I must admit, now that I am retired, those 3 words conjure up different emotions in me than it used to. As a gut reaction, when I heard the first back to school commercial, I froze! My heart rate increased, my stomach knotted, I started to sweat, and panicked thoughts of "NO!! Summer just started! I'm not ready yet!!" raced through my head. Then, I remembered that I'm not on summer vacation anymore - my schedule stays the same; no rushing to cram every last second into my summer; nothing to "get ready;"nothing will soon come to an end; no high-speed treadmill I will soon have to jump on. WHEW!!
However, I still think of September as a beginning. Like New Year's Day, I tend to think about goals. Of course, that is also an old habit, since all teachers need to submit goals for the year. But, those are now thought of in terms of academics. As a parent, I also had goals when the kids went back to school. Oh sure, I wanted my kids to progress academically. But, I also wanted my kids to grow in other ways, as well. I wanted to make sure they were continuing to progress toward independence. Above all, I wanted them to be good people - kind, compassionate, responsible, empathetic, and balanced adults. If they were successful in that, they would be happy.
As we begin the process of preparing ourselves for the beginning of another school year, I was wondering what your goals are. Now, I'm NOT talking academics. I'm talking about the other stuff that we as educators don't get to talk about as much anymore, and parents sometimes forget while making sure their homework gets done - those social/emotional goals we have for our students, our children, our grandchildren, and even ourselves. My goal is to focus on self-regulation; keeping things in balance in my life and in my emotions. I would probably have the same goal for my students, if I was teaching.
So, please let me know what you wish for yourself or your students this school year!
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Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Mindful Monday: Do we need to go back to school?
Today's topic is based on the article from The Huffington Post: Schooling Ourselves: The Opening of the American Mind Please take a moment to read it, if you haven't already.
The gist of this article is that American education needs to change, and I don't think many would disagree. However, it's this quote that pinpoints the author's stance: "Education as an acquisition of knowledge without the expansion of consciousness is no education at all. It is a dead end, unless the acquired knowledge is brought into working reality with human and world conditions, environment, social and other responsibilities that will tell the tale of our future as humanity."
I left the classroom to teach mindfulness to students because of this idea. I feel that the primary thing I see we are failing at right now is our nearly exclusionary focus on academic subjects at the expense of social-emotional education. We are raising a generation of children who are "book smart" but not "street smart." They can ace the ACT, but aren't aware of (or don't care about) what is going on in the world around them. They will attempt to climb the corporate ladder, but will wonder why their relationships fizzle, will be unaware of what is happening beyond their corporate walls, and will probably succumb to a stress-related illness or two. And, they might not be successful at climbing that corporate ladder, either, because they may be unsuccessful at working with people. They will not be responsible citizens and will not make educated choices when voting for leaders or on issues because they will be unaware of the social issues of the day. They will be at what the author refers to as "a dead end."
It used to be thought that American students were trailing behind those from other countries because we needed to turn up our focus on math and science. Then, the focus was on reading. But, here we are . . . still trailing behind. I have tried to live my life by one word: balance. Too much of anything isn't good. I think this pertains to how we learn and work, too. We all need balance in our life, and students need to learn how to balance their own lives in order to be successful in whatever they do. As educators, we need to provide that for them. Provide the academic instruction AND the opportunities for expansion of consciousness. Those were the things that were thrown out to make room for testing and test prep. Those were those "teachable moments" that teachers used to look for and expand upon, that we no longer have time for. Those were the things that made teaching and learning so exciting and rewarding. Remember???
The gist of this article is that American education needs to change, and I don't think many would disagree. However, it's this quote that pinpoints the author's stance: "Education as an acquisition of knowledge without the expansion of consciousness is no education at all. It is a dead end, unless the acquired knowledge is brought into working reality with human and world conditions, environment, social and other responsibilities that will tell the tale of our future as humanity."
I left the classroom to teach mindfulness to students because of this idea. I feel that the primary thing I see we are failing at right now is our nearly exclusionary focus on academic subjects at the expense of social-emotional education. We are raising a generation of children who are "book smart" but not "street smart." They can ace the ACT, but aren't aware of (or don't care about) what is going on in the world around them. They will attempt to climb the corporate ladder, but will wonder why their relationships fizzle, will be unaware of what is happening beyond their corporate walls, and will probably succumb to a stress-related illness or two. And, they might not be successful at climbing that corporate ladder, either, because they may be unsuccessful at working with people. They will not be responsible citizens and will not make educated choices when voting for leaders or on issues because they will be unaware of the social issues of the day. They will be at what the author refers to as "a dead end."
It used to be thought that American students were trailing behind those from other countries because we needed to turn up our focus on math and science. Then, the focus was on reading. But, here we are . . . still trailing behind. I have tried to live my life by one word: balance. Too much of anything isn't good. I think this pertains to how we learn and work, too. We all need balance in our life, and students need to learn how to balance their own lives in order to be successful in whatever they do. As educators, we need to provide that for them. Provide the academic instruction AND the opportunities for expansion of consciousness. Those were the things that were thrown out to make room for testing and test prep. Those were those "teachable moments" that teachers used to look for and expand upon, that we no longer have time for. Those were the things that made teaching and learning so exciting and rewarding. Remember???
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Welcome!
I can chalk this up to another new adventure! This is my first attempt at blogging, and I am really excited to get this off the ground! For those of you that don't know me, I recently left the classroom, where I have been teaching 1st and 2nd graders for 20 years. I will now be helping out at the family hardware store (McNab's Hardware in Waterford, MI - come in and see us!), But, more importantly, I am starting my own consulting business, Mindful Opportunities, where I will be teaching mindfulness to students and adults who are looking to live a more focused, peaceful life.
This is actually my SECOND attempt at starting up a blog. The first one was on a site that has been down for nearly 5 days, and many online have come to the assumption that they have gone under, taking all of our blood, sweat, tears, and conversations with them! Ugh! Technology - makes you want to throw things, but can't live without it!
Or, can we? I read a compelling article this week that was also mentioned on Good Morning, America: Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children. Chinese doctors consider this a clinical disorder, and there is speculation it will only be a matter of time before doctors in the United States will, as well.
I have always wanted to stay current on all technological advances. I don't ever want the words "I'm too old to learn that" to come out of my mouth! However, I noticed with each new gadget I became more distracted and disengaged. It really got bad after I got my iPad. I could no longer sit and relax while watching a movie - I had to have my gadget in my hand; looking up who that actor is that looks so familiar, what other movie she was in, who's singing the song in the soundtrack. Of course, I have now lost the plot line, so I might as well check my email and facebook page for the hundredth time just in case someone posted a funny quote that I just HAVE to read. Sometimes, upon checking my school email, I would see an email from a parent. Curiosity would not let me wait until business hours before checking it . . . and then, of course, I am compelled to reply otherwise I'll be up all night thinking about it. So, now I'm doing work at 10:30 at night! I found myself constantly connected, having lost all sense of the word "quitting time." And worse, I had become just as inattentive as the students that I desperately tried to engage everyday at school. I was soon to discover the solution for me was mindfulness.
I would love to hear what you think of this article. Do you feel that you or your children are too connected? How are you handling it, or are you handling it?
This is actually my SECOND attempt at starting up a blog. The first one was on a site that has been down for nearly 5 days, and many online have come to the assumption that they have gone under, taking all of our blood, sweat, tears, and conversations with them! Ugh! Technology - makes you want to throw things, but can't live without it!
Or, can we? I read a compelling article this week that was also mentioned on Good Morning, America: Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children. Chinese doctors consider this a clinical disorder, and there is speculation it will only be a matter of time before doctors in the United States will, as well.
I have always wanted to stay current on all technological advances. I don't ever want the words "I'm too old to learn that" to come out of my mouth! However, I noticed with each new gadget I became more distracted and disengaged. It really got bad after I got my iPad. I could no longer sit and relax while watching a movie - I had to have my gadget in my hand; looking up who that actor is that looks so familiar, what other movie she was in, who's singing the song in the soundtrack. Of course, I have now lost the plot line, so I might as well check my email and facebook page for the hundredth time just in case someone posted a funny quote that I just HAVE to read. Sometimes, upon checking my school email, I would see an email from a parent. Curiosity would not let me wait until business hours before checking it . . . and then, of course, I am compelled to reply otherwise I'll be up all night thinking about it. So, now I'm doing work at 10:30 at night! I found myself constantly connected, having lost all sense of the word "quitting time." And worse, I had become just as inattentive as the students that I desperately tried to engage everyday at school. I was soon to discover the solution for me was mindfulness.
I would love to hear what you think of this article. Do you feel that you or your children are too connected? How are you handling it, or are you handling it?
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