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//Summary of the Introduction Chapters One, Two, and Seven of "The Soul of Education"//

A call for attention in schools to the inner life; to the depth dimension of human experience; to students’ longings for something more than an ordinary, material, and fragmented existence
 * Introduction **
 * What does Soul Education mean?**


 * Can We Come Together to Address Soul in Schools?**
 * Educators beginning to refer to a spiritual problem in our schools, with “spiritual emptiness” and “spiritual darkness”
 * US has had a series of “prevention wars” on drugs, teen pregnancy, youth suicide, and violence
 * Perhaps a spiritual void is the root cause “long left out of the analysis and the cure”
 * Policymakers & social scientists starting to recognize this:
 * Benson, James Garbarino, Congressman Tom Tancredo
 * “Do we need periodic reminders from sawed off shotguns to show us that these young people //feel//?” (pg. xii).
 * Classrooms are spiritually empty //by design//not by accident
 * Different political/religious groups afraid of being harmed or causing offense
 * “But when schools systematically exclude heart and soul, students in growing numbers become depressed, attempt suicide, or succumb to eating disorders and substance abuse. Students struggle to find their motivation to learn, to stay in school, or to keep their attention on what is before them” (pg. xii).
 * Two impulses: a desire to (1) prevent violence and to (2) honor the spiritual yearnings in our young people
 * Ignored or suppressed spiritual forces in our youth turn toxic and explosive
 * Need to provide students with opportunities to channel their energy, with peers and supportive elders

First Amendment prevents teacher from espousing spiritual beliefs or conducting devotional practices in the classroom, following the “non-establishment” clause. BUT children themselves are free to express or explore their own beliefs, longings, or search for spiritually meaningful experiences. “…young people have experiences that nourish their spiritual development and //yet are not directly related to worldview or religious dogma.// We //can// honor the First Amendment without abandoning our children’s spiritual development” (pg. xiv).
 * Doesn’t the Separation of State Mean Leaving All This Alone?**


 * How Do We Nourish Spiritual Development Appropriately in Public Schools?**
 * Fields of social & emotional learning, brain-based learning, and intelligence theory helpful in answering this question
 * H. Gardner & D. Goleman: multiple intelligences; argue that “emotional intelligence” is a better predictor of academic and life success than is IQ.
 * **Emotional literacy**: “//a shorthand term for the idea that children’s emotional and social skills can be cultivated, and that doing so gives them decided advantages in their cognitive abilities, in their personal adjustment, and in their resiliency through life//” (pg. xiv).
 * **Robert Sylwester’s “Celebration of Neurons”**: argues that emotions are important to the education process because they “drive attention, which drives learning and memory” (pg. xv).
 * **Mysteries Program** à **Passages Program:**curriculum for adolescents that integrated heart, spirit, and community at a strong academic and high achieving college prep school in Santa Monica, CA
 * **The Crossroads School:** []
 * The book provides a framework that allows teachers to “cultivate soul” in their classrooms
 * DIFFERENCE between “religious education” & “devotional practices and ordinary experiences that can nourish spiritual development (book focuses on the latter)
 * “//The inner life of…young people is intimately bound up with matters of meaning, purpose, and connection, with creative expression and moments of joy and transcendence…[Inviting] such experiences help students break down stereotypes, improve discipline, increase academic motivation, foster creativity, and keep more kids in school//” (pgs. xvii-xviii).

//“I felt the room relax as I named and honored their suffering”// (pg. 3). //-//Attention to their emotions, what they are saying, and what they are feeling.
 * Chapter One: Honoring Young Voices Chapter Two: **
 * Most adolescents carrying around the questions of: //What gives meaning to life? Why am I here? Can I ask for help? Does anyone really love me?//
 * //“When a group of students can acknowledge the truth, whether it is malevolent or benign, when they can meet where their personal stories strike universal chords, they become a community that can respond constructively to any challenge- even death. This is the soul of education”// (pg. 5).
 * ** Four crucial practices to spiritual development in the classroom ** :
 * (1) A ground rules process: defined by students, aided by teacher
 * Allows for safety in & ownership of the classroom
 * (2) Games & symbolic expressions
 * Offer an indirect way for students to express themselves and meet others in deeper, more personal ways
 * (3) “Mysteries questions” process
 * Emphasis on talking about the “heart” of each student, not someone else’s curriculum
 * (4) Council process
 * Enables students to listen and speak from the heart


 * § **Ground Rules**
 * o Gives students a way to define the conditions they most need to share
 * o Commonalities among lists of rules that students create


 * § **Games and Symbolic Expression**
 * o Playful games in early weeks foster affection, cooperation, and connection in the group
 * o Respecting the caution, pace, and privacy of each student allows them to tell their stories with authenticity and depth
 * o “Sacred symbols” (Oládélé) allow students to reveal their emotions indirectly


 * § **The Mysteries Questions**
 * o Ask students what is on their mind, what weighs on them, what they think about
 * o Gives students an anonymous way to voice their thoughts, concerns, and ideas about bigger life and personal questions
 * o Reading them out loud, still anonymously, allows students to hear from and sympathize with others
 * o “//When people ask these questions, they do not want to be saved but simply to be heard; they do not want fixes or formulas but compassion and companionship on the demanding journey called life”// (Parker Palmer) (pg. 13).
 * o Give teachers immediate access to wonder, worry, curiosity, fear, and excitement within each of their students


 * § **The Council Process**
 * Gives each person the chance to speak without immediate reaction or dialogue
 * Use of candle or objects of natural beauty in the center
 * “Dedicate” each council to something different (honesty, a family member, etc)
 * Pass an object to designate who speaks, give each student the same amount of time
 * Engage in “**deep listening**”: __EMPATHY__
 * //“…listening with complete attention, unimpeded by quick judgments and reactions, hearing the speaker’s feelings and intentions, as well as the words” (pg. 14).//
 * =**The Map Emerges**=
 * Seven gateways to the “souls” of students – provide language and framework for developing practical teaching strategies to invite soul into the classroom
 * o Each one begins with a “yearning” of something…
 * …yearning for deep connection
 * …longing for silence and solitude
 * …search for meaning and purpose
 * …hunger for joy and delight
 * …the creative drive
 * …the urge for transcendence
 * …the need for initiation


 * Chapter Two: Deep Connections **

__**Importance of Building Relationships **__
“Whether it is a relationship to one’s own self, to others, or to the world, the experience of deep connection arises when there is a profound respect, a deep caring, and a quality of ‘being with’ that honors the truth of each participant in the relationship. Young people are crying out to be seen and heard so that they, in turn, can take in the world through learning, loving, and serving. Students who feel deeply connected through at least one such relationship are more likely to survive the ‘lure of risk’ and the damage of stress; they are more likely to discover and contribute the gift they are meant to bring to the world…Young people who thrive have encountered deep connection. They feel they belong-that people know them. ” (pgs 18-19)

“…is critical for the development of autonomy- building identity that is central to adolescent development…[researchers] often refer to autonomy as a ‘need,’ ‘social value,’ ‘capacity,’ or ‘strength’…Moments of deep connection to the self- when we really know ourselves, express our true self, feel connected to the essence of who we are- nourish the human spirit…Once we are profoundly honest with ourselves, we may see reality (and other people) with greater objectivity and openness” (pgs 19-20)
 * //Deep Connection to the Self // **

“The yearning to connect meaningfully with a group or community is strong in teenagers. A //meaningful// connection includes respect and care that encourages authenticity for each individual in the group. Such a group encourages young people to reveal more and more of their own selves, knowing that others will see and hear them for who they really are. Such acceptance creates a deep connection with community that leads to a sense of belonging” (pg. 22). “To feel a sense of belonging at school, students must be part of a community in the classroom where they feel seen and heard for who they really are…Such authentic expression can emerge only in a climate of safety, caring, and respect” (pg. 23).
 * //Deep Connection to Community // **

“If group experiences are to have this beneficial effect, school leaders must be as supportive to the autonomy of the individual as they are to fostering a sense of belonging and union with the group…//The more we encourage young people to strengthen their own boundaries and develop their own identity, the more capable they are of bonding to a group in a healthy, enduring way//” (pg. 24).

“For students who have had the opportunity to participate in meaningful groups, the experiences of communion may become an ongoing part of life. When students regularly experience (during the school year) how it feels to have another person or a group truly see and hear them, they may develop the capacities and the faith required for them to create these experiences throughout their lives” (pg. 25).


 * Chapter Seven: Transcendence **


 * Meditation (pgs. 133-134) **


 * § **Neville (1989) states:**

// When children learn to meditate, they show less overt anxiety, more tolerance for frustration, less restlessness, greater ability to attend to a task. They have fewer headaches; their sleep improves. If the source of their anxiety is specific they become better able to talk about it without distress. In short, they are happier (p. 245). //


 * § **Jack Miller:** Professor at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education; has introduced meditation into his teaching practices