I have never been involved in the seismic shift that is a true social movement. Although I was born and grew up when this particular country was facing Viet Nam and civil rights. The world has changed a great deal in a relatively small period of time. My great-grandmother was seven years old when her Alabama family had to release the slaves that they had owned for generations. But I have been part of the type of social movement that is school change and reform. Though I have experienced change at all levels (from personal to institutional)and it seems that the one common factor of all change, is how difficult it is! Palmer is, I believe correct, when he suggests that when more and more people chose to lead an undivided life (or a life of faith!) there is an impact over time on the social and political fabric of institutions. But I agree even more with the notion that at first, the decision to live the undivided life, is a "frail reed" (Palmer, 2007, p.178).
I've come to believe that self-doubt and the anxiety that accompanies self-doubt is a great "de-railer" of change. When it strikes, we default back into the patterns we've always known, mostly because what is known is most comforting to us. I've seen how this impacts institutional change and I've run head on into it as the leader of a school. And I understand it - because I experience the same self-doubt that those who I'm trying to lead feel!
Finally, I really like Palmer's notions for educating new professionals. I find the five "proposals" a great direction to take.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Learning in Community
It has struck me several times that Palmer is reflecting on college teaching and I'm reminded of that again on page 147 when he describes the usual format of teacher evaluations. That's not the usual format for evaluating K-12 faculty and then again, tenure has a completely different connotation in K-12 education than it does in higher education. Tenure in higher ed is, I believe,a great stumbling block to the kind of community that Palmer envisions and to the accountability that is necessary to create that type of community.
I like a great deal of what Palmer has to say about leadership especially on page 164 when he states: "Leadership in the academy means looking behind the masks we wear and perceiving our true condition." He goes on to point out that leaders often are called to see in teachers more than they might see in themselves. It strikes me, from a few years of practice, that this is dead on. People get stuck in routine, they are distracted by the rest of their lives, they coast in those last few years before retirement with the hope they can land the plane running only on fumes. But the leader has to stir the tanks so to speak, to help that person find the drive to make their last year as good as their first.
When I became principal I needed someone to teach an AP government class. We had only one choice at that time - a 35 year veteran of teaching the lower track kids. John had not had a new thought or practice in 25 years relative to his subject and he was coasting on to the finish line. My VP told me he'd never agree, or at least not easily agree, to changing things and then there was the worry if he'd actually be good at it. I told him all the reasons he'd be great at it (much of that was fiction since I didn't really know him yet at all!). I felt a bit like a used car salesmen and in way I knew I might have to sell the used car to the parents!
It turned out that John rose to the occasion. He found his second wind in teaching and really was spectacular. He looked tired at the end of each day but he seemed happy about being reengaged in what I think really gives him joy.
There's one success story - if you have a lot of time I'd be happy to share a dozen or so of my failures as a leader!
In so many ways I think we suffer from a lack of the types of leaders that can bring us out of ourselves and into a new way of being. To move forward with the type of community of which Palmer writes and of which the Christian message compels us to seek, we need to move beyond what seems to me to be a crisis of leadership.
I like a great deal of what Palmer has to say about leadership especially on page 164 when he states: "Leadership in the academy means looking behind the masks we wear and perceiving our true condition." He goes on to point out that leaders often are called to see in teachers more than they might see in themselves. It strikes me, from a few years of practice, that this is dead on. People get stuck in routine, they are distracted by the rest of their lives, they coast in those last few years before retirement with the hope they can land the plane running only on fumes. But the leader has to stir the tanks so to speak, to help that person find the drive to make their last year as good as their first.
When I became principal I needed someone to teach an AP government class. We had only one choice at that time - a 35 year veteran of teaching the lower track kids. John had not had a new thought or practice in 25 years relative to his subject and he was coasting on to the finish line. My VP told me he'd never agree, or at least not easily agree, to changing things and then there was the worry if he'd actually be good at it. I told him all the reasons he'd be great at it (much of that was fiction since I didn't really know him yet at all!). I felt a bit like a used car salesmen and in way I knew I might have to sell the used car to the parents!
It turned out that John rose to the occasion. He found his second wind in teaching and really was spectacular. He looked tired at the end of each day but he seemed happy about being reengaged in what I think really gives him joy.
There's one success story - if you have a lot of time I'd be happy to share a dozen or so of my failures as a leader!
In so many ways I think we suffer from a lack of the types of leaders that can bring us out of ourselves and into a new way of being. To move forward with the type of community of which Palmer writes and of which the Christian message compels us to seek, we need to move beyond what seems to me to be a crisis of leadership.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Palmer V
Good teachers replicate the process of knowing by engaging students in the dynamics of the community of truth. (Palmer, 2007, p.117)”
Boy, Palmer is on to something here but it’s elusive. I know I’ve been part of it, not sure that I’ve ever achieved it in the classroom myself (though I hope I have). Throughout this book I keep coming back to an idea, not an original idea of mine, but one certainly within the Christian communities understanding of vocation. It’s fine to feel called to something, to claim that I have a vocation to be a teacher, or a priest, or a married person. But a vocation must be confirmed, much in the way that the authority of the Church confirms a person’s call by God in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The call must be confirmed by evidence of ability, talent, giftedness for the endeavor. In modern society I simply sign up for a course of study, take the classes, do some field work and be evaluated in a rather artificial and superficial way. That’s the only confirmation we get in the profession of teaching. Well, as a student, teacher myself and principal, I can bear witness to the fact that some who might have felt called, don’t have the talent needed. I’ve witnessed that in every line of work, profession and vocation, and it makes me sad – because it tends to make everyone around the person sad!
"True community in any context requires a transcendent third thing that holds both me and three accountable to something outside ourselves, a fact well known outside of education. (Palmer, 2007, p. 119)”
Palmer in this quote is onto the unique contribution that I believe Catholic education makes to the field of education. We start with the transcendent. We begin with Jesus in the middle of it all, transcending the limitations of this life, and leading us to the transcendent love of God the Father. Christianity can, sometimes become, the default mode in Catholic education, what we fall back on in times of trouble or disagreement. But truly mission driven schools start every project, conversation, endeavor, with God at the center. The goal of the mission is to make good citizens ultimately of heaven – a transcendent place indeed. This is the great grace, and the greatest challenge, for Catholic education.
“In a subject-centered classroom, the teacher’s task is to give the great thing an independent voice – capacity to speak its truth quite apart from the teacher’s voice in terms that student can hear and understand. (Palmer, 2007, p.120)”
This takes great courage, self-control, comfort with ambiguity and I do think it’s easier in some courses than others. I think this is probably essential in Religious education in today’s context. Something worthy of more exploration and perhaps class discussion.
“The community of truth demands continual discernment: some observations are accurate and some are not; some claims of fact are valid and others are not; some hypotheses are warranted and others are not. (Palmer, 2007, p.141)”
This goes back to my earlier point and is applicable to the notion that the community should discern together about many things!
Boy, Palmer is on to something here but it’s elusive. I know I’ve been part of it, not sure that I’ve ever achieved it in the classroom myself (though I hope I have). Throughout this book I keep coming back to an idea, not an original idea of mine, but one certainly within the Christian communities understanding of vocation. It’s fine to feel called to something, to claim that I have a vocation to be a teacher, or a priest, or a married person. But a vocation must be confirmed, much in the way that the authority of the Church confirms a person’s call by God in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The call must be confirmed by evidence of ability, talent, giftedness for the endeavor. In modern society I simply sign up for a course of study, take the classes, do some field work and be evaluated in a rather artificial and superficial way. That’s the only confirmation we get in the profession of teaching. Well, as a student, teacher myself and principal, I can bear witness to the fact that some who might have felt called, don’t have the talent needed. I’ve witnessed that in every line of work, profession and vocation, and it makes me sad – because it tends to make everyone around the person sad!
"True community in any context requires a transcendent third thing that holds both me and three accountable to something outside ourselves, a fact well known outside of education. (Palmer, 2007, p. 119)”
Palmer in this quote is onto the unique contribution that I believe Catholic education makes to the field of education. We start with the transcendent. We begin with Jesus in the middle of it all, transcending the limitations of this life, and leading us to the transcendent love of God the Father. Christianity can, sometimes become, the default mode in Catholic education, what we fall back on in times of trouble or disagreement. But truly mission driven schools start every project, conversation, endeavor, with God at the center. The goal of the mission is to make good citizens ultimately of heaven – a transcendent place indeed. This is the great grace, and the greatest challenge, for Catholic education.
“In a subject-centered classroom, the teacher’s task is to give the great thing an independent voice – capacity to speak its truth quite apart from the teacher’s voice in terms that student can hear and understand. (Palmer, 2007, p.120)”
This takes great courage, self-control, comfort with ambiguity and I do think it’s easier in some courses than others. I think this is probably essential in Religious education in today’s context. Something worthy of more exploration and perhaps class discussion.
“The community of truth demands continual discernment: some observations are accurate and some are not; some claims of fact are valid and others are not; some hypotheses are warranted and others are not. (Palmer, 2007, p.141)”
This goes back to my earlier point and is applicable to the notion that the community should discern together about many things!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Knowing in Community
I really liked this chapter. I liked Palmer’s focus, his critiques and his vision for community. A few thoughts…
“The therapeutic is the model most often implied when we use the word community (Palmer, 2007, p.92). Oh how this is especially true when we speak of community in the Christian context. My experience of many ministerial contexts, particularly those for the purpose of forming ministers (like M.Div. programs and seminaries) have all too often fallen completely into this model. I’ve experienced this as well within the context of Catholic schools, diocesan offices of education and in parishes. I do not believe it is humanly possible to form the level of intimacy that is required by the therapeutic model with the large number of people involved in schools, communities or parishes.
“This model makes intimacy the highest value in human relationships, because intimacy is regarded as the best therapy for the pain of disconnection (Palmer, 2007, p. 92).” There is no denying that Christian community should support the healing of individuals, but as Palmer points out, if community is equated with intimacy, our openness to so many encounters with the stranger may very well be closed off. I find such therapeutic communities to be rather self-focused, with the greatest value being the sustaining of the group and its heightened sense of intimacy. If we intend to turn a classroom of 25 young people, or a school community of 900, into a therapeutic community, we are destined to fall short of the mission of education and, I believe, the mission that is specifically Catholic. There are, no doubt, therapeutic components of what we do, but I support Palmer’s critique of the therapeutic vision of education. Such realties often devolve into the most relativistic of experiences.
“Openness to transcendence is what distinguishes the community of truth from both absolutism and relativism (Palmer, 2007, p.109).” This resonates with me and what I believe is a Catholic vision of education. While Palmer does not speak of transcendence in the context of faith, I take his words as resonating with the core values of Catholicism. As Palmer stated in an earlier section of this chapter, “I know of no field, from science to religion, where what we regard as objective knowledge did not emerge from long and complex communal discourse that continues to this day, no field where the facts of the matter were delivered fully formed from on high (Palmer, 2007, p. 107).” How many councils of the Church have there been? (21) When was the nature of Christ settled upon? (451 for Catholics) My point is this; we believe that revelation is on-going and that it is most often for us, communal. To see education as a community of truth is really very Catholic (if one can qualify the word!). We seek the truth in light!
“The therapeutic is the model most often implied when we use the word community (Palmer, 2007, p.92). Oh how this is especially true when we speak of community in the Christian context. My experience of many ministerial contexts, particularly those for the purpose of forming ministers (like M.Div. programs and seminaries) have all too often fallen completely into this model. I’ve experienced this as well within the context of Catholic schools, diocesan offices of education and in parishes. I do not believe it is humanly possible to form the level of intimacy that is required by the therapeutic model with the large number of people involved in schools, communities or parishes.
“This model makes intimacy the highest value in human relationships, because intimacy is regarded as the best therapy for the pain of disconnection (Palmer, 2007, p. 92).” There is no denying that Christian community should support the healing of individuals, but as Palmer points out, if community is equated with intimacy, our openness to so many encounters with the stranger may very well be closed off. I find such therapeutic communities to be rather self-focused, with the greatest value being the sustaining of the group and its heightened sense of intimacy. If we intend to turn a classroom of 25 young people, or a school community of 900, into a therapeutic community, we are destined to fall short of the mission of education and, I believe, the mission that is specifically Catholic. There are, no doubt, therapeutic components of what we do, but I support Palmer’s critique of the therapeutic vision of education. Such realties often devolve into the most relativistic of experiences.
“Openness to transcendence is what distinguishes the community of truth from both absolutism and relativism (Palmer, 2007, p.109).” This resonates with me and what I believe is a Catholic vision of education. While Palmer does not speak of transcendence in the context of faith, I take his words as resonating with the core values of Catholicism. As Palmer stated in an earlier section of this chapter, “I know of no field, from science to religion, where what we regard as objective knowledge did not emerge from long and complex communal discourse that continues to this day, no field where the facts of the matter were delivered fully formed from on high (Palmer, 2007, p. 107).” How many councils of the Church have there been? (21) When was the nature of Christ settled upon? (451 for Catholics) My point is this; we believe that revelation is on-going and that it is most often for us, communal. To see education as a community of truth is really very Catholic (if one can qualify the word!). We seek the truth in light!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Paradoxical Thinking
"Paradoxical thinking requires that we embrace a view of the world in which opposites are joined, so that we can see the world clearly and see it whole. Such a view is characterized by neither flinty-eyed realisim nor dewy-eyed romanticism but rather by a creative synthesis of the two (Palmer, 2007, p.69)."
I never thought I'd become one of those people who say over and over again, "when I was younger.." Well, here I am at middle age! I entered Religious life right after college - filled with idealism. Those early years of formation I was only in my early 20's. I was well educated but a great deal of life experience I lacked. I was often resistant to what I perceived as my community's lack of zeal, of prophetic voice and action on so many things. To say the least, I was very much a this or that kind of thinker.
Not to say that I was wrong about my community's lack of bold actions, but my views were not any more correct or proper. I was seeing the world in parts, not completely understanding the complexities of the interconnectedness of peoples and institutions. I lacked experience and emotional intelligence. Much of what Palmer suggests comes with age and experience, and of course, the openness of which Palmer writes and seemingly lives his own life. In looking back at those early days of my Religious life, or simply of my earlier life, those who wished simply to tell me I was wrong, or limited, or misguided - well, they were dismissed by me (even though they were right.
But those who found a way to do what Palmer suggests in his secion "Paradox and Pedagogical Design," they kept my attention and I look back at them now as the great heroes of my life. They realized my youth and inexperience, they say potential and they found a way to help me to see the world as less a bunch of parts and more the whole that it is.
I can't help but see Palmer's design as, well, rather Catholic. It reminds me of the Church.
1. The Space should be bounded and open. The designers of any of the great cathedrals of Europe sought to capture the boundedness of this earthly life by the walls of the church, while reminding of the openness of the transcendent by the towering hight of the vault.
2. The space would be hospitable and "charged." Sound like great liturgy to me!
3. The space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group. We stand as individuals before God, and as members of the Body of Christ.
4. The space should honor the little stories of the students and the big stories of the disciplines and traditions. Look at the stained glass windows, pick up the Lives of the Saints.
5. The space should support solitude and surround it with the resources of the community. Get to Mass early, stay afterwards but watch what happens when we worship well together.
6. The space should welcome both silence and speech. Again, the rhythms of liturgy.
Palmer's on to something spectacular and much of it should be easily incorporated for those who call themselves Catholic educators. We do it naturally (I hope!)
I never thought I'd become one of those people who say over and over again, "when I was younger.." Well, here I am at middle age! I entered Religious life right after college - filled with idealism. Those early years of formation I was only in my early 20's. I was well educated but a great deal of life experience I lacked. I was often resistant to what I perceived as my community's lack of zeal, of prophetic voice and action on so many things. To say the least, I was very much a this or that kind of thinker.
Not to say that I was wrong about my community's lack of bold actions, but my views were not any more correct or proper. I was seeing the world in parts, not completely understanding the complexities of the interconnectedness of peoples and institutions. I lacked experience and emotional intelligence. Much of what Palmer suggests comes with age and experience, and of course, the openness of which Palmer writes and seemingly lives his own life. In looking back at those early days of my Religious life, or simply of my earlier life, those who wished simply to tell me I was wrong, or limited, or misguided - well, they were dismissed by me (even though they were right.
But those who found a way to do what Palmer suggests in his secion "Paradox and Pedagogical Design," they kept my attention and I look back at them now as the great heroes of my life. They realized my youth and inexperience, they say potential and they found a way to help me to see the world as less a bunch of parts and more the whole that it is.
I can't help but see Palmer's design as, well, rather Catholic. It reminds me of the Church.
1. The Space should be bounded and open. The designers of any of the great cathedrals of Europe sought to capture the boundedness of this earthly life by the walls of the church, while reminding of the openness of the transcendent by the towering hight of the vault.
2. The space would be hospitable and "charged." Sound like great liturgy to me!
3. The space should invite the voice of the individual and the voice of the group. We stand as individuals before God, and as members of the Body of Christ.
4. The space should honor the little stories of the students and the big stories of the disciplines and traditions. Look at the stained glass windows, pick up the Lives of the Saints.
5. The space should support solitude and surround it with the resources of the community. Get to Mass early, stay afterwards but watch what happens when we worship well together.
6. The space should welcome both silence and speech. Again, the rhythms of liturgy.
Palmer's on to something spectacular and much of it should be easily incorporated for those who call themselves Catholic educators. We do it naturally (I hope!)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fear
"Educational institutions are full of divisive structures, of course, but blaming them for our brokenness perpetuates the myth that the outer work is more powerful than the inner. The external structures of education would not have the power to divide us as deeply as they do if they were not rooted in one of the most compelling features of our inner landscape -- fear (Palmer, 2007, p.36)"
Institutions can push our buttons and they seem to push the fear button so very well. Palmer strikes at something that is so basic and human. Fear takes so many forms in our experience from outright terror to the more subtle insecurities that plaque most of our lives (at least in my life!). It's often easy to blame institutions for why we don't connect more and better to one another. I've been on both sides of institution bashing and blaming. "The Church is so dysfunctional!" "She's the worst principal!" "The kids here just don't want to learn!" "The parents really run this place!" It's so easy to blame something outside of ourselves for the way things are. I've been there. I've done that.
They first day I was in charge of 900 kids, 65 faculty and God knows how many coaches, fear entered my heart in a new way. Or maybe it didn't enter my heart in a new way, I just felt it stir in a new way. I could have blamed my predecessor, or the Superintendent, but day in and day out, I was actually where the buck did stop. Around that same time I was elected to the leadership of my community. My God, now I was "them!" The them I use to blame for my unhappiness or restlessness. It's often about perspective! But I do agree with Palmer, fear is all too often the default mode of administration and used when we simply don't know what else to do. But it only works if there is actually fear to be tapped into.
I wasn't sure exactly what Palmer was getting at when he spoke of how we subscribe to "religions of fear who exploit our dread of death and damnation (Palmer, 2007, p.39). He must speaking of something other than Catholicism! I realize that religion, including Catholicism, has throughout history used fear as a motivator but religion, especially Christianity, and in particular Catholicism in its purest form, is a powerful force for hope - that which is the opposite of fear.
The Bible is filled with stories of angels appearing and telling us to no be afraid. Jesus himself, throughout the Gospels, tries to convince us to not fear but to feel the love of God the Father. True religion frees us from fear!
Institutions can push our buttons and they seem to push the fear button so very well. Palmer strikes at something that is so basic and human. Fear takes so many forms in our experience from outright terror to the more subtle insecurities that plaque most of our lives (at least in my life!). It's often easy to blame institutions for why we don't connect more and better to one another. I've been on both sides of institution bashing and blaming. "The Church is so dysfunctional!" "She's the worst principal!" "The kids here just don't want to learn!" "The parents really run this place!" It's so easy to blame something outside of ourselves for the way things are. I've been there. I've done that.
They first day I was in charge of 900 kids, 65 faculty and God knows how many coaches, fear entered my heart in a new way. Or maybe it didn't enter my heart in a new way, I just felt it stir in a new way. I could have blamed my predecessor, or the Superintendent, but day in and day out, I was actually where the buck did stop. Around that same time I was elected to the leadership of my community. My God, now I was "them!" The them I use to blame for my unhappiness or restlessness. It's often about perspective! But I do agree with Palmer, fear is all too often the default mode of administration and used when we simply don't know what else to do. But it only works if there is actually fear to be tapped into.
I wasn't sure exactly what Palmer was getting at when he spoke of how we subscribe to "religions of fear who exploit our dread of death and damnation (Palmer, 2007, p.39). He must speaking of something other than Catholicism! I realize that religion, including Catholicism, has throughout history used fear as a motivator but religion, especially Christianity, and in particular Catholicism in its purest form, is a powerful force for hope - that which is the opposite of fear.
The Bible is filled with stories of angels appearing and telling us to no be afraid. Jesus himself, throughout the Gospels, tries to convince us to not fear but to feel the love of God the Father. True religion frees us from fear!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Palmer: Heart of the Teacher
"...good teachers share one trait: a strong sense of personal identity infuses their work (Palmer, 2007, p.11).
Insert any profession where Palmer has the word teachers. Good doctors, priests, principals, plumbers, sales people - there is no substitution for a strong sense of who we are as individuals. I had an extraordinary conversation about a month ago with a ticket agent for Jet Blue. You just had a sense the woman new herself, accepted herself and was more open to the world because of it. Even just the desire to develop a strong sense of self is such a sign of health to me and that desire always involves a high degree of knowing that who I am today is not who I will be (or even should be) in five years. If I'm a person of faith today, five years from know I may say the same thing, but it's meaning, it's impact on my identity will be new, fresh, perhaps even resurrecting!
"Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness (Palmer, 2007, p.11)."
Yes! My reflection here is a bit of a rant. I'm facinated, and very frustrated, with people who are painfully introverted and seem unable or unwilling to adapt to extroverted professions. Teaching is not counseling (in itself) where we have one on one conversations with people all day. Teaching is being at the center of a crowd, being seen as the leader of that crowd, and drawing others into interest and activity centered around the topic of the moment. If you throw up every time you even thing of having to stand in front of a group of people and speak - library science might be more for you! This rant is a reflection, by the way, on teachers and priests who fall into my target category.
Remembering ourselves and our power can lead to revolution but it requires more than a recalling of facts. Re-membering involves putting ourselves back together, recovering identity and integrity...(Palmer 2007, p.21)
There is some truly spectacular imagery and prose in this section of Palmer. He really strikes a chord within me when he speaks about re-membering. I find that the ability to put myself back together is really, literally, to pick up the pieces and put them back together - sometimes in a new or slightly different way than before the event that caused the breakage. If we really see our spiritual lives as a journey, Palmer is striking at one of the most important realities of living well the journey we've been given by God. It's not that we fall or break, but it's about how we get back up again and continue on better for having fallen.
Finally, the matter of personal identity is crucial in our ability to teach and teach well. This can however, in a religious context, be difficult to fully resolve for those who find their personal identity at odds with what the Church teachers or believes. It may seem obvious that those individuals need to, for the sake of their own integrity and the love of the profession, move into an educational setting that is secular, or at least more in line with their own identity. Having accompanied such individuals, this can, however, be a painful process for all involved. Talk about a need for a grounded spirituality for administrators as well as teachers.
Insert any profession where Palmer has the word teachers. Good doctors, priests, principals, plumbers, sales people - there is no substitution for a strong sense of who we are as individuals. I had an extraordinary conversation about a month ago with a ticket agent for Jet Blue. You just had a sense the woman new herself, accepted herself and was more open to the world because of it. Even just the desire to develop a strong sense of self is such a sign of health to me and that desire always involves a high degree of knowing that who I am today is not who I will be (or even should be) in five years. If I'm a person of faith today, five years from know I may say the same thing, but it's meaning, it's impact on my identity will be new, fresh, perhaps even resurrecting!
"Good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness (Palmer, 2007, p.11)."
Yes! My reflection here is a bit of a rant. I'm facinated, and very frustrated, with people who are painfully introverted and seem unable or unwilling to adapt to extroverted professions. Teaching is not counseling (in itself) where we have one on one conversations with people all day. Teaching is being at the center of a crowd, being seen as the leader of that crowd, and drawing others into interest and activity centered around the topic of the moment. If you throw up every time you even thing of having to stand in front of a group of people and speak - library science might be more for you! This rant is a reflection, by the way, on teachers and priests who fall into my target category.
Remembering ourselves and our power can lead to revolution but it requires more than a recalling of facts. Re-membering involves putting ourselves back together, recovering identity and integrity...(Palmer 2007, p.21)
There is some truly spectacular imagery and prose in this section of Palmer. He really strikes a chord within me when he speaks about re-membering. I find that the ability to put myself back together is really, literally, to pick up the pieces and put them back together - sometimes in a new or slightly different way than before the event that caused the breakage. If we really see our spiritual lives as a journey, Palmer is striking at one of the most important realities of living well the journey we've been given by God. It's not that we fall or break, but it's about how we get back up again and continue on better for having fallen.
Finally, the matter of personal identity is crucial in our ability to teach and teach well. This can however, in a religious context, be difficult to fully resolve for those who find their personal identity at odds with what the Church teachers or believes. It may seem obvious that those individuals need to, for the sake of their own integrity and the love of the profession, move into an educational setting that is secular, or at least more in line with their own identity. Having accompanied such individuals, this can, however, be a painful process for all involved. Talk about a need for a grounded spirituality for administrators as well as teachers.
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