spirituality

The Secret of Educating

/ Darlene Franklin-Campbell / 2 Comments

 

My friend, Pam, knew the secret of educating. She used to speak of educating the “whole” child.

She was one of those teachers that took kids out to play no matter the weather, so they could get fresh air in their lungs. She took them on field trips and stopped at nice restaurants where they had to go in, sit down and order from a menu, because some of them had never had that experience. She wanted them to experience culture.

She exposed them to plays and songs from around the world. She had them participate in the Hefer Project at Christmas rather than exchanging gifts, because she wanted them to experience the joy of changing a life rather than simply receiving another gift.

Soft-spoken and intellectually gifted, Pam was unconventional and always, above all else, an advocate for her students. She went toe-to-toe with superintendents, board members, policy makers, lazy co-workers, and anyone else who wanted to put their government policy, personal agenda, pocketbook, comfort or ideas above the welfare of her students.

Pam understood the secret of educating, one to which many people are oblivious.

So, What IS the Secret to Educating?

A person is a tri-part being and each part is made up of multiple systems. To truly educate a child, you have to address the needs of their body, soul and spirit.

A human being is like my three-legged Art easel. If I don’t stabilize all the legs, the whole thing falls over. I give the legs that stabilize a person the following names; they are body, soul and spirit.

Leg 1: The Body

Keeping a healthy body is important to learning.

Exercise helps a child’s mind to grow.

The body is the physical vehicle that carries us from place to place in this world. It requires nutrition, exercise and rest. It is made up of many systems, parts and organs.

Without proper rest, nutrition and exercise, it lags and malfunctions. If a child is hungry, it’s hard to learn. If a child is being beaten at home, it’s hard to care about Math at school. If a child is sick and in pain, it’s hard to pay attention during Reading group time.

So, children need to be fed nutritious meals. They need to go outside, to run, walk, climb and play–everyday. They need to go to sleep at about the same time each night, without an iPad, iPhone, television or computer readily available. I can’t count the kids I’ve had through the years who couldn’t stay awake at school because they had a television in their room and watched TV all night! The light from electronic devices can hinder sleep, ESPECIALLY IN CHILDREN!

Leg 2: The Soul

Music is Vehicle for Educating the Soul

Music Helps the Soul to Grow

The soul, like the body, is comprised of numerous parts and systems. I will focus on three: the minds, personalities, and emotions. Without going into lengthy detail at present, suffice it to say that the soul is created by the union between body and spirit. It is our sense of self in this world.

Like the body, the soul must receive food, exercise and adequate rest. Food comes in the form of emotional validation, mental stimulation and personal inspiration.

The mind needs problems to solve, things to figure out. It needs challenges that it can work through and overcome. However, a continuous onslaught of taxing, stressful problems can become emotionally overwhelming. There needs to be some stability in a child’s life.

A long stream of school activities that ignore the child’s background, belittles or slights their cultures, etc., sends the child a subconscious message that they don’t matter as much. Growing up as a child from a socio-economic challenged family myself, I know from first hand experience that when the teacher always calls on affluent children to run errands, pass out papers, empty the pencil sharpener, fill the teacher’s coke machine, etc., that it sends a message to the “poorer” kids that they just aren’t quite as “good as” and aren’t as deserving. No teacher that I know of does this on purpose yet I know that it is done, because I experienced it. There has to be some stability in a child’s life. A child’s life structure doesn’t have to be strict, simply consistent and reliable.

King Solomon once said to train up a child in the way he/she should go and when he/she is old they will not depart from it. In the original Hebrew that denotes something more akin to “teach a child in the way that he or she is naturally bent, nurture their natural gifts and talents….” So often we try to fit every child into the same mold, ignoring the differences in cognitive inclinations and preferences.

This is where cognitive personality types come into play. We can not teach all children like cookie cutters. We can’t just teach to the children whose personalities click with our own. It’s WELL WORTH studying cognitive mind types. If we understand that the little girl whose mind is so far out that she gets lost on her way to the bathroom is an INFP, we might discover a way to help her with Math. If we understand that the drama queen is an ENFP, then we might realize that drama is a fundamental key to helping her with her Science.

This can also go into the emotional realm of the soul, as well. If we understand that Tommy is an INTP, then we might help him through the bullying issues that he’s facing. Who knows? We might prevent a future catastrophe by reaching out to the whole child. In my opinion, if we work in education or counseling, in ANY capacity, it behooves us to understand (at least on a rudimentary level) a little bit about cognitive personality types, not in a way that tries to fit people into a job mold, but in a way that helps us understand how they might perceive and process knowledge, emotions and events. I personally believe that the Jungian Cognitive Processes and the Theory of Multiple Intelligences are excellent, as is Cynthia Tobias’s The Way They Learn.

Emotions are a part of the SOUL of a person. Children who are emotionally distraught of stressful situations at home will be hampered in their learning. When kids are constantly belittled by parents, relatives or other children their learning is hampered. Emotional and verbal abuse can be crippling in a child’s mental and psychological development.

A kid who just saw his dog hit by a car may need time to rebound. The kid whose parents are going through a divorce may be hurt and angry, the kid with the baby sister in a wheelchair, the one whose brother was burned in a fire, the one who was just kicked out of his house or taken away and put into foster care. The list goes on.

The Spirit

The Spirit is that part of us that is Eternal.

The Spirit is that Part of us that is Eternal.

Let me first make a disclaimer, realizing that this may not resonate with some people. The spirit, to me, is very real. It is that part of us that is not bound to time and space, that transcends the physical and exists after our bodies expire. I’m not alone in my belief that there is a part of us that is eternal, that has always been and shall always be. Billions have in the past and currently believe in a spirit realm, in life after death and that we do not end when our bodies expire. The Spirit is the life-giving force that animates a body and carries with it, after exiting this temporal existence, all the experiences gained through the body and soul, but with full knowledge and understanding. The spirit is that eternal part of us that transcends time and space. So, how do you educate a spirit?

  1. Be fair–equity does not equate to equality. Do what each child needs, not just what fits across the board.
  2. Be kind–even when you discipline, let there be kindness in your heart and in your voice. Children listen to your tone far more than to your words. They may forget what you say, what you do, but they NEVER forget the way you make them feel about themselves. When I ask people which teachers they remember they always mention the ones who made them feel happy and loved.
  3. Be forgiving–if a child makes a mistake today, don’t remind them of it tomorrow. Don’t keep hanging it over their heads until they feel they are “bad” kids.
  4. Be merciful–realize that human beings, especially kids, make lots of mistakes. They misunderstand lots of things. They are not tiny adults. That’s why they need you.
  5. Be understanding and empathetic–and listen to them when they talk to you! One of my co-workers is so loved by her students, not because she’s the best Math or Reading teacher, but because she LISTENS to them.
  6. Be joyful–young spirits pick up on your joy and if it’s there, they know. If it’s not, they know.  A seventh grader recently asked me why so many people become teachers who apparently don’t even like kids. I told him I’d been asking myself that for decades now! Trust me. KIDS KNOW WHEN YOU ENJOY BEING WITH THEM AND WHEN YOU DON’T.
  7. Be encouraging–never put a child down, not even in teasing. Find something positive about every child and highlight it.  When a child does a good job, even on a small thing, let them know.
  8. Be loving–which means allow them to know you appreciate them, you value you them. I know one educator who calls all of her students, Friend. I know another who uses the term, Wonderful Ones, with her class.
  9. Be honest–if a child asks you a question, phrase it so that it’s on their level but tell them the truth.
  10. Choose to discipline, not punish. Discipline is a form of love. Notice I said discipline, not punish. There’s a huge difference. Discipline speaks to the spirit and seeks to empower a student to be the best version of himself or herself. Punishment wearies the soul and wounds the spirit; it causes a child to feel like they are a “bad” kid.

If we want our children to grow up to be all they can be, then we must learn the secret to educating and that secret is to recognize and teach the WHOLE child–body, soul (intellect, personality and emotions) and spirit (that eternal part that responds to the laws of the spiritual universe–empathy, compassion, forgiveness, joy, love, patience and mercy.)

*Darlene Franklin-Campbell holds a Masters in Education and is a veteran teacher of over twenty years. She is currently an Art teacher but has taught self-contained multi-age classrooms, Latin and Spanish to fifth through eight grades, self-contained third grade and fourth grade, self-contained first grade, music and creative writing. She has worked both in private and public education, speaks three languages, has served as an English Language Learner liaison, a translator, a site-based council minority representative, and is involved heavily in Indigenous cultures of North America, working to preserve languages and customs. Darlene has spent countless hours researching cognitive development and preferences. She has been previously certified through the Association of Christian Schools International and is currently certified through the Kentucky Department of Education. 

 

 

Joy in the Journey

/ Darlene Franklin-Campbell / 1 Comment

I discovered that joy is in the journey, not merely the destination.

I used to get disappointed. I’d have high hopes for some event or some special outcome, and when folks didn’t show up or it got rained out or my car wouldn’t start or any number of unforeseen things burst my high-flying balloon, I’d get irritable. I would make plans and I was attached to an expected outcome. When things didn’t turn out like I wanted, I failed to see the blessings often disguised as shortcomings or failures. Thankfully, I’ve grown some, and now I realize that joy is in the journey, not in a perfectly charted outcome. I’m learning to be attached to nothing, open to everything. In other words, to trust, to “let go and let God.”

What About Tomorrow?

When I was a kid people around here would talk about their plans for the future. The old folks I knew were often hesitant to make a definite commitment to be somewhere or carry out some ironclad plan, so they’d say, “I’ll be there, Lord willin’ and the creeks don’t rise.” Now, growing up in a flood plane puts a deep (pun intended) spin on that old saying and the one that follows, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”  They knew life is uncertain and unpredictable, so even though they might make a commitment, they always left things just a little open-ended, because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow or after while. Often we fret, ponder and muse over future events and how they will unfold. Truthfully, the only moment we really have is the one we’re in. Yesterday is a memory and everything that happened before now is no longer reality; tomorrow is fleeting because when it gets here it’s always today, always just right now. So, if we are thankful now, appreciative now, filled with wonder now, kind now, then we end up with good memories and high hopes. We literally move from one joyous moment to the next.

Mind of a Jedi

I guess I’ve got movies on the brain at this moment. I am recalling a scene in Star Wars where Yoda scolds Luke Skywalker for always being where he is going rather than where he is. When we live in the past or the future, we rob ourselves of the now, of the journey. Sadness is regret over yesterday. Anxiousness is worry over tomorrow that things might not turn out right. True power is found in the art of being present, being mindful of now, being fully in the moment and appreciating the people around you. We don’t have the power to change others and we don’t have a commission to control them. We owe no one anything except to love them. That means to see them for who they are, value them and show kindness. Being kind is the most spiritual thing you can do–ever. At least, that is what I currently believe. Being kind stops hatred before it’s born.

Take no Thought

We worry about sickness, about finances, about where we will live, what we will eat and on and on it goes. We are constantly concerned about the end results and the final destination, but as King Mongkut says in Anna and the King, “…roads are for journeys…not destinations.” Bilbo Baggins comes to my mind; he told Frodo in Lord of the Rings that when you step outside your door, you never know where the path will take you and of the old saying, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Life is uncertain, change is inevitable. Jesus said not (take no thought) to worry about tomorrow, but trust I Am to provide what we need when we need it, not before. I believe we are spirit beings having a physical experience. We are eternal entities playing on a temporal playground. The trouble happens when we begin to believe that this is all there is. No. This is merely a temporary trip into time and corporeal existence. When the bell rings, the whistle blows, we will return home and this life will be a memory. We were put in this world to have an abundant life, a beautiful life, a blessed life, not to fret and worry about how long we will be here or how much stuff we can gather along the way.

There are No Winners, No Losers

This existence is not a contest. There are no winners and losers in the end. We are here to experience, to give and receive love. I think all of us come into the world with good intentions but sometimes we get lost along the way. We get off the perfect path for our lives. We stray from the way, forgetting who we are and why we are here. Any time worry, fear, anxiety, anger, criticism, jealousy, bitterness, or any other dark emotion rises up inside of us, we are momentarily straying from our pathway.

When our inner being (the Bible calls it our spirit man/woman/person) is ill at ease over a direction we’re going in, it is to our own advantage to change directions and go in the path that brings us inner peace and this, following this path of inner peace, is how we obtain joy in the journey. I’ve heard some people refer to it as the path of least resistance. The Apostle Paul called it being “led by the spirit” and letting the “peace of God rule (umpire, call the shots) in your heart.” This is the way to abundant life. Abundant life is not found in possessions, not found in fame, not found in being beautiful, not found in being talented or smart. Abundant life is found in being in tune with and led by the spirit of God, I Am.

The Wisdom Found in the Sound of Silence

/ Darlene Franklin-Campbell / 1 Comment
Taking a break from the noise that surrounds us, even if only for a moment, can help us hear the secrets we can only learn in the sound of silence.

I am happy.

In this moment I hear that strange sound that accompanies silence. It’s a sound that comes from inside my own head and I don’t know how to describe it, except to say that it’s the beautiful sound of silence. I can put my fingers in my ears and still hear it. Oddly enough, the world around me isn’t silent. There is a clock ticking, a fridge humming, a cat outside meowing into the night, bamboo chimes clanging out on the porch, and yet, I hear the sound of silence.

I breathe in and am thankful for my breath, for life. Every second that has come before has brought me here and there has never been another moment exactly like this one, nor shall there ever be another. Some are similar but this one is this one and my particular thoughts in this moment will never be precisely the same again nor have they ever been precisely the same.

Today I pulled up to an ATM and I saw myself in the side mirror of my car. My immediate reaction was, “You’re pretty.” I smiled. My face is not flawless, but my first reaction to my reflection was akin to the reaction of seeing a brilliant blue bird sitting on the fence post, or seeing a dogwood in full bloom, or watching a waterfall tumble over the cliffs. It wasn’t a television, photo-shopped, Instagram kind of beauty that caused my heart to leap with joy upon seeing my own reflection but it was that same kind of elation, joy and appreciation I feel when I look at the wonders of nature. I fully, in that instant (and now as a result of that instant) understood what the Psalmist said in the Bible when he wrote, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Wow. I am. I am a thing of nature, just like a bluebird, or a dogwood or a waterfall. I am wonderfully made, a unique creation and so are you. I don’t need anyone’s temporal validation because I am internally and eternally validated.

Yesterday, as I was driving back from taking my artwork to a show in another town, about an hour and a half away, I watched the sun, settling behind the trees, getting ready to sink below the horizon and I realized that I was completely happy. No person had made me happy. No circumstance had made me happy. I wasn’t thinking of anything that had happened to me before in my life nor was I thinking of anything that might or might not happen in the future. I was thinking only of the moment, of the pleasure of driving on a country road, of the golden sun, of the quietness around me and then I realized that I was filled with joy and overcome with the beautiful sound of silence. I turned off my stereo so that I could better hear the sound of silence and it was musical, refreshing, delightful. My inner being, my spirit, felt like it was flying. I completely appreciated the moment and the world around me and in doing so, I realized that I am completely loved and was completely connected to I Am, Creator.

Once, a long time ago, my little brother accused me of just being “lucky,” exclaiming that every thing just always worked out for me. Well, now, after all these years, I realize that he was right. Everything is always working out for me. It’s like Paul said in the book of Romans, “…all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and who are called according to his purpose.” Well, guess what? All things means all things and work together for the good means that all things are working out for me and called according to his purpose means that it’s Great I Am’s plan and intent for it to be that way. So, yep, all things are working out for me all the time. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am happy. I am loved. I don’t have to strive or work toward perfection or try to earn God’s favor. All I have to do is receive. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. You can’t earn a gift. You can only be in receptive mode and receive it. So, I don’t believe I was born under a lucky star or a perfect astrological sign. I believe that I am fearfully (awe-inspiring) and wonderfully made and that I am an offspring of the Great I Am who loves me and wants to give me an abundant life. I can’t earn it. I can only accept it (receive) or reject it. When we keep trying to earn it, we are not receiving. It’s like trying to climb a ladder to get what’s already been placed on ground level.