Category: Maslow before Blooms

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: Intuition

Can do's, Essential questions, Intuition, Maslow before Blooms, Resources, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Strategies, Wholehearted teaching 
“Intuition” is from Late Latin "intuitionem" (nominative intuitio) 
“a looking at, consideration”.  

Psychology Today states that “intuition is the process that gives us the ability to know something directly without analytic reasoning.” Most people define it as a “gut feeling” or an “inner knowing”.

Everyone has intuition, but most are not aware or tapped into it because of too many distractions and exterior stressors that prevent us from checking in with the feelings and sensations in our bodies.  

We are a modern society of immediate gratification and constant stimulus to the brain through technology.  Thanks to technology and computers, we are a data-driven society that runs on charts, graphs, statistics and only things that are tangible and can be measured, quantified and qualified.  

We ignore our gut feelings in favor of spreadsheets, bar graphs, pie charts and other computer-generated viewpoints.

Curiosity, play, creativity and the natural flow of learning 
fall by the wayside in school when 
everything has to be measured and quantified 
and placed in a spreadsheet.  

Everything becomes quite formulaic and no one is “looking at” or “considering” any other possibilities other than those presented through the data.  

Where are the other variables in the equation like what the child is dealing with at home or health/wellness or who they really are as a person?  What kind of children are they becoming when we are defining them as part of a spreadsheet, drawing a picture of their future in a pie chart or or measuring their worth through a bar graph?   

When everything and everyone is so controlled and “data-driven”, what happens to dreams then? How are we really robbing children of their potential rather than helping them discover & grow it? 

Why are teachers not allowed to “look at” and “consider” what they feel in their heart and “go with their gut” so that they can be more creative and authentic?  (more…)

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Linda Markley

SPIRIT Journey: PASSION

Can do's, Essential questions, making connections, Maslow before Blooms, Passion, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Wholehearted teaching

The origin of the word passion and its subsequent meanings is a complicated one. Like the evolution of the meaning, the application in real life is just as complicated and something that we humans seek our entire lives as we pursue education, employment, meaning and purpose in life.

The word passion originally comes from
 the Latin word "patior", which means “to suffer”.  

The idea was that there was some force outside of you that would cause you to do something, in some way to suffer. It was used to describe an intense desire that originated in a wide range of emotions such as joy, grief, hope, fear, love and hatred. It definitely had a more religious context and use.  

Today, passion is used in so many somewhat controversial ways. It still is used to describe an intense desire and love for something or someone, but perhaps it focuses more on a force coming from within you rather than externally. To feel passionately about something today evokes either a strong love or a strong hatred. 

So, I like to think of my passion in this way: 
Rearranging the letters of passion = I pass on.

In every moment, we must be aware and make conscious choices of what we are choosing to pass on to others. It is a critical to who we want to be and how we want to show up in the world. (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

Tribute to Teachers on Labor Day

communication, creating community, i am enough, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices, Teacher Appreciation

Labor Day is an annual celebration of workers and their achievements. It originated during the late 1800’s in America during the Industrial Revolution when working conditions were atrocious, requiring people to work excessive hours, seven days a week and for very low wages.

According to history.com, “people of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.”

Hmmmm, that sounds familiar for teachers, especially in this current pandemic! However, we cannot allow teachers to believe that they must suffer these labor injustices in order to be effective, worthy teachers!!!

Teaching is a labor of love … unconditional love! 
And this Labor Day, I would like to 
recognize, honor and celebrate what teachers do 
unconditionally every day!

Labor Day did not become an official holiday until almost the turn of the century when President Grover Cleveland signed it into law. During the time leading up to this, there were many labor strikes, rallies, protests and events that took place to raise awareness to the atrocious labor conditions.

Limitations, boundaries, clear expectations and best labor practices were set. 
Maybe teachers need to set some "conditions" like these as well!

(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?

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Linda Markley

Enough is enough!

i am enough, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching

Teachers and students are going back to school.  There is still uncertainty about so many things, and an underlying, pervasive feeling of fear.  When we are in fear, we may armor up for the perceived battle ahead, and then, strategically try to control all outcomes.  We may run away and hide or shut down because we feel we cannot handle or control all outcomes.  We are human, and this is our fight our flight response.

 When we feel like we are not enough, don't have enough 
or can't do enough to handle the situation that arises, 
fear takes over.

When I was walking the Camino de Santiago, I struggled with fear in every step I took.  Thoughts of not doing enough or not being enough permeated my every thought and fueled my fears.  Why didn’t I prepare and plan more carefully?  Why aren’t things going as planned?  Why was I so slow compared to others on the Camino?  Why is it so easy for everyone else?Why aren’t other people suffering like I am?  What would happen to me if I got lost?  Why couldn’t I control the blisters or the pain or the people around me or the outcomes for the day?  What if I can’t finish, and I have to go home as a “failure”?  Streaming “what if’s?’ in my head.

It reminded me of the same fears that came up in the classroom.

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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

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

Summer Reflection and PD

Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Spirit of teaching, Spirit practices

As we are entering our summer months here in the northern hemisphere, this long, difficult and unforgettable school year is ending for many teachers and students. Notice I didn’t use the expression “coming to a close”, like in “close out the school year”.  For everyone in education, this school year will not really have closure.  There are still so many unfinished tasks, unfulfilled goals and dashed hopes and dreams. No closing ceremonies, no closing arms in hugs and heartfelt good-byes.  Just closed doors, closed schools, feelings of being closed in.  There is a hole, a gap, a tear that will need to be mended before the next school year begins.  How do we heal our wounds?  How do we mend the tears in our hearts and in those of our students?

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Linda Markley

Hope from the heart

Essential questions, Maslow before Blooms, Wholehearted teaching

If we tap into our heart, we will ALWAYS find the answer.  It doesn’t matter if we are struggling or if our students are struggling, if we pause and check in with our heart, we will find the direction and the pathway that will lead us to resolution and peace.  Right now, we are all living from a place of fear.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of not being enough for our students or them not being enough to meet our expectations.  Fear of failure.  Fear of not being able to provide what our students needed before this crisis, during this crisis or for the rest of the school year.  FEAR = Feeling Every Added Regret.  Regrets of the monkey mind.  Fictional tales of regret we allow ourselves to make up in our minds like the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future from a Charles Dickens novel. 

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