The older I get I find myself enjoying more non-fiction books. Maybe its the way I connect to a real issue or idea or maybe I am finding them to be more meaningful. I just finished reading "A whole new mind" last night and after reading the chapter "Meaning" the light bulbs in my head were going on like fireworks. A very dear and close friend of mine became seriously ill with a life threatening virus a little over two weeks ago. Jeanne is a strong and healthy 36 year old, stay at home mother to four young boys. She suddenly came down with a form of strep that attacks your muscles. I got the phone call while I was at work and immediately rushed to the hospital. During the eight hours we waited to hear if she was going to make it I found myself asking the questions why and how. How was her husband going to deal with four boys? All the horrible thoughts went through my mind. I went home to my four children scared and desperate. All I could think of was that I was home with my kids an Jeanne was not. I do consider myself a spiritual person but I never realized how much I needed spirituality until that moment. Jeanne pulled through and her operation was successful. Every day she gets better. She lost most of her muscles in her right leg and now she is learning to walk again. Before this happened Jeanne did not consider herself to be spiritual but now she thanks God everyday and is looking at her life very differently. I have spent hours at the hospital talking with her and listening to her speak of appreciating the small stuff. I found myself doing the same things. Pink's chapter really hit home for me, the timing could not have been more perfect. It really makes sense. We need spirituality for many reasons and it should not take a life and death situation for us to realize it. I would like to see more companies grasp the concept of spirituality; people finding meaning in their jobs, home life and other aspects. Children learn from what they see and from what they are exposed to. I would love to see my students finding meaning and appreciation with life! My students are aware of the situation with Jeanne. Everyday at the start of class one or more of them will ask how she is doing and how are her kids.....maybe they are already on the path to finding meaning.
Sorry this blog was so long but it is so fresh in my mind and I related to this chapter/book so much.
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3 comments:
Thamks for sharing a very personal example. There is no doubt in my mind that we must address every aspect (intellectual, physical, emotional, spiritual) of our students' lives if we intend to bring relevance to 21st century education.
This is not the same as being their parent, mentor, or pastor, but it involves aspects of these roles.
Just as you shared - it seems that students today are more in-tune with a need to find meaning in their work than previous generations were. Anyone else find this to be true in their interactions with students? Maybe this is most apparent at our secondary levels?
In my twenty-three years of working with youth, I have often asked kids where they see themselves, or what their dreams or goals are for a few years "down the road". Of course I don't expect them to have a firm grasp of what they want to be when they're 40.I have found, however, that for hope to exist, it is essential for kids to have dreams or goals (even in the short term). The kids I have found to be more successful are the ones who can share some vision (reality based or not) of what or who they want to be when they're older. I asked a young girl these questions yesterday. She had no idea...and, in all seriousness, I wondered whether she even believed she'd live to be an adult.
I assert that one of our main objectives in life, especially in the fields of education and Juvenile Justice,should be to provide people with the hope that does bring "deeper meaning" to one's life.
In a society where communication with others is often done via the internet, cell phone, or text messaging, it is becoming painfully clear that if we don't find personal ways to connect with each other, we may lose the spiritual, human interactions we need. It scares me to think of a world where we stop truly "seeing" each other. Romy - I appreciate what you said about the importance of the existence of hope. The world is a scary place and as educators we can help children see the positives and we can nurture those dreams and goals. In the past 13 years I've definitely felt my role as teacher has been morphing. As the needs of the children change, we have to be ready to address those needs.
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