“From elementary through graduate school, we receive little guidance for the inner journey . . .”

Parker Palmer continues, “even though Socrates – the patron saint of education – regarded self-examination as key to a life worth living.” I couldn’t agree more.  Because Parker Palmer has been a steady advocate of doing the “silent, solitary process of reflection” for nearly 50 years, he is the … Read More

“We teach who we are.”

palmerI spent most of the last decade in the company of people who are passionate about the art and science of teaching. It was wonderful. Looking back, one of the ideas that still resonates with me came from Parker J. Palmer’s The Courage to Teach. His approach stands … Read More

“What do these extraordinary lines summon in you?”

housdenThe premise of Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden is this: great poems can be dangerous. They can make you question your assumptions, change your direction, and find the courage to start over. I believe that reading can lead to reflection that inspires transformation. In fact, I’m … Read More

“There should be brief intervals of time for quiet reflection . . .”

dewey croppedIn this 1938 book about educational theory, John Dewey continues: “But they are periods of genuine reflection only when they follow after times of more overt action and are used to organize what has been gained . . .” He famously observed that you don’t learn from experience, you learn … Read More

“Reflection is a mighty endeavor…no occupation is more powerful or more feeble, depending on the soul”

Montagne croppedHow come some people who write about themselves are bores, and others are fascinating? Michel de Montaigne, an inventor who lived in the 1500s, is fascinating.  Instead of keeping a record of what he did, he recorded what he was thinking about.  He wrote:  “I am not portraying … Read More

“Trust that the presence of long-held stories in your memories are there for reasons beyond entertainment.”

shadiow bookJohn Dewey, one of my heroes, said that you don’t learn from experience — you learn from thinking about your experience. That’s the idea that What Our Stories Teach Us is based on. Linda K. Shadiow outlines a three-step process of description, interpretation, and analysis. Is this sort of reflection … Read More