June 4, 2024 • 64 mins
Can shifting the focus for teachers from content to connection be the key to lifting adolescent loneliness?
Journey with Amy Edelstein on this episode of the Conscious Classroom podcast as she unpacks the role of teachers as moral exemplars, following the principles laid out by Plato.
You'll explore how transmission occurs and why teachers impact not just academic success, but also ethics, values, and personal connection that can make a real difference in students' lives.
Amy shares a personal story of how her fifth-grade teacher from Linden Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, left a lasting impact, perhaps without even knowing it. This teacher's personal interest and encouragement created an environment where students felt valued and capable.
Amy delves into the transformative power of human connection and mentorship in education, showing how the behavior and attitudes of teachers can profoundly shape the futures of their students.
Tune in to rediscover the heart of teaching and its irreplaceable role in creating a Conscious Classroom, nurturing wisdom, virtue, and critical thinking.
Plato, The Republic
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review!
Your review supports our podcast to reach more educators and share the importance of creating more conscious classrooms.
The Conscious Classroom was honored by Feedspot in their Top 100 Classroom Podcasts. We are committed to sharing insights that transform outlooks and inspire with what's possible.
Subscribe so you don't miss a single episode!
Visit Inner Strength Education for more on the great work of the Conscious Classroom.
Want to train to teach mindfulness, compassion, and systems thinking to students? Courses are available at The Conscious Classroom.
Get your copy of the award-winning, bestseller The Conscious Classroom: The Inner Strength System for Transforming the Teenage Mind.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amy (00:10):
Welcome to the Conscious Classroom podcast, where we're
exploring tools and perspectivesthat support educators and
anyone who works with teens tocreate more conscious,
supportive and enrichinglearning environments.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein,and I'll be sharing
transformative insights andeasy-to-implement classroom
supports that are all drawn frommindful awareness and systems
(00:32):
thinking.
The themes we'll discuss aredesigned to improve your own joy
and fulfillment in your workand increase your impact on the
world we share.
Let's get on with this nextepisode.
Hello, my name is Amy Edelstein.
(00:57):
Welcome to this episode of theConscious Classroom.
I'd like to start with aninteresting quote from Plato,
and it'll illuminate, in thevery direct and fun way that
(01:17):
Plato has, what we're going totalk about today and why it's so
important and often overlookedin education.
So this is a quote from Plato'sRepublic, from the sixth book,
and in this dialogue they'rediscussing what qualities a good
(01:53):
teacher or ruler should have.
So Socrates starts his argumentand he says is it clear whether
the guardian who is to keepwatch over anything ought to be
blind or keen of sight?
Glaucon says of course it isclear, and Socrates goes on.
(02:17):
Do you think, then, thatthere's any appreciable
difference between the blind andthose who are veritably
deprived of the knowledge of theveritable being of things,
those who have no vivid patternin their souls and so cannot, as
painters look to their models,fix their eyes on the absolute
truth and, always with referenceto that ideal and in the
(02:40):
exactest possible contemplationof it, establish in this world
the laws of the beautiful, thejust and the good when it is
needful, or guard and preservethose that are established.
Glaucon says no, by heaventhere's not much difference,
socrates says.
Shall we then appoint theseblind souls as our guardians,
(03:06):
rather than those who've learnedto know the ideal reality of
things and who do not fall shortof the others in experience and
are not second to them in anypart of virtue?
Glaucon, of course, answers itwould be strange indeed to
choose others than thephilosophers, provided that they
were not deficient in otherrespects, for this very
(03:29):
knowledge.
So if the translation from theGreek is a little stilted and a
little hard to understand, inthis passage Plato is making
clear that if you want somebodyto guard something precious, you
want them to be keen of sight.
No point in having a blindguard protecting something
(03:51):
that's most important to you,and if you want someone who is
of keen sight to guard your mostprecious things keen sight to
guard your most precious things,then of course you want
somebody who is of keen sight inthe ways of virtue, of the good
(04:13):
, the true and the beautiful, inorder to rule, in order to
teach and in order to serve asrole models for their students.
So, way back in the time of theRepublic, plato is making the
(04:34):
case for teachers andpoliticians, rulers, as
exemplars of virtue.
So in the conscious classroom,I often speak about the role
that teachers play as one of arole model being the most
(04:59):
important, more important thanjust teaching a subject matter.
And it's for this very reasonthat when we want somebody to
shape and guide our young people, then it's essential that that
(05:23):
teacher be an exemplar, a rolemodel, because what happens
between teacher and student ismore than just the learning of
facts.
It is also the absorption ofthe teacher's quality of being,
and the younger the students,the more impressionable they are
(05:45):
.
But I would argue thatadolescents are looking in fact
more closely to their educatorsto be role models of direction,
meaning, purpose, joy, balanceof a life well lived, fairness,
equality, justice, compassion,connection.
(06:09):
And when students don't haveteachers who can connect with
them on a human level.
It exacerbates alienation,isolation and a sense of
loneliness which is alreadyendemic throughout adolescent
life.
(06:29):
One of the biggest ills facingyoung people today is that sense
of loneliness, and loneliness,fortunately, is something that
can be ameliorated by humanconnection.
Schools are filled with humanbeings and our classrooms need
(06:51):
to be filled with humanconnection.
You can stuff a classroom fullof people, but unless you have
people who are keen of sight, asPlato was saying, unless we
have these moral exemplars whoare developed in character and
(07:12):
ethical behavior and who canteach that to others, then
students will feel thatloneliness in the midst of other
people and I think this role ofrole model is something that is
(07:33):
similar.
So let's think about the wordtransmission and let's think
about how it applies in theeducational space.
Transmission, when it's coupledwith a spiritual context, often
(07:54):
means directly impartingknowledge or wisdom or
illumination from one to another, and it's not just a transfer
of book knowledge but a transferof a living connection, and
(08:17):
that living connection caninspire and motivate and
transform the recipient when wethink about the transfer of
secular ethics and values and ahierarchy of goodness, of order
and care and concern for thewell-being of others that
(08:42):
teachers impart quitespecifically at young ages, when
they teach their grade schoolstudents how to wait for others,
how to share, how to listen,how to be kind, how to express
themselves, how to acceptdisappointment.
And while this gets more andmore subtle, the older the
(09:05):
students get and deeper anddeeper, this role of imparting
what's valuable to studentsremains an essential element of
education.
And so what are the elements oftransmission and what are the
parallels between, when we thinkof transmission in other
(09:29):
contexts, with a structuredsecular education container like
a public school?
Transmission is all about apersonal, immediate experience.
It's about understanding thenature of things and how life
(09:55):
and reality works firsthand.
So you can read Plato, but whenyou grasp the meaning, as if
you were sitting and discussingwith Socrates that you were
taking in these questions andconsidering the examples and
(10:20):
considering their veracity onyour own, so that it really
lands and the light bulb goesoff.
That's that direct experience.
When we think abouttransmission, we're also often
thinking about the very closeand personal relationship that a
(10:44):
guide or a teacher or a mentorhas.
One of the things that seems tobe missing more and more is that
adult mentorship of youngpeople, partly because in
postmodern culture adults seemunwilling and reluctant to take
(11:08):
responsibility for themselves asadult human beings, wanting
optionality to opt out, to be amess, to not show up up.
Now, being honest andvulnerable about one's
(11:30):
shortcomings, as Brene Brown,the psychologist, articulates so
poignantly, is humility.
Abdicating responsibility isnever a quality of a good leader
or teacher, and so I think inteachers, as educators, we would
be well served by taking BreneBrown's advice and learning the
(11:51):
difference between vulnerabilityand humility and abdication of
responsibility, oversharing,being irresponsible, wanting
somebody else to pick up thepieces.
So we're not at all advocatingthat, but what we're advocating,
(12:14):
we think about that humilityand courage and vulnerability
that a teacher can have, andcourage and vulnerability that a
teacher can have.
Guiding a student to be open,innocent, curious about life,
curious about the people aroundthem, is something that our
(12:43):
young people need examples oftoday and being willing to
recognize that, like it or not,especially when there is an age
difference or a statusdifferential, there's a big
difference between being astudent and being a teacher.
Students are going to absorbfrom us, they are going to
receive transmission.
So let's not make it a muddyone, let's make it a clear one
(13:08):
and, in order to be clear, havea clear transmission, a clear
imprint, a clear impact on ourstudents.
We need to embody what we wantour students to learn Now.
Oftentimes teachers are sooverwhelmed, tired, beleaguered,
(13:31):
that they think it's too muchto embody.
One more thing.
But what I'm saying here isthat the most important thing is
to really live one's life inthe present tense, fully now
(13:54):
being present, giving life fullattention, being available,
noticing.
Being available, noticing, andthat brings us joy as people, as
teachers, as educators, and itbrings our young people joy as
(14:17):
well.
My fifth grade teacher, mrsMcVeigh, was one of those
teachers who had transmission.
She set my heart on fire andtouched me in a way that set my
(14:40):
life on a path, and I don't knowwhat would have catalyzed my
own love of writing andlistening and interpreting and
reflecting had it not been her.
(15:01):
I suspect that something elsemight have taken that place.
But in that fifth grade classat Linden Elementary School on
South Linden Avenue inPittsburgh, pennsylvania, is
where my fifth grade teacher,mrs McVeigh, had that
(15:22):
transmission.
I don't know if she did thatfor other people, but she
certainly did it for me.
You know she had short, shortbrown hair, cut above her
shoulders in a good, kindlyschoolteacher cut.
(15:43):
She was a little bit round, notheavy, just round like a mom or
a huggable person, and I adoredher.
She had us constantly creatingstories.
(16:04):
She had us constantly creatingstories, writing our
observations Science was alwaysabout creation and writing and
she would display our projectson the bulletin board so you
(16:24):
could read everybody's storiesand all I remember about being
in her room was that it wasthere that the world of ideas
took multiple dimensions for me,that they became stories that
you could write, and storieswere not two-dimensional things
(16:44):
with lines of pencil neatlywritten between the lines, with
the lowercase letters carefullytouching the dotted lines and
the uppercase letters carefullymeeting the top and bottom
straight lines on those littleprinted pages.
(17:10):
It's where stories took on lifeand dialogue and wisdom beyond
what I knew.
Things were flowing out of mypencil that were more than what
I had thought and they createdsomething.
(17:32):
And they created something andthat love of something coming
into being through me, that wasme and more than me, that was my
idea, were my ideas, and morethan my ideas happened in her
class.
(17:53):
So you could say it was analchemy of sorts.
You could say that it was somemysterious medieval element
turning the dross of powder intogold.
You could say it was herinterest or her heart that
(18:15):
encouraged me.
You could say that it was herconsciousness, but I'm not even
sure that she knew how deeplyshe affected me.
All I knew is I knew and it wasreal, and it catapulted me into
a life of ideas and writing andlearning and discovery that has
(18:40):
shaped my entire next 50 years.
It's a long time.
When I went to grade school,teachers were not personal with
students.
They very much were a role anda figure, and I never really
(19:00):
knew that Mrs McVeigh had a lifeoutside of school.
All I knew about her was shewas in that class when I walked
in and she stayed in that classwhen I walked out and it was as
if my 11-year-old brain neverreally contemplated that she
would go home to a family and ahouse, just like my mom went
(19:25):
home to a family and a house.
One Christmas that year or thenext year, actually, she wasn't
in school.
I'd heard that she was sick,but I didn't really understand
what that meant and I asked mymom if she would take me to see
(19:50):
her and I created a beautifulstory for her on colored paper,
carefully written in my besthandwriting with illustrations
and decorations.
And we drove to her house onthis warm but wintry night and
(20:13):
knocked on a knocker on her doorand, lo and behold, the door
opened up and there was myteacher, not in her room, not in
lyndon school, but in a house,like a regular house, like a
house that I lived in, and Itold her that I had brought her
(20:37):
a story and I wanted her to havethis story, and I don't know
what else I said to her.
I know she listened.
I know she looked down at me.
I know she smiled.
I know she took my gift andoffering as carefully as if it
was the most delicate cloisonneartifact from the finest
(21:04):
jewelers of Vienna.
And there she was and she tookit and somehow the conversation
ended.
We said goodbye and I never sawMrs McVeigh again.
I don't know if she went back toschool, I don't know how many
more years she taught or howmany more students she taught,
(21:30):
but when I think about her, Ithink about her transmission of
safety, security, welcome, love,value, interest.
I felt like a full person withher, not a child.
(21:51):
I felt like I had ideas thatwere relevant and important to
express.
So when I think about the roleof teachers in a conscious
classroom and an education ofthe future.
(22:14):
In a conscious classroom and aneducation of the future.
I know that as we move more andmore into a digital age, the
human role model, the humanfactor of classroom teachers
becomes elevated.
Their behavior, their values,their attitudes, motivate and
(22:38):
inspire.
The way they think and listen,affect how young people will
think and listen and whatthey'll value in thinking and
listening.
(22:59):
Now, I'm not saying that mixingagendas in a classroom is what's
needed, is what's needed.
I'm saying that thiscultivation of wisdom and virtue
, of what Plato referred to asthe good and the true and the
(23:20):
beautiful, is what's needed toshine through.
That's what makes a truementorship.
That's what makes a teacher bemore, far, far more valuable
than the smartest large languagemodel artificial intelligence
(23:48):
could ever be.
That trusting and respectfuland personal connection is part
of the teacher's transmission,where students feel that they're
important, they feel that theymatter and they feel that they
(24:08):
belong.
And, just like Socratesdemonstrated to Plato,
questioning critical thinking,making sure to go step by step,
by step, so students can absorbthe meaning simply like if
(24:35):
Socrates had said students canabsorb the meaning Simply, like
if Socrates had said oh yes, weneed rulers who are philosopher
kings and who can see clearly,and that's essential.
You know, plato or Glauconcould have said of course makes
sense to me sounds good.
But because the dialogue movedand built carefully, carefully,
(24:59):
carefully, from the absurd.
Would you want a sentry, aguardsman, who was blind, or
would you want one who was keenof sight and builds, and builds,
and builds, so that you take ateacher, a good teacher, a role
model teacher, a teacher whowants to transmit intelligence
(25:23):
to their students, will taketheir students through a journey
of critical thinking where theyreally discern their own
answers to the question, comingat a final conclusion through
their own logic and feeling.
So, as we think about how we'regoing to teach and as we have
(25:54):
time in our summer vacation toreflect, let's really allow
ourselves to drop deep into ourown being, to settle into the
heart of what's most important,to allow ourselves to teach at
the edge of what we know is mostvaluable.
(26:15):
That, in the end, is what'sgoing to change lives.
That, in the end, is going tobe what will make us become the
Mrs McVeigh's for our students.
Let's close this episode of theConscious Classroom with a short
(26:39):
mindfulness practice, ameditation on value and meaning
and purpose.
So if you're driving, of course, please hold this for later.
Of course, please hold this forlater.
Allow yourself to come into afocused and calm posture where
(27:06):
you allow the world outside tosettle, you allow the drumbeat
of activity to fade into thedistance, like a marching band
moving on to the next block.
And as the drumbeat of activityfades into the distance, allow
(27:31):
the drumbeat of your heart tocome closer to the surface of
yourself, Feeling in each pulseof your heart the warmth and
energy flowing through your body.
(27:54):
Imagine any blockages andlimitations melting and picture
the flow of that hard energy,just like the flow of your
(28:15):
physical energy, the oxygenatedblood, the freshness, the
liveliness to animate your wholebeing.
Imagine each of your cellswaking up, filling your cells
(28:44):
waking up, filling with thisenergy and light and love.
Imagine your whole bodyresonant, glowing.
And imagine, in this focus onyour own vitality, on the pulse
(29:10):
of your heart, that all of thetiredness and staleness washes
away and your cells come alivewith vitality and elasticity,
(29:34):
nourished and healed with thelove that is the essential
current of life.
Let your attention focus onyour breath and on that vitality
(29:59):
.
And on that vitality, allow asmile to spread across your face
and imagine that each of yourcells were like raindrops,
dewdrops reflecting that smileall throughout your body.
(30:19):
Take a last deep breath in anddeep breath out and take with
(30:41):
you the sense that who you areand the pulse of your heart and
the vitality of your love is themost important thing to make
your classroom a truly consciousone.
(31:04):
Thank you for listening to theConscious Classroom.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein.
Please check out the show noteson www.
innerstrengtheducation.
org for links and moreinformation and if you enjoyed
this podcast, please share itwith a friend and pass the love
on.
Welcome to the Conscious Classroom podcast, where we're
exploring tools and perspectivesthat support educators and
anyone who works with teens tocreate more conscious,
supportive and enrichinglearning environments.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein,and I'll be sharing
transformative insights andeasy-to-implement classroom
supports that are all drawn frommindful awareness and systems
(00:32):
thinking.
The themes we'll discuss aredesigned to improve your own joy
and fulfillment in your workand increase your impact on the
world we share.
Let's get on with this nextepisode.
Hello, my name is Amy Edelstein.
(00:57):
Welcome to this episode of theConscious Classroom.
I'd like to start with aninteresting quote from Plato,
and it'll illuminate, in thevery direct and fun way that
(01:17):
Plato has, what we're going totalk about today and why it's so
important and often overlookedin education.
So this is a quote from Plato'sRepublic, from the sixth book,
and in this dialogue they'rediscussing what qualities a good
(01:53):
teacher or ruler should have.
So Socrates starts his argumentand he says is it clear whether
the guardian who is to keepwatch over anything ought to be
blind or keen of sight?
Glaucon says of course it isclear, and Socrates goes on.
(02:17):
Do you think, then, thatthere's any appreciable
difference between the blind andthose who are veritably
deprived of the knowledge of theveritable being of things,
those who have no vivid patternin their souls and so cannot, as
painters look to their models,fix their eyes on the absolute
truth and, always with referenceto that ideal and in the
(02:40):
exactest possible contemplationof it, establish in this world
the laws of the beautiful, thejust and the good when it is
needful, or guard and preservethose that are established.
Glaucon says no, by heaventhere's not much difference,
socrates says.
Shall we then appoint theseblind souls as our guardians,
(03:06):
rather than those who've learnedto know the ideal reality of
things and who do not fall shortof the others in experience and
are not second to them in anypart of virtue?
Glaucon, of course, answers itwould be strange indeed to
choose others than thephilosophers, provided that they
were not deficient in otherrespects, for this very
(03:29):
knowledge.
So if the translation from theGreek is a little stilted and a
little hard to understand, inthis passage Plato is making
clear that if you want somebodyto guard something precious, you
want them to be keen of sight.
No point in having a blindguard protecting something
(03:51):
that's most important to you,and if you want someone who is
of keen sight to guard your mostprecious things keen sight to
guard your most precious things,then of course you want
somebody who is of keen sight inthe ways of virtue, of the good
(04:13):
, the true and the beautiful, inorder to rule, in order to
teach and in order to serve asrole models for their students.
So, way back in the time of theRepublic, plato is making the
(04:34):
case for teachers andpoliticians, rulers, as
exemplars of virtue.
So in the conscious classroom,I often speak about the role
that teachers play as one of arole model being the most
(04:59):
important, more important thanjust teaching a subject matter.
And it's for this very reasonthat when we want somebody to
shape and guide our young people, then it's essential that that
(05:23):
teacher be an exemplar, a rolemodel, because what happens
between teacher and student ismore than just the learning of
facts.
It is also the absorption ofthe teacher's quality of being,
and the younger the students,the more impressionable they are
(05:45):
.
But I would argue thatadolescents are looking in fact
more closely to their educatorsto be role models of direction,
meaning, purpose, joy, balanceof a life well lived, fairness,
equality, justice, compassion,connection.
(06:09):
And when students don't haveteachers who can connect with
them on a human level.
It exacerbates alienation,isolation and a sense of
loneliness which is alreadyendemic throughout adolescent
life.
(06:29):
One of the biggest ills facingyoung people today is that sense
of loneliness, and loneliness,fortunately, is something that
can be ameliorated by humanconnection.
Schools are filled with humanbeings and our classrooms need
(06:51):
to be filled with humanconnection.
You can stuff a classroom fullof people, but unless you have
people who are keen of sight, asPlato was saying, unless we
have these moral exemplars whoare developed in character and
(07:12):
ethical behavior and who canteach that to others, then
students will feel thatloneliness in the midst of other
people and I think this role ofrole model is something that is
(07:33):
similar.
So let's think about the wordtransmission and let's think
about how it applies in theeducational space.
Transmission, when it's coupledwith a spiritual context, often
(07:54):
means directly impartingknowledge or wisdom or
illumination from one to another, and it's not just a transfer
of book knowledge but a transferof a living connection, and
(08:17):
that living connection caninspire and motivate and
transform the recipient when wethink about the transfer of
secular ethics and values and ahierarchy of goodness, of order
and care and concern for thewell-being of others that
(08:42):
teachers impart quitespecifically at young ages, when
they teach their grade schoolstudents how to wait for others,
how to share, how to listen,how to be kind, how to express
themselves, how to acceptdisappointment.
And while this gets more andmore subtle, the older the
(09:05):
students get and deeper anddeeper, this role of imparting
what's valuable to studentsremains an essential element of
education.
And so what are the elements oftransmission and what are the
parallels between, when we thinkof transmission in other
(09:29):
contexts, with a structuredsecular education container like
a public school?
Transmission is all about apersonal, immediate experience.
It's about understanding thenature of things and how life
(09:55):
and reality works firsthand.
So you can read Plato, but whenyou grasp the meaning, as if
you were sitting and discussingwith Socrates that you were
taking in these questions andconsidering the examples and
(10:20):
considering their veracity onyour own, so that it really
lands and the light bulb goesoff.
That's that direct experience.
When we think abouttransmission, we're also often
thinking about the very closeand personal relationship that a
(10:44):
guide or a teacher or a mentorhas.
One of the things that seems tobe missing more and more is that
adult mentorship of youngpeople, partly because in
postmodern culture adults seemunwilling and reluctant to take
(11:08):
responsibility for themselves asadult human beings, wanting
optionality to opt out, to be amess, to not show up up.
Now, being honest andvulnerable about one's
(11:30):
shortcomings, as Brene Brown,the psychologist, articulates so
poignantly, is humility.
Abdicating responsibility isnever a quality of a good leader
or teacher, and so I think inteachers, as educators, we would
be well served by taking BreneBrown's advice and learning the
(11:51):
difference between vulnerabilityand humility and abdication of
responsibility, oversharing,being irresponsible, wanting
somebody else to pick up thepieces.
So we're not at all advocatingthat, but what we're advocating,
(12:14):
we think about that humilityand courage and vulnerability
that a teacher can have, andcourage and vulnerability that a
teacher can have.
Guiding a student to be open,innocent, curious about life,
curious about the people aroundthem, is something that our
(12:43):
young people need examples oftoday and being willing to
recognize that, like it or not,especially when there is an age
difference or a statusdifferential, there's a big
difference between being astudent and being a teacher.
Students are going to absorbfrom us, they are going to
receive transmission.
So let's not make it a muddyone, let's make it a clear one
(13:08):
and, in order to be clear, havea clear transmission, a clear
imprint, a clear impact on ourstudents.
We need to embody what we wantour students to learn Now.
Oftentimes teachers are sooverwhelmed, tired, beleaguered,
(13:31):
that they think it's too muchto embody.
One more thing.
But what I'm saying here isthat the most important thing is
to really live one's life inthe present tense, fully now
(13:54):
being present, giving life fullattention, being available,
noticing.
Being available, noticing, andthat brings us joy as people, as
teachers, as educators, and itbrings our young people joy as
(14:17):
well.
My fifth grade teacher, mrsMcVeigh, was one of those
teachers who had transmission.
She set my heart on fire andtouched me in a way that set my
(14:40):
life on a path, and I don't knowwhat would have catalyzed my
own love of writing andlistening and interpreting and
reflecting had it not been her.
(15:01):
I suspect that something elsemight have taken that place.
But in that fifth grade classat Linden Elementary School on
South Linden Avenue inPittsburgh, pennsylvania, is
where my fifth grade teacher,mrs McVeigh, had that
(15:22):
transmission.
I don't know if she did thatfor other people, but she
certainly did it for me.
You know she had short, shortbrown hair, cut above her
shoulders in a good, kindlyschoolteacher cut.
(15:43):
She was a little bit round, notheavy, just round like a mom or
a huggable person, and I adoredher.
She had us constantly creatingstories.
(16:04):
She had us constantly creatingstories, writing our
observations Science was alwaysabout creation and writing and
she would display our projectson the bulletin board so you
(16:24):
could read everybody's storiesand all I remember about being
in her room was that it wasthere that the world of ideas
took multiple dimensions for me,that they became stories that
you could write, and storieswere not two-dimensional things
(16:44):
with lines of pencil neatlywritten between the lines, with
the lowercase letters carefullytouching the dotted lines and
the uppercase letters carefullymeeting the top and bottom
straight lines on those littleprinted pages.
(17:10):
It's where stories took on lifeand dialogue and wisdom beyond
what I knew.
Things were flowing out of mypencil that were more than what
I had thought and they createdsomething.
(17:32):
And they created something andthat love of something coming
into being through me, that wasme and more than me, that was my
idea, were my ideas, and morethan my ideas happened in her
class.
(17:53):
So you could say it was analchemy of sorts.
You could say that it was somemysterious medieval element
turning the dross of powder intogold.
You could say it was herinterest or her heart that
(18:15):
encouraged me.
You could say that it was herconsciousness, but I'm not even
sure that she knew how deeplyshe affected me.
All I knew is I knew and it wasreal, and it catapulted me into
a life of ideas and writing andlearning and discovery that has
(18:40):
shaped my entire next 50 years.
It's a long time.
When I went to grade school,teachers were not personal with
students.
They very much were a role anda figure, and I never really
(19:00):
knew that Mrs McVeigh had a lifeoutside of school.
All I knew about her was shewas in that class when I walked
in and she stayed in that classwhen I walked out and it was as
if my 11-year-old brain neverreally contemplated that she
would go home to a family and ahouse, just like my mom went
(19:25):
home to a family and a house.
One Christmas that year or thenext year, actually, she wasn't
in school.
I'd heard that she was sick,but I didn't really understand
what that meant and I asked mymom if she would take me to see
(19:50):
her and I created a beautifulstory for her on colored paper,
carefully written in my besthandwriting with illustrations
and decorations.
And we drove to her house onthis warm but wintry night and
(20:13):
knocked on a knocker on her doorand, lo and behold, the door
opened up and there was myteacher, not in her room, not in
lyndon school, but in a house,like a regular house, like a
house that I lived in, and Itold her that I had brought her
(20:37):
a story and I wanted her to havethis story, and I don't know
what else I said to her.
I know she listened.
I know she looked down at me.
I know she smiled.
I know she took my gift andoffering as carefully as if it
was the most delicate cloisonneartifact from the finest
(21:04):
jewelers of Vienna.
And there she was and she tookit and somehow the conversation
ended.
We said goodbye and I never sawMrs McVeigh again.
I don't know if she went back toschool, I don't know how many
more years she taught or howmany more students she taught,
(21:30):
but when I think about her, Ithink about her transmission of
safety, security, welcome, love,value, interest.
I felt like a full person withher, not a child.
(21:51):
I felt like I had ideas thatwere relevant and important to
express.
So when I think about the roleof teachers in a conscious
classroom and an education ofthe future.
(22:14):
In a conscious classroom and aneducation of the future.
I know that as we move more andmore into a digital age, the
human role model, the humanfactor of classroom teachers
becomes elevated.
Their behavior, their values,their attitudes, motivate and
(22:38):
inspire.
The way they think and listen,affect how young people will
think and listen and whatthey'll value in thinking and
listening.
(22:59):
Now, I'm not saying that mixingagendas in a classroom is what's
needed, is what's needed.
I'm saying that thiscultivation of wisdom and virtue
, of what Plato referred to asthe good and the true and the
(23:20):
beautiful, is what's needed toshine through.
That's what makes a truementorship.
That's what makes a teacher bemore, far, far more valuable
than the smartest large languagemodel artificial intelligence
(23:48):
could ever be.
That trusting and respectfuland personal connection is part
of the teacher's transmission,where students feel that they're
important, they feel that theymatter and they feel that they
(24:08):
belong.
And, just like Socratesdemonstrated to Plato,
questioning critical thinking,making sure to go step by step,
by step, so students can absorbthe meaning simply like if
(24:35):
Socrates had said students canabsorb the meaning Simply, like
if Socrates had said oh yes, weneed rulers who are philosopher
kings and who can see clearly,and that's essential.
You know, plato or Glauconcould have said of course makes
sense to me sounds good.
But because the dialogue movedand built carefully, carefully,
(24:59):
carefully, from the absurd.
Would you want a sentry, aguardsman, who was blind, or
would you want one who was keenof sight and builds, and builds,
and builds, so that you take ateacher, a good teacher, a role
model teacher, a teacher whowants to transmit intelligence
(25:23):
to their students, will taketheir students through a journey
of critical thinking where theyreally discern their own
answers to the question, comingat a final conclusion through
their own logic and feeling.
So, as we think about how we'regoing to teach and as we have
(25:54):
time in our summer vacation toreflect, let's really allow
ourselves to drop deep into ourown being, to settle into the
heart of what's most important,to allow ourselves to teach at
the edge of what we know is mostvaluable.
(26:15):
That, in the end, is what'sgoing to change lives.
That, in the end, is going tobe what will make us become the
Mrs McVeigh's for our students.
Let's close this episode of theConscious Classroom with a short
(26:39):
mindfulness practice, ameditation on value and meaning
and purpose.
So if you're driving, of course, please hold this for later.
Of course, please hold this forlater.
Allow yourself to come into afocused and calm posture where
(27:06):
you allow the world outside tosettle, you allow the drumbeat
of activity to fade into thedistance, like a marching band
moving on to the next block.
And as the drumbeat of activityfades into the distance, allow
(27:31):
the drumbeat of your heart tocome closer to the surface of
yourself, Feeling in each pulseof your heart the warmth and
energy flowing through your body.
(27:54):
Imagine any blockages andlimitations melting and picture
the flow of that hard energy,just like the flow of your
(28:15):
physical energy, the oxygenatedblood, the freshness, the
liveliness to animate your wholebeing.
Imagine each of your cellswaking up, filling your cells
(28:44):
waking up, filling with thisenergy and light and love.
Imagine your whole bodyresonant, glowing.
And imagine, in this focus onyour own vitality, on the pulse
(29:10):
of your heart, that all of thetiredness and staleness washes
away and your cells come alivewith vitality and elasticity,
(29:34):
nourished and healed with thelove that is the essential
current of life.
Let your attention focus onyour breath and on that vitality
(29:59):
.
And on that vitality, allow asmile to spread across your face
and imagine that each of yourcells were like raindrops,
dewdrops reflecting that smileall throughout your body.
(30:19):
Take a last deep breath in anddeep breath out and take with
(30:41):
you the sense that who you areand the pulse of your heart and
the vitality of your love is themost important thing to make
your classroom a truly consciousone.
(31:04):
Thank you for listening to theConscious Classroom.
I'm your host, amy Edelstein.
Please check out the show noteson www.
innerstrengtheducation.
org for links and moreinformation and if you enjoyed
this podcast, please share itwith a friend and pass the love
on.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.