Transformation in Action
As a Literacy Coach, I’m invited to schools to work with teachers and often asked by the principal to focus on specific projects. In every school, there is something very different to do. In a school I visit weekly, the principal asked me to sort through materials & books that were in the basement and find ways to use them with the teachers. It would require bringing things into the teacher room, which is about 8 feet by 8 feet. It has 6 full size desks around the perimeter of the room. The room is shared by 6 specialty teachers (science, social studies…) It was so cluttered with papers and “stuff” piled so high on the desks, that the windows were covered. The room felt very “stuck” and uncomfortable to be in. As someone who loves to organize, I realized that before we brought anything new in, the room was begging to be cleaned and cleared. I approached the principal and shared this with her and she gladly agreed.
The whole experience was amazing. I shared the “clearing” idea with teachers, and we began to move things around. It was Transformation in action. There were so many things that were completed and having attended the Kanes Workshops, I’ve learned to see how taking care of what’s in front of you without judging yourself is an incredibly practical tool. It helped guide the entire experience, especially when the teachers were hard on themselves and suddenly recognized how messy they were… and how they wanted it to be different… Bringing awareness to what was in front of us and seeing WHAT was there and not WHY it was there, moved everything along sooo quickly and effortlessly.After desks were rearranged and the surfaces were visible, and the room was organized and clear, other teachers who shared the room began to clean their areas too. It seemed that word was out that the room was getting clear and people simply came in to see it, even teachers who worked on a different floor and didn’t even use the room thanked me profusely…
The teachers I worked with told me that they never had so much fun cleaning. It felt like a community project. Everyone wanted to be involved. The entire process only took a few hours and we still had time to talk about their class projects and lessons. It was a real example of being in the moment and taking care of what needed to be done. It’s also an example of how we are affected by our environment and how it affects us even when we don’t think it does.
After the clearing, I sat with the teachers and asked if everything was complete. One of them said that there was something he needed to do… he wanted to apologize to the principal for being rude to her the other day. He got a piece of paper and wrote a note and gave it to her right there and then. He said that he never would have done that without the “clearing” experience. I was very touched by it… I actually see that as a byproduct of the shift that took place, the transformation and the magic it has… Wow. I feel so blessed for the gifts I have learned from Ariel & Shya and all of you.
Thank you sooo much!
Love,
Jodi
