Category: calling to make a difference

Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Intention

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

Once we dig deeper into our souls through the practice of introspection, we must then become consciously aware of the essence of who we truly are and, from there, set our intentions.

It is all about alignment and balance.  

We are able to make an action plan to align our actions and words with the essence of our being…who we truly are and how we want to show up in the world.

Ask Deepak Chopra teaches us, “where our intention goes, energy flows”. 

It is a basic principle of our True Spirit. And keep in mind, it is applicable to both positive and negative energy. 

From etymonline.com:

…..“Intention” from “late 14c., entencioun, “purpose, design, aim, object, will, wish, desire

…..noun of action from intendere “to turn one’s attention,” literally “to stretch out” 

…..In Middle English “emotion, feelings; heart, mind, mental faculties, understanding.” 

So many meaningful and powerful words here behind “intention”.

 

If my attention is on who I truly am, my purpose, my wishes and my heart, 

then I CAN CHOOSE 

a conscious and well-meant (intended) response as opposed to a reaction.

“Response” comes from Latin “responsum” meaning “an answer” or “a promise in return” or “to pledge back” 

As opposed to “reaction” which is “an action in resistance or response to another action or power”.  

 

When we set our intentions from who we truly are and we respond with a choice from there, from our soul, from our True Spirit, we are setting a promise to ourselves to bring things into alignment with our integrity and maintain balance in our lives. Remember the origin of “integrity” being from “whole” and “pure”?

However, when we choose to react, like a knee-jerk reaction, it is an automated response from a conditioned painful place that is residing deep in the shadows of our subconscious mind.

I find it real interesting that the term “reaction time” came into our lexicon during the late 1800’s when the great psychologists like Wundt, Freud, Pavlov and Jung began exploring the psychology of humans.  Were they onto something? 

Reaction time is the “time elapsing between the action of an external stimulus and the giving of a signal in reply” 

So, it is in that magic moment of time 

between the EXTERNAL STIMULUS and the INTERNAL SIGNAL 

that makes all the difference in the world.  

In that magic moment of time, the power behind our intention rules the outcome and determines the experience we will have.

Our intentions create our reality!!!

Let that sink in a minute, and then, let’s dig deeper… (more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Introspection

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Introspection, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

When I was deciding on what concepts each letter of SPIRIT would represent, I considered “reflection” as one for the “R”. However, the more I pondered my experience on the Camino and the lessons I had learned in life, the more I realized that reflection was not enough. There was a deeper learning; a deeper journey; a deeper knowing.

So, like any teacher, who is also a lifelong learner, I did some research. I also asked some friends what they thought about their learning journeys. This is what I discovered.

Some people use the terms self-awareness, self-reflection and introspection interchangeably. There has been a lot of research done on all three, and it has been determined that they are really not the same. My personal and professional experiences tell me they are not the same either.

According to Positive Psychology, 

     “Self-reflection is one’s ability to willingly examine one’s thought and feelings and reflect on what they mean”.

     “Introspection is the examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings”.

     “Self-awareness is the achievement of practicing self-reflection and the exercise of introspection.”

Clear as mud, right?  Stay with me here because it is a process that, when understood, leads to a more spiritual and fulfilling path to peace and bliss. Also, it is one of the greatest lessons I have learned in life. (more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Reality

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

“Reality” means “the quality of being real.” It is also defined as “sincerity”.

REAL  has its roots in Latin, from “res” meaning “thing”.  Then, in the early 14c., “actually existing, true;” mid-15c., “relating to things”.   

“Real” meaning “genuine” is recorded from the 1550s, and today, we use it to mean “authentic”, like when we say “are you for real?” 

We also use “real” to emphasize the significance of something, like when we say something is a real problem or a real pain in the…well, you get the picture! 

Perhaps, in summary, I could say that 
to be REAL means to be AUTHENTIC, TRUE and SIGNIFICANT.

I spent my entire teaching career trying to make learning for students real and meaningful, full of purpose and connections to the real world and relating everything to their personal worlds and how that fit into the bigger picture of humanity. 

Years of research and personal experience taught me that if students don’t see a “REAL reason to learn this stuff”, then, they will not own it. It just becomes part of a virtual reality. I think that is what is going on right now with online learning. It doesn’t feel or seem like “real school”, but even more so, what they are being asked to “learn” is rote, prescribed, computer-generated, impersonal and disconnected…not real.  

The same is true for teachers. Teaching has become so prescribed and scripted that most teachers don’t REALly understand what they are supposed to be teaching or what the students are REALly supposed to be learning. 

What is important, significant and meaningful for students to learn in school? 
What is for real, and what is just for a test? 
What are we teaching them about being kind and loving human beings? 
Where are the connections and the community?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Integration

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

“Integration”, means “the act of bringing together the parts of a whole,” from Late Latin integrationem  “renewal, restoration,” and from past participle stem of Latin integrare “make whole, renew, begin again”.

There is a lot of talk in education about integration, 
but in many different, and sometimes confusing, ways.

Integration (with inclusion) means that exceptional students are being partially taught in the mainstream classroom and that activities are adapted so that these students can “fit in” with their mainstream peers…to make part of the whole.

Then, there is an integrated curriculum, which allows children to pursue learning in a holistic (whole) way and brings out the interconnectedness of all curricular areas.

Integrated skills focuses on the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking through a holistic communicative language teaching approach bringing all these skills together and not used in isolation.

There’s also integrated lessons, integrated technology, integrated classroom, integrated schools, integrated teaching, integrated learning, integrated data, integrated systems, integrated “you name it”.

There are so many buzz words in education that incorporate the word "integrated".  
So, why is that? 
And is the word "integration" related to the word "integrity"?

The concept of making connections and bringing those parts together to make a whole lot of sense out of things when learning so that we can move up Bloom’s Taxonomy and apply them to our lives and the real world is the key to lifelong learning and becoming a whole, well-rounded, self-actualized (Maslow’s Hierarchy) human being.

But are we truly applying the concept of integration faithfully and truly in education? 
Are we maintaining our integrity in the use and application of the word?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Spirit Journey: SERENITY

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

Serenity – “mid-15c., “clear, calm,” from Latin serenus “peaceful, calm, clear, unclouded” (of weather), figuratively “cheerful, glad, tranquil.”    How can we find serenity when…

There is a lot going on in teaching these days.

There is a lot going on in the world.

There is a lot going on inside of each of us. 

Teachers, students, parents, administrators, the world…
EVERY ONE needs more calm and peace and serenity.  

There is too much expected in too little time and too few resources or too little support or just TOO…TOO much, TOO little TO DO or TO BE. The perspective has changed from a place of abundance to a place of lack and Taking On Obstacles (TOO) that are constantly being placed before us.  

Everything is a challenge to be overcome. There is struggle in everything we do.  There is no natural flow of curiosity, gradual growth and exploratory learning. Where has all the joy gone? Why is passion now a curse in teaching?  

The forecast in education is always stormy weather, stormy seas, dark clouds, high winds, lightening strikes and doom. Teachers feel like they are either in the middle of a tornado and have to escape to the shelter underground and hide or that they are being swept away and drowned by a tsunami-sized flooding of paperwork, meetings, to-do lists, checklists, deadlines, emails and expectations.

How can we as human beings, let alone super-human teacher beings, 
survive the stormy seas of education?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

PAY ATTENTION!

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

We ask our students all the time to “pay attention”.  Why?

What is our intention behind the request?

What results are we expecting?

What does attention look like, and how do we know/measure it?

What purpose does “paying attention” serve?

Attention-attentive-attend to… 

from attendere "give heed to," literally "to stretch toward," 

from ad "to, toward"  + tendere  “stretch." 

As teachers, we have to pay attention to a lot of things. One of the first things administrators look for when evaluating a teacher is “with-it-ness”. Are they paying attention to the things that we think they should be paying attention to?

“With-it-ness” is really just another word for “awareness”. To be aware of something is to be awakened and open to what is going on, and then, from there to make choices. What choices are we making as teachers?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

The Power of Community

calling to make a difference, creating community, Maslow before Blooms, Podcasting, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

There is great power in community.  And by power, I mean the energy of the heart that connects us through our common humanity  The energy of support, encouragement, validation, guidance, compassion and love of the “me” that I see in “you”.

Common = “belonging to all” +  unity = “state of being one.” 
We can all come together, communicate, connect and learn from one another.

There is no curriculum map for life’s learning journey.

There are just lessons to be learned and to be shared in community.

We all need support, encouragement, validation, guidance, compassion and love.  We need to be inspired.  We need to be lifted up.  We need to reach out and make a difference by touching the hearts of others.

As teachers and students are heading back to school, 
with many questions, few answers and a lot of anxiety, 
what can we do to tap into the power of this community and help?
PLEASE CLICK ON "MORE" TO ENGAGE AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER!!!

(more…)

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Linda Markley

The Teacher Voice

calling to make a difference, making connections, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching

How do teachers use their voice both in the classroom and beyond?  Too often the voice of the teacher is portrayed by the “wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah” sound that echoed in the classroom of the Peanuts characters created by Charles Shultz. 

          The teacher voice is so much more.  What we say and how we 
          say it holds enormous power and potential impact on children…
          ....for better or for worse...!  How do you use your teacher voice?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Educate to Elevate

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Spirit of teaching

As if a pandemic were not enough, once again, teachers are being called to step forward and rise up in service to our culture, our society, our communities, our humanity.  Our passion to open the hearts and minds of children and empower them through learning is being called forth to make a difference through education.  “Educate” related to educere “bring out, lead forth”. 

 In the spirit of teaching, we must all EDUCATE TO ELEVATE minds and hearts 
beyond the darkness of ignorance and into enLIGHTenment 
in order to set us all free.

How will you choose to make a difference and bring forth a more clear vision of what diversity, inclusion and social justice mean and what they will look like in your classroom? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Teacher Appreciation

calling to make a difference, Teacher Appreciation, teacher hero

Appreciate…from the Latin word appretiatus meaning “to set a price”.  Other meanings have evolved over time as “to value highly” or “to rise in value”.  Geesh, have we seen this come true during the recent developments due to COVID-19?!  Although there has always been discussion around paying teachers a salary more commensurate to jobs with similar requirements for education and skills needed, never have we truly considered the true value of a teacher beyond the monetary value attached to them.  Students, parents, administrators…well, basically, just about every human being on the planet, is finally waking up and recognizing the real value of teachers in this world.  Their value is now being measured in the currencies of relationships, connections and heart and how much value they add to society, community and family.  (more…)

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Linda Markley

Calling of the spirit

calling to make a difference, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

The spirit of teaching…what does that mean?  It is not a religious reference nor will one find it listed in a glossary of teaching terms.  It is not something that can be defined by tests, data, numbers, letters, scores, scales, standards or any of the other common measurement tools and terms used to define education today.  It is not an ephemeral phrase like many of the buzz words that pass through the pedagogical winds of time.  It is something that beckons the heart of humanity and whispers in the ears of a chosen few to answer the calling…the calling to serve, guide, inspire and facilitate children learning more about who they truly are and what unique gifts they have to share with the world.  We are here to make a difference and create a better world for the future through children.  The spirit of teaching starts in the heart and ends in the heart. (more…)

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