During my Education 455 course in Professional Development, I presented an excerpt of David C. Jones’ novel,
Meditations of Anselam: Letters from an Elder Teacher,
in which Jones discusses the concept that “each soul has its own song”. In the novel, the narrator (Anselam), acts as Jones’ highest conception of self, through which he reflects and shares insights gained throughout his years of teaching.
OUR GAINED INSIGHTS
Each soul has its own song...
"No one will ever have your song to sing: through all eternity it is yours alone.
Your primary task in life is to learn that song and sing it perfectly."
- J.Donald Walters (Jones, 2005)
The concept stems from the story of an African birthing ritual, in which music is wholly integrated into the conception and life of a child. A woman only conceives after she sits under a tree and hears the song of her unborn child. Each tribe member's unique song is sung by their mother before the child is conceived; then, the same song is sung during their conception, gestation, birth, and throughout their lives during times of difficulty and triumph, through rituals and celebrations, and finally, for the last time on their deathbed.
Our song and the song of our students are our own unique, special qualities that we share with others.
We can cultivate the songs of our students by encouraging them and giving them opportunities to share their own experiences, perspectives, preferences and aptitudes.
Being kind always triumphs over being right…
Anselam is right when… he fails a pregnant student who refuses to perform a mandatory presentation due to her self-esteem issues. The student later suffers in life from her failed high school experience.
Anselam is kind when he passes a student soldier who has missed an exam due to his military involvement and has failed to properly attend the re-write.
In the second instance, Anselam highlights the importance of being kind over being right, saying that, "This time, kindness prevailed, and I gave him the mark. I never saw him again, but I never regretted my decision," (Jones, 2005).
Sharing our gifts…
“Every teacher is a gift-bringer, whose task is to discover what to give, and then to accept what the learners receive of the gift. In turn, what learners can accept, blended with
their own offerings, is what they can bring to their relationships.”
(Jones, 2005)
When it comes to gift giving,
-Do not be concerned with the outcome; when we set expectations on gift giving, we set limits on the outcome.
-Do not give conditional gifts (eg. "You can have a car, son, if you go to medical school.")
-Never withdraw or withhold gifts from feelings of under appreciation
“Gifts should be handed, not thrown.”
– A Danish Proverb (Jones, 2003)
Avoiding teacher burnout…
An important note for teachers is that, when we give too much of ourselves without accepting things in return, we wear ourselves thin. Many teachers suffer from what they call “teacher burnout” and cease teaching after only a couple years. Teachers suffer energy loss when they invest their ego into their teaching and thinking; when we do things so someone will notice—a faculty member, an admirer—we are suggesting that our worth comes from outer sources, and is not intrinsically motivated. We need to demonstrate enthusiasm to our students so that they, in turn, are enthused. Through our enthusiasm, we can encourage student curiosity and exploration.
As a class, we realized we can avoid teacher burnout by…
-Taking the time for a relaxing bath at the end of the day
-Rewarding ourselves with a special meal or treat
-Going for a run; exercising to relax
-Playing or listening to music, etc.
The truth about relationships and their highest purpose…
The truth of relationships is that their higher purpose is to constantly challenge us, “calling [us[ to create, express and experience higher and higher aspects of [ourselves], grander and grander visions of [ourselves], ever more magnificent versions of [ourselves]. Relationships provide the only opportunity for us to experience our highest conception of self; it is only through these interactions that we can expand our unique qualities and thrive on the gifts of others; in sharing ourselves with others, we open ourselves up to be shared with. The reciprocity of relationships is what makes them so important.
MY CONTRIBUTION
I think that my partner, Amanda, and I both contributed equally to the project; however, she addressed the ideas of each of our unique songs, how to sing them and teacher burnout, while I chose to discuss the concept of being right or being kind, followed by the theme of gift-giving and the truth about relationships. We both composed the Prezi powerpoint and collaborated on its design.
Together, we came up with the idea of the group activity—an envelope with coloured slips of paper inside, each in the shape of a present. The students are required to fill out each slip throughout the presentation with different insights, experiences, memories, and tips about teaching to be given as “gifts” to each future instructor within the classroom. I loved the idea of “gifts” being used in our activity because gifts are always associated with excitement and generosity—children associate gifts with Christmas and birthday parties—therefore, the idea of gifts is one that could be implemented in the classroom to greatly engage students.
My biggest contribution to the project was the sharing of my own gift of music in order to perform “Imagine”, by John Lennon. I chose the song in honour of my mother, who acts as a constant role model within my life, in order to demonstrate how music can be used in teaching.
THE REASON BEHIND MY CHOICE
The reason why I chose this specific project was for its use of the word “song”; my love of music immediately drew my eye to the word, and consequently, I was able to share my gift of singing with the classroom as an aspect of the project.
Music is the gift I intend to use within my classroom to embody my personal qualities of empathy and honesty. It has been a constant influence on my life and has given me many opportunities for personal growth through playing, writing, listening and performing. Music is also my means of relaxation; my mood is immediately lifted when I pick up my guitar.
Throughout my education, music helped me to learn; I memorized the conjugation of French verbs when I was only eight years old, using a simple tune taught to the class by our eccentric teacher. To this day, if I forget a verb tense, I re-sing the song to myself in order to recollect the proper conjugation.
Please click on the link below to hear Charlotte Diamond’s “Je Suis Une Pizza” – a song I was taught in the first grade in order to learn the French vocabulary for words associated with pizza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxystpPE1xU
I love the idea of music being used as a lesson, and children LOVE IT. Take Disney movies, for example; the most recent Disney hit, Frozen, teaches children to celebrate their unique gifts and individuality. The movie uses a song called “Let it Go” to demonstrate how the princess is much happier after sharing her true self (her gift of frozen magic).
Click here to watch the original performance of “Let It Go”, sung by Idina Menzel, from the movie Frozen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk
Please enjoy my own personal rendition that I would bring to the classroom to teach children with my own spin on a popular song. The song perfectly correlates to a lesson on personal growth and the sharing of gifts (through the princess with her gift of magic and myself, with my gift of music).
http://youtu.be/IHRYcOabqio