Words of EnCOURAGEment #12
May the Circle Be Unbroken: Extending the Reach of Circles of Trust®
by Marcy Jackson, Co-Director
To know someone with whom you feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts unexpressed—that can make of this earth a garden.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
When we sit in a circle of trust, we are given one experience after another in holding the tension of opposites, experiences that slowly break our hearts open to greater capacity.
—Parker J. Palmer
We live in challenging times—in which the Center for Courage & Renewal has important contributions to make to individuals, communities and public life, and much to learn about how to do this across lines of difference and distance. 2010 promises to be an exciting year for the Center as we expand our reach to a broader audience via new programs (see, for example, Parker Palmer’s article about our upcoming democracy conferences), and via cyberspace.
In one of my favorite poems—“The Seven of Pentacles”—Marge Piercy writes:
Our work with the Circle of Trust ® approach has borne this out. Building trust and relationships in order to hold conversations about things that matter takes time as well as intentionality, deep listening, and self-awareness. And yet we also know that connections can be made quickly, almost instantaneously under the right circumstances—as when we “recognize” a kindred spirit, a fellow traveler or a worthy adversary through their presence, reflections or ideas.Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground.
You cannot tell always by looking what is happening.
More than half a tree is spread out in the soil under your feet.
Renewing American Democracy: It’s not About Who’s Onstage
by Parker J. Palmer, PhD
If you believe in the promise of democracy and lament the ways ours is falling short; if you want to rethink what it means to be an American at a time when divisiveness weakens “we the people” while other powers run the show; if you want to expand your own capacity for engaged citizenship—and learn how to help others do the same—we’d like you to join us.
The Center for Courage & Renewal is hosting two conferences in 2010 on “The Politics of the Brokenhearted: Opening the Heart of American Democracy.” On May 20-23 in Seattle and October 21-24 in Boston—in the company of about one hundred people who share these concerns and hopes—I will have the privilege of giving a few talks to help spark discussion.
What You Can Expect from the Conference…
- A thoughtful examination of democracy’s promise and perils
- Dialogue about what “we the people” can do to renew the civic bonds and civil discourse on which democracy depends
- Experiences, inspiration and practical ideas you can take home to help yourself and others develop democratic “habits of the heart”
- Access to an ongoing community of support, online and face-to-face, thru the Center for Courage & Renewal
But what happens onstage at these events is only a small part of our vision. Using the Center’s Circle of Trust® approach, we will create the safe space required to deal creatively with our differences, fears and hope. The conferences will offer multiple small-group opportunities to explore “the common good,” a vision we must renew if the experiment called American democracy is to have a future shaped by its deepest values.
What America needs is not a mere audience of citizens to whatever is happening onstage in Washington, D.C. It needs people committed to doing what citizens are supposed to do: debating and determining the will of the people, making it known to the people in power, holding their leaders accountable to it—and doing all of it in a way that reweaves rather than unravels the fabric of civic relationships on which democracy depends.
Finding Our Way Together: An Interview with Dr. Janice Jackson
by Lisa Sankowski, Circle of Trust Facilitator
The pace has been different for Janice Jackson this fall. Taking a break from teaching during the first semester, she’s had time to dedicate to her research. “I’m focusing on helping school districts develop an effective approach to teaching, because pretty much, either every school does what it wants, and every classroom does what it wants, or people come down very hard and say, ‘Everybody’s going to do exactly this.’ There’s got to be some middle ground. It’s my life’s work to develop leaders who look for the third way.”
Janice is well positioned to undertake this work. Her career spans the educational system in the U.S. at every level. Currently a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Janice began her career as a middle school teacher in a Catholic school in Milwaukee. After serving in leadership roles in Milwaukee and San Diego, Janice became Deputy Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, and during the first term of the Clinton Administration, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education. Janice also consults to school systems working to bridge the gap between research and practice.
Janice’s experience with Courage to Teach® also informs her interest in—and understanding of—this elusive middle ground. Janice and twenty-four fellow educators participated in the Courage to Teach retreat series facilitated by Pamela Seigle and Chip Wood in 1999-2001 at Wellesley College, and Janice credits this experience with a profound contribution to her understanding of herself and her work.
The Courage to Use Technology: Experiments in Circles of Trust
by Circle of Trust® Facilitator Chris Love
“I’m very far from a ‘techie,’” asserts founding Circle of Trust facilitator Sally Hare, PhD, from her home in Surfside Beach, SC. Despite professional credentials as president of Still Learning, Inc., distinguished professor emerita and founding director of the Center for Education and Community at Carolina Coastal University, Sally says technology’s lure is for her very personal: it suits her life as an introvert. “It fits who I am. From the fourth grade, I’ve always had pen pals, so this is the adult form of that for me.”
Sally is convinced that technology is critical to engaging more people in Circles of Trust. She also believes that Circle of Trust facilitators bring an unusual intimacy to high-tech connections. Sally’s earliest experiments were with her 1996-1998 Courage to Teach® retreat series, using technology to deepen participants’ retreat learning, offer access to graduate credit and support efforts to apply Circle of Trust concepts in the classroom.
Sally’s asynchronous email course offered teachers across four different time zones the opportunity to do the work on their own schedules. She was amazed at the depth of the conversations and connections – and the depth of students’ reading and learning, far beyond the requirement for graduate credit.
The Wild Winds of Winter
Here in Colorado we are experiencing the fullness of winter conditions and the importance of slowing down and turning inward for warmth and self preservation. On cold and gray days, with the sun low in the horizon, a person’s identity is obscured under layers of clothing and blurred by passing snow squalls. Wrapped in a cocoon of warmth people look like self-contained universes spinning through the snow and ice as they complete the day’s business.
Circle of Trust work invites me to consider winter’s metaphorical qualities in my personal and professional life. I’m mindful of the challenges I face when projects aren’t completed on time or I strongly disagree with a colleague around who should take the lead on a task. Instead of dwelling on disappointment, doubt, or failure, our principles and practices encourage me to consider the light- and life-giving aspects of winter. For instance, winter’s isolation, although rarely pleasant, becomes an opportunity to listen attentively to my inner teacher. It is my experience that the darker and colder my professional or personal winter the greater is my opportunity to hear and name my most precious inner beliefs and gifts.