed up the students' things to send home and I’m finishing their progress reports. It’s time to let go. It’s okay to let go. It’s hard to let go and it’s okay that it’s hard but somehow it seems a bit harder when it’s so uncertain what will come next. I know things will be different, things will change, but I don't know how. It reminds me of another time I was approachi...

One of the things I miss the most about being in the classroom five days a week is the opportunity it gives me to completely forget myself. I use to think this was something inherent to teaching but I think it's what happens whenever we become deeply absorbed in something. We lose all sense of time and self and we get into a flow. Some people might experience this while playing a sport or running, others while cooking, creating or making music.  I miss that flow, that absorption, that sense of focus and purpose. I've certainly been able to keep myself busy with new activities and projects, like this blog, but it has also felt somewhat restless and unfocused. There isn't the usual sense of external order and flow to the day that was once there and so it seems harder to forget myself. Instead, I'm learning to listen to and trust myself more. Since there isn't the usual external flow of events there is a need to turn inward to find a new flow. Weeks and weekends, the u...

When the thought of having to close our school first came up and the suggestion to start creating distance learning materials arose I thought "How on earth can you do Education for Life at a distance?" So much of what we do is working with energy and magnetism. How can you send that home in a packet or through a computer screen? Then schools closed and the reality is that, despite the challenges, this has been the perfect time for Education for Life. In fact, there is no wrong time, place or age to apply these principles. That's why it's call Education for LIFE! It prepares us to engage with and learn from everything we encounter in life. When Paramhansa Yogananda first founded his schools in India (from which our schools have drawn inspiration) he called them "How to Live Schools." There is so much to be learned from life as it unfolding, pandemic and all! There is so much to be learned about "how to live" in every new situation. Even though we we...

The energy it takes to avoid a difficult conversation is much more uncomfortable than the energy it takes to have the conversation. Many times it's the anticipation is many times worse than the actual conversation. Our minds play out all sorts of worst case scenarios.  This is in the case where we know the conversation is coming. But what about when we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of, or even listening in on, a conversation that suddenly becomes uncomfortable? Perhaps someone has said or done something disagreeable, confusing or unexpected. These things happen regularly in the classroom - kids really do say and do the "darndest things." They say and do mean things to each other without thinking. But these moments are also just a part of life. The question is, how do we react or respond?  Most of us fight, freeze or flee. It's how our brains are hardwired to respond to stressful situations. The problem is, this response gets in the way of learning and growth. ...

It's been an intense week for the world and for some reason I've been tuning in and paying attention more than usual. I don't usually watch or follow the news at all. I rely on others to let me know if something really big is happening but something has shifted recently. I don't know what's different but it suddenly feels very important to pay attention and stay engaged. I completely understand the desire to avoid the news, not take in too much. What's happening is not always positive or uplifting. But it is important. For racism to end, we all have to participate in dismantling it, within ourselves, our families, our communities and our organizations. Trying to write about anything else right now seems irrelevant and yet trying to convey all that I'm taking in and processing seems impossible. It's an important time for self-reflection, introspection. I am what I am; wishing cannot change me. Let me therefore face my faults with gratitude, for only by fa...

Today was our last day of online class. Never in my wildest dreams ever thought I would be saying those words or living this reality. It was, much like our virtual track meet on Tuesday, one of our best days of our distance learning experience. I would still have preferred to be together but it seems distance makes the heart grow fonder. I appreciate each of them and our class as a whole so much more deeply than I think I might have if we'd been going through our usual routine. It's so easy to get caught in a mentality of just getting through to the end of the year. I'm thankful for the slowness, for the shift in perspective, that this time has offered.  As part of our time together I read them a story called The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. It was hard not to cry while reading it! The message is this: we are all, always, connected by invisible strings of love that connect our hearts and we are never really alone. Such a sweet way to end our year and this strange time...

I don't have all the answers. In fact right now I am fresh out of answers. But I do have a choice about the way I react to not having the answers. I have curiosity. I got upset by a situation today, feeling let down by other people's actions. I felt frustrated and sad. I could feel myself sinking down into it and not enjoying the ride. At the same time I knew I couldn't simply expect myself to "snap out of it" and be happy and joyful. But a part of me wanted more joy than I was experiencing, to not feel so affected by it. I could at least remember that joy existed even if that wasn't my primary experience in that moment. I knew that even though I was agitated I could also be curious about what was happening and how things were unfolding.  Conflict, difficulty, discomfort - they have lessons for us if we're willing to learn. They can bring things to our attention in new ways, even if all we notice is our own reaction. When we're curious about conflict w...

Each day that I write I feel I leave a dozens of thoughts unwritten like threads unwoven. There are so many layers and connection to each of the topics I've touched on so far and hopefully as I continue I will be able to circle back and go deeper. Today, amidst all the protesting that is happening, it feels like maybe mine is not the voice that needs to be heard. It feels hard to write.  It seems like an important moment to step back and listen, observe and learn. If there were a conflict or disruption in my classroom, this is what I would do too. I may need to respond or react in the moment but I can also reflect and learn from my reactions. Some of the most valuable lessons and most positive solutions have come when I can listen, observe and get curious about what's really happening and why. When I stop assigning blame or thinking that I have all the answers.  So often as parents and teachers we can get caught in thinking we know what is best or even caught in the thought th...

Paramhansa Yogananda talked a great deal about the importance of all-sided education - developing ourselves not only intellectually but also physically and psychologically. Swami Kriyanada has translated this into the four "Tools of Maturity" - body, feeling, will and intellect. In American culture we value body, will and intellect to varying degrees but it seems there is very little attention paid to how to positively develop the feeling aspect of ourselves. We're left thinking that there is something inherently wrong with feelings, that they're not to be trusted. Nothing could be further from the truth.  "Only by calm inner feeling can a person know definitely the right course to take in any action. Those who direct their lives from this deeper level of feeling achieve levels of success that are never reached by people who limit their quest for answers to the exercise of reason. Reason, indeed, if unsupported by feeling, may point in hundreds of plausible direc...