Lindsay Hartley, Kathryn Poudrier, and Nicole Zanewick The Common Good

From Turning to One Another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future by Margaret J. Wheatley Working towards the common good is working beyond ourselves to help other human beings in any way possible. Why dont we always help others? Traditional power relationships Feelings of status, emphasis on human differences, concern with our own roles Fear of doing the wrong thing or making things worse Fatigue, feeling like its not your problem Disasters and working towards the common good: In a crisis, people act without hesitation or concern for rules or restrictions Feeling free from barriers, people act in any way possible to help Clarity and immediacy of the goal at hand Amidst horrible experiences, those helping in disasters feel immense satisfaction Disasters reveal capacities long buried by bureaucracy and disrespect. Margaret Wheatley Benefits of working for the common good, often discovered after a disaster Reveals the goodness and talent in other people Learn what trust and good communication are Teaches us about the human spirit Brings hope, energy, and meaning Discussion question: Why do we need disasters to help us see the good in others? We should not need a disaster to know that goodness and talent are common in our fellow human beings. Human Connection as an Extension of Love Working towards the common good helps us let go of fear and the barriers to connecting with others. We then act without ego and are able to form spiritual connections with others that reveal our own and others capacities. Love as a commitment to others: Creates connections between self and others Opens space for dialogue, which according to Paulo Friere can be seen as a gesture of love: Love is at the same time the foundation of dialogue and dialogue itself Results in deeper, more profound communication, which fosters trust, sincerity and respect all values that have been presented to us along our journey towards our highest conception of self. Helps us let go of our fears, freeing us from restrictions so we can explore and grow Fear leads to conformity.

Lindsay Hartley, Kathryn Poudrier, and Nicole Zanewick

Tao Te Ching writes Let go of fixed plans and concepts, and the world will govern itself. This letting go takes away our preconceived notions of each other and our own perceived limitations. Letting go of these beliefs that breed fear and separation, is an act of both love and freedom Freire describes love as an act of courage, not of fear because it involves extending to others, revealing vulnerabilities and risking conversation. Love humanizes us and those around us, which is ultimately a reclamation of what connects us and makes us who we are. As Margaret Wheatley puts it, conversation is the practice of freedomwhen our actions create freedom for ourselves and others, that too is a gesture of love. Sacred Experience From Tao Te Ching, 600 B.C. China (Stephen Mitchell, translator) What sacred is not: A place or certain group of people A ritual A special experience that is difficult to find The use of religion as an intermediary to experience sacred is a way to control people. Sacred should be a common, everyday experience. What is sacred? We are sacred A sense of belonging, in tune with our highest conception of self The feeling when you are open to or opened by life Richness of human experience, feeling fully alive, as life reveals itself in wholeness Sacred experiences always offer gentle reassurance that everything is all right, just as it is. How can we experience sacred? Connecting with each other and nature (we cannot experience sacred in isolation) Accepting ourselves as fully alive and worthy individuals Letting down our guards to be open to life and to each other Without any work on my part, my heart opens and my sense of me expands. Sacred feels: spacious, open, free, acceptance, peace, a sense of connection and community Barriers to sacred: Loss of community and connection with nature Fear or trying to control the uncontrollable in life Numbing our yearnings for sacred with substances or distractions Reflection questions: How would you describe what sacred is and how it feels? If you can recall times that felt sacred to you, was there a sense of feeling connected to something beyond yourself?

Lindsay Hartley, Kathryn Poudrier, and Nicole Zanewick

Do you experience yourself in a different, perhaps larger way? When we let go of fear and the desire to control every variable in our lives, we open ourselves to experience and connection with life. This brings us closer to our highest conception of self and allows us to experience sacred. When we are open to human connection and sacred experience, the working for the common good follows naturally. I let go of all desire for the common good, and the good becomes common as grass. Classroom Implications As teachers, me must remember that human connection toward a common goal or good is an act of love If we look at our students with love and without labels or limitations, they will reciprocate and see us the same way. Connecting with our colleagues and our students creates sacred connections that go deeper than pedagogy By embracing our highest conception of self as a spiritual being, we will best be able to embrace others We can create positive, loving classroom environments where our students feel safe and are able to connect with each other in a positive way so that they too can experience sacred