Category: Essential questions

Linda Markley

The Teacher SPIRIT

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, Learning Lessons, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Resources, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher hero, teacher self-care, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

Like so many educators today, I left the educational profession because my school “SPIRIT” was suffering.

I didn’t know what that meant at the time or exactly how to describe it because really I was focused on my poor health and inability to walk very far without my legs giving out on me.

I left the profession “broken” both physically and mentally.

I literally had “fallen”, and I could’t get up.

I was lost with no sense or real direction(s).

So, when I walked across Spain on the Camino Francés, with each step I took and each person I met and each experience I had, I learned a lesson.

And these lessons eventually led me back to my true teaching SPIRIT.

I wanted to share the lessons from my journey with others, especially teachers, to somehow help them find their way back to their true SPIRIT.

I founded The Spirit of Teaching, created a website of resources and started a podcast called Teacher Tales in which teachers can tell their stories of teaching and what makes up a true teaching SPIRIT.

Of course being a teacher and in the field of education, I developed an acronym to help remember the qualities and aspirations of a true teaching SPIRIT (which is why it is capitalized and really should have periods in between each letter).

They can be found on this website and shared with others.

Check them out here.  

Print them out and put them in your plan book.

Journal about them.

Post the mantras and “yellow arrow” guides around your classroom, home, office, car, etc.

There are even more resources that can help guide you and keep you on your intended path.

Check them out here.

You also might want to purchase my book Learning Lessons which is a real treasure trove of insight, resources, guidance and activities that you can use to help inspire and guide you back to your own True Self and the teaching SPIRIT in all of us!

Link to purchase Learning Lessons.

 

Photo credit:

created by Linda Markley in Canva

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Linda Markley

Learning Lessons

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

I have witnessed so many changes in education, especially in the past few years and most definitely since the pandemic.

More and more teachers are leaving the classroom.

Teacher burnout, anxiety and health related issues are at an all time high.

As well, fewer and fewer people are choosing to enter the teaching profession.

You can check out some of the stats and data here:

Reluctantly, I left the teaching profession due to a serious illness brought on by the stress I was experiencing in my position.

It took me a few years to recover physically, however, I still needed to heal mentally and in my teacher spirit.

So, I decided to walk across Spain on the Camino Francés, alone!
It was a pilgrimage of the body, mind and spirit with each step I took (usually 15-20 miles per day!)
Time for reflection, soul-searching, self-discovery, interpersonal connections and many, MANY lessons that would heal the deep wounds I had experienced on my life’s journey, both in and out of the classroom.

How do we learn lessons in life?
What are the best ways for students to learn lessons in the classroom?
And finally, how do the lessons we learn create our path in life?

I discovered the answers to these questions (and so many more!) during my walk across Spain, and I would like to share the lessons I learned with all of you.  Please read on… (more…)

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Linda Markley

Happy Endings

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Resources, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

The end of the first semester of classes is upon us.

We have all been working hard for almost 18 weeks now trying to teach, learn and achieve goals.

We have had good days.

We have had bad days.

We have had ups.

We have had downs.

We have had fun.

We have had drama.

We have been sad, happy, angry, frustrated and all around the emotional block many times…in one day even!

Just like a story playing out in a movie.

The classroom is a reflection of life and the world we live in.

The question is…will we make our story this semester into a horror story, a drama, a comedy, a tale of super-human powers or will we choose to make it a love story with a happy ending?

It IS the season of Hallmark movies, you know!

There is a lot of push-back about toxic positivity in education.

There is also a lot of push-back about calling teachers heroes.

Nonetheless, I will always be in the positive charge for energy in the classroom.

AND, I also know a lot about the Hero’s Journey as described by Joseph Campbell, and I will always believe that each and every one of us is the hero of our own story and journey in life.

So, how can we have a happy ending to this first semester, even though it may not have met all our expectations or we haven’t met all our goals or the students have not measured up to our standards? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Teacher Evaluations

creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Introspection, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher evaluation, teacher vulnerability

The other day, my husband and I were talking about teacher evaluations and all the expectations and accountability that are placed on teachers.

His perspective is from the business world and being a manager/administrator who did annual “reviews” of his employees.

First of all, they called them “reviews”, which is perhaps more appealing than “evaluations”.

Evaluation = from the Latin valere meaning to be of value or worth.

Instead of reviewing or taking another view(point) or look at the person’s performance over the past year with the intention of deciding what went well and what needs to change (plus-delta approach)…

…it seems that what administrators are being asked to do is determine what “value” to place on a teacher or decide what that teacher is “worth”.

I prefer a different model for reviewing or evaluating people’s participation and performance in an event called the “plus-delta” approach.

Technically, the “plus-delta” model was designed and developed by the aviation and medical industries as a debriefing system for meetings, simulations and practices.

This approach uses more “improvement” oriented language rather than language that may be considered too negative, judgmental and discouraging. 

How could the delta-plus model be better implemented in education, 

especially for teacher evaluations?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Permanent Records

Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, making connections, Purpose, Spirit of teaching

As educators, we are all familiar with permanent records in schools.

According to a Poe.com, a permanent record is:

“a collection of student’s academic and personal information, such as grades, attendance, disciplinary actions and other details that are kept on file by the school. The purpose of these records is to provide a comprehensive history of the student’s educational experience, which can be used for a variety of purposes, such as college applications, job references or other academic opportunities.”

I have always been curious as to why we call these records “permanent” because don’t we want students to learn, grow, change, evolve and move forward on their path in life, academically and personally?

It also flies a little in the face of my linguistic and etymological sense of the word as well as my spiritual belief about nothing being permanent.

The word permanent is from the Latin word permanentem, meaning “enduring, unchanging, lasting indefinitely”.

The learning journey of a student seems to me like it should change, grow and continue throughout a lifetime. 

Learning is not a one-and-done thing. 

Don’t we talk about creating “lifelong learners” in education all the time?!

So, why, again, would we call these permanent records?

Let’s look at the word record.

For record (noun), I think of an LP album which is round and turns around and around in circles.

Is this like a learning cycle or like when content is spiraled throughout the learning journey?

When we look at the verb form to record (different pronunciation – ah, English!), it comes from the French word recorder, which means “to tell, repeat or recite”.

Well that seems about right in education!

Teachers do a lot of telling, students do a lot of repeating and reciting…not the best practices, for sure!

Words are powerful, and can be interpreted in many ways.

Again, one part of the lens through which I see the world and my place in it!

I strongly feel that we need to change the name of folder with a “student’s academic and personal information” throughout their K-12 learning journey to something that aligns more with what we are really envisioning for students…in other words, the true purpose of an education.

Some schools have come to call this a student’s “cumulative folder”. 

Basically, the same thing, just with a different name.

However, the word “cumulative” seems to be less harsh than being “permanent” and indicate that there has been change, growth and learning that has been accumulated over the years, like a collection of knowledge and accomplishments.

The word “folder” too brings forth a more positive and empowering image of a place to store knowledge, information and a history of research and findings driven by curiosity and discovery.  On the other hand, the word record can be associated with more negative contexts like criminal or bad driving…record.

Maybe I have given this way too much thought, energy and brain power, but it really has all stemmed from my heart (through the Vagus Nerve!)

Neither of these terms land well in my gut, so I have had many mental musings about what we should call this. 

What would align more with what the learning journey through school and even beyond into our lifelong learning be until the day we die (which is when the learning opportunities stop for all of us!)

Maybe “learning portfolio”?

The etymology of portfolio is from Italian portafoglio meaning “a movable receptacle or case for carrying detached papers”.

With every experience, both in and out of the classroom, we learn something that we carry with us throughout the rest of our journey in life.

The path, the life, the success or outcome of a student’s life cannot be determined solely by the academic or personal information or experiences that they have had.

Lives can be turned around.

Different choices can be made and different contexts pursued.

We always have the power to change the course of our path in life.

As Henry David Thoreau once said:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you have imagined”. 

Nothing is permanent.

Nothing is set in stone.

No-“thing” can stand in your way and block your path forward. 

There is no permanent record to our lives!

Only a learning portfolio that we can carry with us and that will help us to continue on our path through a lifetime of learning.

 

Photo credit:  https://unsplash.com/@craftedbygc 

 

 

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Linda Markley

Taking a Break

Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit practices

The etymology of the word break is from Old English brecan meaning “to divide solid matter violently into parts or fragments” or “the act of forcible disruption or separation”.(etymonline.com)

Teachers look forward to Christmas break, Spring break, Summer break, Fall break, Winter break and so on. 

Some people feel that teachers get too many “breaks” and that they don’t deserve them or need them. They see these breaks really as an excess of “vacation” time that other professions unfairly don’t get.

The fact is that teachers keep working and working and working until they experience an “act of forcible disruption or separation.”

This could be in the form of a seasonal break like Spring Break. Many teachers do travel during this time in order to have a change of scenery and get out of their isolation in the classroom.

Many teachers also do not travel during Spring break and are happy to cocoon at home and enjoy all the little things that bring them great joy, but that they do not have time to do while in school…like reading, taking long walks on the beach, catching up on their latest TV shows, slowly sipping on a HOT cup of tea and listening to the birds sing outside their window…

Why do we wait until there is an “act of forcible disruption or separation” before we take a break? 

And more importantly, why is there so much guilt around taking a break? (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Big Question

calling to make a difference, communication, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Beside doing this blog, I also send out a weekly newsletter called the Sunday Spirit Spark as well as host a podcast called Teacher Tales.

You can check all of these out at Spirit of Teaching

I started this journey for the Spirit of Teaching during the pandemic when I witnessed my beloved friends and colleagues and profession struggling and suffering and losing their compass and direction.

The question that came up a lot was WHY?

Why should I keep doing this when kids don’t even show up for the Zoom meeting or keep their cameras on or do their work or ???

Why should I put my health and well-being on the line in a pandemic?

Why should I even care if no one else cares?

Why?  Why?  Why?  echoed through the hearts of teachers across the world more than ever before.  

In fact, post-pandemic, it is still simmering in the background of every teacher’s mind as more and more challenges come about.

Challenges like teachers being told that they can’t teach certain things or have certain books in their libraries or talk about certain topics or do certain activities in class o push back against excessively aggressive and bullying parents and students. The list goes on…

The big question in the classroom has always been and always will be WHY? 

So, today I was doing a podcast recording with a teacher who said that in order to keep his focus and stay in the profession, he had to always remind himself of his “WHY?”

Why did I become a teacher?

Why do I show up every day at school?

Why ___________?  fill in the blank (more…)

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Linda Markley

The Art of Teaching

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, Introspection, making connections, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

Mark Van Doren, American poet, writer and professor at Columbia University said:

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery”.

Teaching truly is an art form.

Each teacher is a unique artist creating a masterpiece lesson plan into which they put their own carefully chosen objects, colors, shadings, meaning and a bit of themselves.

A masterful teacher creates this masterpiece lesson, and then, like any work of art, invites the viewer/recipient to explore, discover and learn at their own pace and in their own way.

A work of art is personal and sensory and contextual.

Yet it is also universal and appeals to the humanity in all of us.

Lessons need to be personal, sensory and contextual in order to become meaningful.

They also need to be universal and teach us the “greater understandings” of life.

When something is personally meaningful to us, we make a connection…literally brain and heart connections.

This is the magic of teaching, and what may be missing in some classrooms today because of various factors.

Why has this changed, and what can a teacher do 
to become a masterful artist at their craft? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Rules and Rulers

communication, creating community, Essential questions, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher vulnerability, Wholehearted teaching

Words are powerful!

The etymology of words is so fascinating and fun and can give us great insight and inspiration to life’s challenges as well as rewards.

According to etymonline.com, the origin of the word rule is “ from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula “straight stick, bar, ruler;” figuratively “a pattern, a model,” related to regere “to rule, straighten, guide” (from PIE root *reg- “move in a straight line,” with derivatives meaning “to direct in a straight line,” thus “to lead, rule”).”

 Rules are a big part of the classroom culture and a teacher’s foundation for managing that culture. However, rules and the rulers who implement them can sometimes create an imbalance in power that controls and suppresses rather than “guides” or “directs in a straight line”.

Usually the teacher has their rules listed on a poster in the classroom, hands out a copy of the rules to the students and goes over them on the first day of class. 

Sometimes the rules are in the form of “Don’t” as in “don’t talk when the teacher is talking”. 

Sometimes they are in the form of “Be” –  “Be quiet and respectful”.

Sometimes they are in the form of “Do” – “Always do your best”.

Sometimes they include absolutes like “never” or “always”.

Whatever form they come in, rules are intended to regulate the culture of the classroom.

Culture, in terms of world languages instruction, is defined as the “products, practices and perspectives” of the people that make up a community.

Notice that the word for ruler also comes from regula as in a straight stick to measure/guide.

So, what can we glean from the etymology of these words, as teachers,

that can help us with our classroom culture? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Sparkle and Shine

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Joy, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Wholehearted teaching

Who doesn’t like when things “sparkle and shine”?

As you can probably guess, the word “sparkle” is related to the word “spark”.

In the classroom, there are a lot of sparks flying from conflicts, stress, tension, confrontation, negative emotions and actions… you get the picture.

So, how can we turn “sparks” into “sparkle” and shine? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Classroom Courtesies

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

In the last blog post, we explored the concept of discipline, both in and out of the classroom.

I heard from some teachers and others who said what is going on now is more than about discipline. 

It is about courtesy.

I have had many conversations lately with teachers about how disrespectful and rude students and (especially) parents have been.

First of all, it is the season of testing from now until May or June. As a result…

Students are stressed.

Parents are stressed.

Teachers are stressed.

Admin is stressed.

Put all that stress together and it is like the energy required for nuclear fission and an atomic explosion!!! And from what I hear and see first hand (and on social media), there are a lot of explosions going off both in and out of the classroom.

YIKES!

Kindness is a word that is one of my mantras and something I try to live by.

There is so much merchandise that is sold now promoting kindness, but I don’t know that people always understand what that means.

I have recently seen the phrase “be courteous” used instead.

Maybe that is a generational thing too because I am not sure many people under the age of thirty would be able to tell you what that means.

To be courteous and kind used to be central themes in old TV shows of the 60’s like The Andy Griffith Show.

My mom, who is 93, says that it used to be part of what she calls “home training”.

Hmmmm… so what does it mean to be courteous? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Discipline in the Classroom (and Beyond)

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, making connections, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, teacher hero, Wholehearted teaching

This word is the focus of much discussion when it comes to the classroom and teachers.

The word, itself, has such an interesting etymology. If we take a look at the different origins and usages of the word as related to the classroom and education, it gets even more interesting.

According to etymonline.com, here are some insights:

*from Old French descepline “discipline, physical punishment; teaching; suffering; martyrdom”

*from Latin disciplina “instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge,”

*related to the word disciple “one who follows another for the purpose of learning,”

So much has been researched and written about the topic of discipline in the classroom.

Today, it is referred to as “classroom management”.

No matter what we call it, first year teachers struggle with it. 

And now, in the pandemic, even veteran teachers are struggling with it.

So, what can teachers do?

Use a “discipline ladder” or some other “system of behavior accountability” as they are called today? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Follow the Directions

calling to make a difference, Essential questions, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

“Follow the directions” is a fundamental phrase used in the classroom.

Teachers get really, REALLY frustrated when students don’t follow the directions.

I understand how important directions, procedures and processes are in keeping an organized and smoothly operating classroom of 20, 30 + students, especially young ones.

HOWEVER, I also feel that sometimes we follow directions too stringently and cause ourselves undue stress. It can also open the door to a flood of judgment and shame.

The word “direction” comes from the Latin word directionem, meaning to make a straight line.

If my geometry knowledge serves me well, a direct, straight line is the shortest route between two points…a beginning and an end.

But WHAT IF, the learning journey is not the shortest distance nor the most “direct” path between two points, the starting point at the beginning, and an end point at the destination (end?)

WHAT IF the directions we receive are not the straight on nor the same for every person? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Grace

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

One of my favorite quotes, and one by which I try to live my life is:

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.

You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.

You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.

You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I tried to live by this wisdom in the classroom and teach it to my students as well.

To me, grace is the sweet nectar that can bring bliss to our lives. 
It is what makes us whole.

Another quote about grace that has had an impact on me too is from Anne Lamott.  

“I do not understand the mystery of grace –

only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.”  

 

I believe that grace is one of the greatest needs we have in the classroom today in order to achieve real growth and learning gains as human beings.

We don’t need more technology, testing, checklists, standards, evaluations or money.

We desperately need more grace in the classroom…especially now as we move forward after a very difficult school year trying to make our way teaching and learning in a pandemic.

“Grace” comes from the Latin word “gratia” meaning “favor, mercy, good will, gratitude”.

In Spanish, the expression for “please” is “por favor” or “by favor”. It implies the potential “pleasing” or “favorite” nature of the act.

In French, the expression for “thank you” is “merci”. In Italian, it is “grazie”; in Spanish, “gracias”.

Grace is an interaction, a communication, an intention from the heart. 

Grace is the love and mercy we have received from others and that we, in turn, give back to the world.

Grace is a choice that we make in every single moment of our lives. 

Grace is a conscious choice we make to bring more mercy, goodwill and gratitude into the world through our thoughts and actions.

So, what does grace look like in the classroom, and why is is so critical? (more…)

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Linda Markley

Joy

calling to make a difference, Can do's, communication, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Joy, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Spirit of teaching, Strategies, Teacher Appreciation, Wholehearted teaching

Do you remember the song, Joy in My Heart?

It starts like this:  “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” 

So many teachers and students do not feel the joy down in their hearts these days.

It is a struggle now more than ever for everyone because of the pandemic. Joy seems to have left the classroom like “Elvis has left the building”. Especially at this time of the school year, there is a prevalent feeling of “the music has stopped, and the concert is over!”  A mood of “I’m done!”

I won’t go into detail and describe the atmosphere and culture of current feelings in the classroom because I think everyone already knows and understands what it is like. 

I want to focus more on how we can dig deep down in our hearts and find that joy again.

This is what Maya Angelou has to say about joy:

“Joy is a freedom. It helps a person to find his/her own liberation. The person who is joyous takes responsibility for the time he/she takes up and the space that he/she occupies.You share it! When you continue to give it away, you will still have so much more of it!”

There is an overwhelming cry from the hearts of teachers to be free. “I just want to teach.” has become an ironic cliché in education. Teachers feel so burdened and overwhelmed and unappreciated and unsupported and….(name the emotion).

So, how can we bring forth more joy into the classroom, and why is it so important?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

Love

calling to make a difference, Can do's, creating community, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Maslow before Blooms, Purpose, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

This is a really, REALLY tough time of year for teachers and students. 

They come back from Spring Break only to face testing and admin in overdrive and red-lining their list of demands to “wrap things up” for this school year. *note – the definition of redlining is: “drive with (a car engine) at or above its rated maximum rpm or revolutions per minute”

Yep…sounds about right! Teachers and students are being driven to their maximum limits.

As a result, anxiety, anger, frustration, shaming, blaming, screaming and all other kinds of negative and “ugly” human behaviors are raging through schools.

And in a pandemic… well, that is just adding gas on an already out of control, raging fire!

So, what can teachers, students, parents, admin and everyone do right now? 

Remember that love conquers all…love makes the world go round (revolutions)…all you need is love…

and the epitome of all quotes on love…

Love is love is love is love is love….  such simple, yet powerful words spoken by Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Tony Awards in 2016 following the Pulse Night Club shootings in Orlando, FL.

You can watch the speech here, but I’ll warn you…have a box of tissue handy!

This gets me every.single.time because it touches a place deep in my teacher heart about loving ALL children just they way they are, as Mister Rogers taught us.

Love them ALL…no matter what!  There are days when it is so hard to do this in the classroom because of too many demands made on us as teachers. 

Too much stress due to too many demands.

Too many emotions to process and deal with because of too many demands.

Too much testing and judging and shaming and blaming and… you get the picture.

Everything is too much, and yet not enough. It echoes through the halls and permeates the walls of every classroom, that is, if we will allow it to do so!!!

There are preventive measures, however, which are at the heart and spirit of teaching. I will be exploring some of these preventive measures and powerful antidotes in my upcoming blog posts. I actually started with the last post on kindness.  You can check it out here.

What does LOVE look like in the classroom?

(more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Transformation

calling to make a difference, Can do's, Essential questions, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

“Transformation” means “to change form; trans = cross over, to go across”.  

What we learn should transform us. It should empower us to cross over any boundaries or obstacles in order to get to the other side. 

It should give us the “lentes nuevos” (“new lenses”, which is a reference to past blog posts) that we need in order to transform and see more clearly…that which we need to change, that which we do not need to change and to acquire the wisdom in our hearts to know the difference.  The Serenity Prayer, basically.

Like all things in life, we have gone full circle in our SPIRIT journey. We have gone through the SPIRIT process, step-by-step. And through that process, we have crossed over many barriers and overcome many obstacles. 

But, transformation is not the end of our journey. 

We are still not perfect. The world is not perfect. There are just new obstacles or problems. 

And most of us, honestly, are really good at re-cycling or hunkering down in past obstacles and problems. We have not crossed over into any new form of being and doing in the world. 

So, we will find ourselves back where we started our SPIRIT Journey with serenity because we are overwhelmed and overcome in our minds by the problems and obstacles. And we just circle back to journey through the process again…and again…and again because we are human, and we are not perfect and change is a part of life. Everything is dynamic.  

The human learning journey both in and out of the classroom is a spiral…we learn a little, grow a little wiser and get a little better at living our life each time. 

Learning is not a “one-’n-done” deal. 

We never really master anything. 

The concept of seeking mastery or worse yet, perfection, is 

one of life’s biggest deceptions and cruelest ironies. (more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: Trust

Can do's, Essential questions, i am enough, Intention, Introspection, Intuition, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Purpose, Sincerity, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies

Oh boy, this is a BIG one! 

It all starts the minute we’re born. And it ebbs and flows as we move through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in life.

Base level of Maslow’s Hierarchy = are our basic physiological needs being met? Food, water, shelter, clothing, rest…

As children, if we are left to cry when we are hungry or there simply isn’t enough food available to eat, what does that teach us about trusting the adult who is supposed to help meet our needs?

Next level of Maslow’s = are our basic safety and security needs being met? 

Do we feel safe physically, emotionally and psychologically? As we are learning our way in the world, how do others support us? Do they guide, encourage and celebrate our efforts or do they use guilt, shame and physical punishment as a method to control us?

We learn and develop trust through our experiences in the world
...good and bad.

That means all our experiences with people, places and things…ALL the nouns.

PLUS the actions that go with the nouns.

Then comes all the feelings and emotions, the adjectives and adverbs, that describe our experiences and create the memories and the stories that we associate with those experiences.

 

Good experiences = good feelings, memories and stories (and therefore, I should trust them?)

Bad experiences = bad feelings, memories and stories (and therefore, I shouldn’t trust them?)

(note that when it is a REALLY bad experience = trauma, which is a whole other topic to explore. I just want to mention here that there is a lot of attention on the trauma sensitive classroom these days, and with reason. Again, to be explored more at another time).

 

So, maybe instead of looking at trust as something that is developed through good and bad experiences, such as a good experience means I can trust the person or what has happened and a bad experience means I can’t trust the person or what has happened, maybe we can explore trust in another way.

Perhaps we can look at trust as a contract that is established

 between the two parties involved: 

the first party who has the needs and 

the second party who is meeting the needs of the first party.

 

Sounds so legal and not my usual heart-centered, emotional, Vagus-nerve flowing approach, no?

Stay with me here as we explore this a little more. Or should I say, trust me?  (more…)

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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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