In the August edition of WOW! Ed, I challenged you to write down and focus on five themes each day for 40 days: courage, confidence, compassion, consciousness (awareness), and community.
Those of you who are following our heart-centered work will be aware that we are using these themes to drive social emotional learning (SEL) and social justice. This summer I presented at a conference in Finland. As one of the keynote speakers, I followed Dr. Kamran Namdar from Sweden who spoke on a related issue: globally competent schools. Our message: schools are falling short of what the we need, what the world needs for its future. We need to intensify our efforts to help students gain skills and knowledge so that they can be successful in both living healthier lives and being more concerned and helpful to others.
Consider what might happen if these five themes became part of your school climate and school rules. What might happen if teachers integrated the themes into lessons. If you like, take a few notes, or keep a journal of your thoughts. At the end of the 40 days, we will have next steps for you. However, we believe it is important to start with contemplation, reflection, and an open-ended exploration.
Editor’s Update: Please see The 40 Day Challenge: Part II, the next post in this series.