Art of dreaming
Without dreams our daily lives feel empty. Obama helped re-awaken the American dream. He reminded us of the power of what "free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage." This line got me. It said it all. It reminded me of our collective potential to be agents of change.
It is change that creates opportunities, change that makes life messy, change that is always ushering a new ending as well as beginning.
So I ask myself: What type of change am I willing to work for today? The answer comes easier now although the road remains partly unpaved. My vision is where children attend an interactive school that encourages their spirit, nurtures their talents, builds their characters and prepares them for their unique lives. A place without grades yet embedded with endless encouragement. A methodology that honors each child's spirit and seeks to nurture it with skill development.
With the boom of independent, charter and alternative schools sweeping America there are so many truly exceptional examples of leading-edge education. Spending time in 2007 and 2008 interviewing educational pioneers I found they were all driven by the same desire --- to make the system better, to change the experience of school and to encourage children to "be" whoever they are born to be. It's a collective dream now that is building momentum.
Leading-edge education
Being a "creative type" I have always learned best by making, playing, painting and becoming involved in crafting a solution. In 2007, I went to Southeast Asia to build a creative arts program for young children --- this was the best classroom on the planet for me. Honoring each of our aptitudes, inclinations and natural abilities to learn is powerful path to propel learning.
It is how I want to see our educational system transformed. On Tuesday our hopeful President stated "we will transform our schools...to meet the demands of a new age." I believe the most powerful change will occur when we collectively systematize honoring the multiple ways children learn, cultivating children's strengths, instilling character development as well as focus on skill-building for success (i.e. emotional, mental, physical). Children, education and this "new age" need to be connected versus many of our now-outdated systems.
Interestingly enough, I spend a good portion of my time coaching children as to how to navigate their current, often imperfect school system. I feel compelled to help them create "worldviews" and "skills" that support their healthful growth. All of this is further impetus for me to work for meaningful change in elementary schools. Adding more art to the curriculum is also essential to stimulate children's imagination and creativity to compete in this new age.
Working on a dream
Many of us are working on a dream. Some of these dreams were breathed into life before us and will continue way past us but now - we have a role to play. There is possibility, hope and power in the air. And as Thoreau poetically captured "our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake."
To continue this dialogue, especially about education reform, contact Maureen: maureen@therainbowwell.com
