There's this story I tell about my first week of being a junior high teacher. I wanted to get the students excited about writing and I thought getting them to think about why humans had developed a written form of communication would be interesting fuel for thought. And so I gave them a topic. “The importance of writing to our society.” A paragraph. “Are you going to mark it?” they asked. “Of course,” I responded. “What’s it going to be out of?” “10!” I said confidently.
At the end of the class they handed their work in and I took it home to mark. The first paragraph I picked up started this way: Writing is important to our society because it’s much faster than printing. Not quite what I had expected, I picked up another one. Writing is important. You have to know how to write or you’ll get in trouble. And if you get in trouble your Mom and Dad will get mad at you. I picked up the third one which said that writing wasn’t important at all because computers were going to take over and no one would need to write anymore.
It was finally around the seventh or eighth one that I started getting what I was looking for. Writing is important because it lets us keep track of information, it allows us to communicate, it let’s us be creative. Now I just had to decide who got 5 and who got 10 and who got 2 on that assignment. None of them were wrong necessarily, and really perhaps my instructions hadn’t been as clear as I thought but to what extent should I tell them what I wanted?
Within days of becoming a teacher I came up against the two things that would continually make me uncomfortable about my role in the classroom. The first issue is the degree to which remembering and regurgitation have been disguised as learning. The second issue is around the role of teacher both as mentor and judge...especially when I was expected to judge with inadequate tools and then represent these measurements in ways that supported unfair discrimination between students. After six years of trying desperately to understand the system and make it work for students I entered grad school determined to get to the heart of learning. That's where I began to fit all the pieces together...farm kid, social worker, teacher...and what was that other piece? Oh yeah. Next time.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Art of Conversation Part 2
Just home from a wonderful Christmas with my parents and extended family where I spent a lot of time engaged in different kinds of conversations. One of the things that I often forget when I talk to people about the importance of conversations is that many people aren't comfortable having conversations. The other thing that I forget is that there are many different types of conversations. So when you think of feedback loops of conversation keeping the balance in a system, you probably need to think about how difficult conversations can be. In the past I have been completely blindsided by conversations where I've assumed my conversation partner shared a similar paradigm when in fact they haven't. While that in itself wasn't a problem, problems did emerge when they weren't able to distinguish how these differences influenced our perceptions of an event. It was a difficult hurtle to overcome. There were a few lessons about conversations that I was reintroduced to this weekend that I believe are important to mention before moving on.
Good conversations involve risk taking and trust. We are only able to open ourselves to the truths of another when we trust that our words will be met without pre-judgement and carefully tended. We speak because we want to be heard and have our words honored because of the place from which they came. Nothing stifles conversations like having our own words turned on us in a way that deviates from the original intent. To openly share our voices within a system, there needs to be a safe environment.
Good conversations involve kindness. This kindness begins when we extend the opportunity to another person to share, and follow it through by listening carefully and eventually responding in a way that lets the person know they've been heard. The most important kindness comes in our response, a response that even if it speaks in disagreement, is not belittling, competitive or judgemental. A response that gives life to more interaction and provides an opportunity to co-create meaning.
One of the wonderful things that I noticed this weekend when I was in conversation with various family members is that conversations help me to see patterns. I was reading an article by Wendell Berry entitled "Solving for Pattern" which is contained in a book called Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable Future. The article points to the importance of understanding how we are part of a pattern and those patterns fit into larger patterns. (Reminded me of fractal geometry and he was talking about agriculture.) It's in the recognition of these patterns that we are able to monitor ourselves and our impact on the world of patterns around us. When I talk to my brother I can see not only the pattern (which I sometimes refer to as a metaphor) between agriculture and education, but also where these to patterns overlap and are a part of one another. When I talked with my father there were historical patterns that are being repeated within our current context. His life experiences and point of view allows me to see patterns that would otherwise not be accessible to me. When we see patterns I think we are better equipped to understand our own place within them. We need others to help us understand who we are in the systems in which we find ourselves in. We cannot do this without conversations.
Good conversations involve risk taking and trust. We are only able to open ourselves to the truths of another when we trust that our words will be met without pre-judgement and carefully tended. We speak because we want to be heard and have our words honored because of the place from which they came. Nothing stifles conversations like having our own words turned on us in a way that deviates from the original intent. To openly share our voices within a system, there needs to be a safe environment.
Good conversations involve kindness. This kindness begins when we extend the opportunity to another person to share, and follow it through by listening carefully and eventually responding in a way that lets the person know they've been heard. The most important kindness comes in our response, a response that even if it speaks in disagreement, is not belittling, competitive or judgemental. A response that gives life to more interaction and provides an opportunity to co-create meaning.
One of the wonderful things that I noticed this weekend when I was in conversation with various family members is that conversations help me to see patterns. I was reading an article by Wendell Berry entitled "Solving for Pattern" which is contained in a book called Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable Future. The article points to the importance of understanding how we are part of a pattern and those patterns fit into larger patterns. (Reminded me of fractal geometry and he was talking about agriculture.) It's in the recognition of these patterns that we are able to monitor ourselves and our impact on the world of patterns around us. When I talk to my brother I can see not only the pattern (which I sometimes refer to as a metaphor) between agriculture and education, but also where these to patterns overlap and are a part of one another. When I talked with my father there were historical patterns that are being repeated within our current context. His life experiences and point of view allows me to see patterns that would otherwise not be accessible to me. When we see patterns I think we are better equipped to understand our own place within them. We need others to help us understand who we are in the systems in which we find ourselves in. We cannot do this without conversations.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Sustainability and the Art of Conversation
It was as a social worker that I discovered the importance of conversations. Since I was the one with all the power as an income security social worker, better conversations seemed to happen in my clients' homes as it kept the balance of power at a place where meaningful conversations could happen...I was on their turf. It also provided me with more openings with which to begin a conversation as I was able to see them within a context.
When the conversations became stifled with the introduction of more "efficient" methods of gathering information, I felt an enormous loss. At the time I believed it was changing my job description from social worker to secretary, but recently I read something that made me realize that it was much more than that.
There is an article written by Fritjof Capra, author of The Tao of Physics, which you can find online at www.ecoliteracy.org. It is entitled Creativity and Leadership in Learning Communities. Over time I will write more and more about Fritjof Capra, as he is one of the leading thinkers in the world on systems theory, a way of thinking that compares human organizations to ecological systems and the elements within those ecological systems that make them sustainable.
In the article Capra refers to the feedback loops that exist within ecological systems that allow them to organize and regulate themselves. An example of this would be a food chain within a certain ecosystem. When there is more food available, more consumers appear. (Lots of rabbits, more coyote.) However, when a food source becomes scarce because of the overpopulation of consumers, the consumers will regulate themselves through lower birthrates, etc. in order to maintain the balance and remain sustainable ecosystems. If there were no feedback loop to maintain the balance it would be to the detriment of both.
Capra suggests that in human organizations these feedback loops take the form of conversations. A healthy community is one that encourages and sustains conversations.
When I saw the opportunities for conversations being reduced to a "fill in the blank" system with a skewed balance of power, I was afraid of what it meant for all of us. What happens when a person, who has reached a low point in their lives, reaches out for help from the community (because often there was no family support) and there is no one to engage them in a conversation about possibilities. No appreciation or understanding of the individual's context. No one to listen to the circumstances that contributed to the situation. We all lose because there is little or no opportunity to restore balance.
When the conversations became stifled with the introduction of more "efficient" methods of gathering information, I felt an enormous loss. At the time I believed it was changing my job description from social worker to secretary, but recently I read something that made me realize that it was much more than that.
There is an article written by Fritjof Capra, author of The Tao of Physics, which you can find online at www.ecoliteracy.org. It is entitled Creativity and Leadership in Learning Communities. Over time I will write more and more about Fritjof Capra, as he is one of the leading thinkers in the world on systems theory, a way of thinking that compares human organizations to ecological systems and the elements within those ecological systems that make them sustainable.
In the article Capra refers to the feedback loops that exist within ecological systems that allow them to organize and regulate themselves. An example of this would be a food chain within a certain ecosystem. When there is more food available, more consumers appear. (Lots of rabbits, more coyote.) However, when a food source becomes scarce because of the overpopulation of consumers, the consumers will regulate themselves through lower birthrates, etc. in order to maintain the balance and remain sustainable ecosystems. If there were no feedback loop to maintain the balance it would be to the detriment of both.
Capra suggests that in human organizations these feedback loops take the form of conversations. A healthy community is one that encourages and sustains conversations.
When I saw the opportunities for conversations being reduced to a "fill in the blank" system with a skewed balance of power, I was afraid of what it meant for all of us. What happens when a person, who has reached a low point in their lives, reaches out for help from the community (because often there was no family support) and there is no one to engage them in a conversation about possibilities. No appreciation or understanding of the individual's context. No one to listen to the circumstances that contributed to the situation. We all lose because there is little or no opportunity to restore balance.
Monday, December 17, 2007
When We Talk We Redefine the World
In my early twenties I spent about three years working as an income security social worker. Some call it welfare. It was a job that I loved and for good reason. For many people, applying for social assistance equated with hitting rock bottom and so being friendly and helpful went a long way with most of my clients.
In the early days, I would get seven new files a week and on intake day, I would visit each of those clients in their home. Once in a while I would encounter situations that made me a little uncomfortable and perhaps vulnerable, but for the most part, intake day was the highlight of my week. It was an adventure. First you'd have to find the place, then you were invited into a home and finally, you got to talk about stuff that really mattered.
If I were to try to pin it down, I think what I loved about the work was that people who have hit rock bottom and are at their most vulnerable, aren't always able to see the potential in themselves or their circumstances. It was amazing what I could learn about people through the conversations and when I would point out all the positive things I could see and muse with them about possibilities...it was like watching a light come on.
People love to tell their story to someone who is willing to listen, and if that person is able to see value in their story, it is incredibly empowering. What's not to love about a job like that? And truth be told, I learned a lot about a lot of things from those conversations.
After working for a couple of years as an income security worker the job changed substantially. We no longer visited people's homes and many of the conversations were replaced by fill in blank forms that were far more efficient than sitting in someone's kitchen, talking over a cup of tea. The job lost something profound for me and it wasn't long before I was ready to move on.
Someone sent me an email a few years ago that said a study had been conducted at some university that showed how women able to handle stress far better than men because of their need for conversation. I believe that story had a lot of truth to it. Then I discovered systems theory and suddenly my need for conversations became clear. More about that next time.
*(The first song on the new DandyLionesses CD is entitled When We Talk, and the line that anchors the chorus reads: "When we talk we redefine the world.")
In the early days, I would get seven new files a week and on intake day, I would visit each of those clients in their home. Once in a while I would encounter situations that made me a little uncomfortable and perhaps vulnerable, but for the most part, intake day was the highlight of my week. It was an adventure. First you'd have to find the place, then you were invited into a home and finally, you got to talk about stuff that really mattered.
If I were to try to pin it down, I think what I loved about the work was that people who have hit rock bottom and are at their most vulnerable, aren't always able to see the potential in themselves or their circumstances. It was amazing what I could learn about people through the conversations and when I would point out all the positive things I could see and muse with them about possibilities...it was like watching a light come on.
People love to tell their story to someone who is willing to listen, and if that person is able to see value in their story, it is incredibly empowering. What's not to love about a job like that? And truth be told, I learned a lot about a lot of things from those conversations.
After working for a couple of years as an income security worker the job changed substantially. We no longer visited people's homes and many of the conversations were replaced by fill in blank forms that were far more efficient than sitting in someone's kitchen, talking over a cup of tea. The job lost something profound for me and it wasn't long before I was ready to move on.
Someone sent me an email a few years ago that said a study had been conducted at some university that showed how women able to handle stress far better than men because of their need for conversation. I believe that story had a lot of truth to it. Then I discovered systems theory and suddenly my need for conversations became clear. More about that next time.
*(The first song on the new DandyLionesses CD is entitled When We Talk, and the line that anchors the chorus reads: "When we talk we redefine the world.")
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Is Farming Compatible with Sustainability?
The truth about farms is that they were perhaps the beginning of environmental degradation (by our species) as we pursued the security that they provided through increased food production. The preference of one type of species (plant or animal) over another, meant that "less desirable" species were put in jeopardy. Forests were cleared and predators were eliminated as crops and livestock provided a previously unknown security. With that security came population growth and the need for more "security".
And so one might think that the tenet of the need for everything to flourish is contrary to what we know about farming. That's why I loved the book "One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. A guide to natural farming, this book shared the story of a farmer who was able to grow a tremendous amount of food in cooperation with the land. In the book "Good News for a Change" David Suzuki and Holly Dressler have written a chapter entitled "How Coyote Grows Grass" and suddenly we can see this predator/scavenger in a new light.
I will review these books more at a later date, but for now the point that I'm trying to make is that the reason why the human species has flourished at the expense of others is in our inability to recognize the full power/potential of the relationships in which we are embedded. When we evaluate another based on how they will benefit us yet insist that this "influence" follow a direct path, we lose so much of what the world has to offer us indirectly and in the process limit what we are able to see.
What does it mean to be able to see someone or something in their full potential? Books like Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" try to get to the heart of that question. The book explores how the person you least expect can have the most profound impact on your life. It can be a powerful yet perhaps debilitating exercise. I can imagine how a person might become paralyzed with a worry of what chain of events might be set off by the most innocuous action. I remember wondering once in a poem whether Jesus Christ would have ever spoken to the masses had he known how many would eventually die in his name. Are you starting to see how this could become a circular argument? In the end, we have to decide what it is that we believe and then act on it. Some call this a leap of faith. I like taking leaps but not before I engage in extensive conversations. Maybe that's where we need to go next.
And so one might think that the tenet of the need for everything to flourish is contrary to what we know about farming. That's why I loved the book "One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. A guide to natural farming, this book shared the story of a farmer who was able to grow a tremendous amount of food in cooperation with the land. In the book "Good News for a Change" David Suzuki and Holly Dressler have written a chapter entitled "How Coyote Grows Grass" and suddenly we can see this predator/scavenger in a new light.
I will review these books more at a later date, but for now the point that I'm trying to make is that the reason why the human species has flourished at the expense of others is in our inability to recognize the full power/potential of the relationships in which we are embedded. When we evaluate another based on how they will benefit us yet insist that this "influence" follow a direct path, we lose so much of what the world has to offer us indirectly and in the process limit what we are able to see.
What does it mean to be able to see someone or something in their full potential? Books like Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" try to get to the heart of that question. The book explores how the person you least expect can have the most profound impact on your life. It can be a powerful yet perhaps debilitating exercise. I can imagine how a person might become paralyzed with a worry of what chain of events might be set off by the most innocuous action. I remember wondering once in a poem whether Jesus Christ would have ever spoken to the masses had he known how many would eventually die in his name. Are you starting to see how this could become a circular argument? In the end, we have to decide what it is that we believe and then act on it. Some call this a leap of faith. I like taking leaps but not before I engage in extensive conversations. Maybe that's where we need to go next.
My knowledge of sustainablity began on the farm.
If I were to trace the threads back to the beginning I would have to go to the farm. I grew up with a mother who fed a family of eight all winter long with the vegetables that she grew in her garden. My father hunted the wild game that provided us with meat and we harvested buckets and buckets of wild berries to preserve for winter. I know how a bear smells. I know the foliage that supports certain wild crops. I know how to strip a gizzard after I've pulled it out of the belly of a chicken. I know how vegetables taste fresh from the garden. I know that there are many people who know much more about these things than I do however it is this knowledge that forms the basis of what it is that I know about sustainability. To sustain oneself relates primarily to food...sustenance. Sustaining our family on that farm took a tremendous amount of work and I'm not going to pretend that I am predisposed to that lifestyle though in my heart of hearts I wish I was. Thank goodness for those who are predisposed to that way of life. Thank goodness for the needs that they have once their bellies are full. Living sustainably isn't simply about being able to feed ourselves, it's about the interrelationships that form so that we are able to do those things to which we are predisposed and still eat. On the farm these relationships were apparent at a very basic level. Whether it was through the care we gave the livestock or the garden, one of the basic tenets on the farm was that our survival depended upon not just the survival but the flourishing of those things that were in our care. It is something that translates off the farm in so many ways, yet I know it in the core of my being because our life on the farm was committed to supporting the growth of those things which sustained us. Imagine if everyone in an institution or organization knew and acted on the principle that their survival depended on those around them flourishing. Imagine how that would affect global economics. It seems like a simple principle when you think of it and maybe there are a million other ways to learn it. While I didn't completely know that principle then, as a child, it is so embedded in my bones now that I realize it isn't something that I learned but rather something that became a part of me. What are the implications of this basic tenet when considering how we are in the classroom and what things become embedded in our bones there?
Anchors Away
It's hard to know when exactly my passion for understanding what is meant by sustainability began. Perhaps it was when I was just a kid, growing up on a farm with parents who were passionate about being self sufficient. Maybe it was in my role as my social worker during a time when home visits and personal interaction were an important part of determining the need for public assistance. It could have been during my career as a teacher as I struggled to make learning meaningful for my students. Then again it could stem from my love for singing and writing songs and a desire to sing about things that matter. Regardless of where and when it began, if I look back on my life at this point I see a thread running through it. This thread desire to know and understand what it means to "sustain" and make meaningful our presence on this planet. Ultimately I suppose it comes from a love of life and a love of what makes life a joy to live. If that wasn't in my heart I don't suppose sustainability would matter. Thanks to so many elements in this world, in particular the people who are a part of my family and community, I have a life worth living. Some have told me that it is extreme arrogance that makes someone like me worry about sustainability but I disagree. I believe that I am a hopeless romantic, completely in love with the world around me, despite the obvious flaws. And so I will embark on this journey of exploration and record it here. Anchors away!
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