Tag: Common Good - page 3

All Our Relations

“In Canada, half of all First Nations children live in poverty, the life expectancy of First Nations people is five to seven years less than that of other Canadians, and the practice of placing Indigenous children in foster care remains a significant issue.  Secondary school graduation rates for First Nations youth living on reserve are..

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Jan 30 is the 71st anniversary of the death of a great peace leader – Mohandas Gandhi

Gandhi was born Oct. 2 1869 and died (he was shot) Jan. 30 1948 at the age of 79. May 1893 Mohandas Gandhi was thrown off a South African train, motivating him to fight for Indian rights in the British colony.  He is often described as the spiritual and political leader of India. His list..

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Indigenizing Curriculum: Shift Paradigms

  Critical pedagogy is pivotal when addressing Indigenization of the curriculum; for, at the core of the process is the art of challenging assumptions. As Maori professor Linda Tuhiwae Smith demonstrates (2008), there is a Western-centric dominance of research theory and praxis. If this is the education system            experienced by..

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Learning to trust ourselves in difficult situations – Adult Education

We see the world through our own lens which is why knowing ourselves is so very important. What parts of your past trigger reactions in you? Where do you find you are at your best? What is important to you? What bothers you? If you can articulate these things clearly then you will have more..

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Using the creative arts in teaching

Brookfield addresses teaching using the creative arts. As someone interested in adult education and reading this rather academic blog,  I’ll venture that you can relate to the idea of ‘living in your head’. Think about ways to incorporate other expressions beyond the linguistic into your life. “What art offers us is a chance of breaking..

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The Adult Educator as Agent for Social Transformation

An essential question for adult educators to reflect on is: What matters to me and how can my work advance this in some way?  Discovering and acting upon a purpose beyond oneself brings meaning to work and can motivate learners to find meaning also.  This leads to a deeper commitment and sense of fulfillment.  Having..

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Servant Leadership

As a way of wrapping up this series on the role of wisdom and spirituality in leading self, highlighting the leadership of Dorothy Day and Jean Vanier, I would like to emphasize how they demonstrated Servant Leadership.  This leadership style requires a strong orientation to values that allow leaders to serve their people well while..

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How to foster personal and professional dispositions of peace as a leader

  “…ongoing awareness practice, ongoing commitment to sustainability and people and ongoing engagement with the possible/potential”. As peace leaders we are meant to confront the reality of ordinary life by inquiring and seeking to understand what lies beyond ourselves in a spiritual quest for wisdom.  This better equips us to engage daily challenges and inform..

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Why we need wise, spiritual leaders in a secular age

By ‘spiritual’ I am referring to a belief in a reality beyond the senses – whether theistic or not – that provides a framework or horizon of significance giving direction to life.  Canadian contemporary philosopher Charles Taylor’s views on the secular age and individualism help to contextualize why we need wise, spiritual leaders in a..

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What leaders can learn from Vanier and Day’s philosophies

As founders of internationally  recognized communities (L’Arche and The Catholic Worker), Vanier and Day teach leaders how to build community by valuing the human person no matter their background or beliefs, abilities or disabilities, wealth, prestige, poverty or insignificance. Both leaders see unity and the possibility of integration in a pluralistic world.  We might readily..

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