Transformation 2

Yesterday when our grandson, Dylan, ran in first from his nearly month of the Athenian Wilderness Experience (AWE), I didn’t recognize him.  He was taller, more gaunt, with a slight fuzz on his face.  His auburn hair was dark from sweat, rain and weeks of little water to wash, let alone drink.  Up close, his eyes flashed of the thrill of the physical, spiritual experience.  And something else that I experienced as wisdom and love.  He is different.

Such transformation, that we often struggle to understand, is profound.  We’re not yet sure of the role that Dylan played in bringing the team together, but it happened. As I walked through the crowd, I overheard a voice say: “Dylan insisted that we come together for….”  The cheers and tears drowned out the rest.

Transformation comes from experiences that stretch our sensibilities, challenge us to work together in different ways, provide dissonant ideas and notions about the world, and often occur in settings that are unfamiliar.  In the case of AWE, physical trials were sometimes pushed to the edge of endurance.

This brings me back to Transformation, rather than the Draconian, approaches to school reform.  Why has it been so difficult?  When school districts maintain traditional modes of  bureaucratic control and authority, wedge teachers into routine schedules and spaces and tell them to reform—well, it’s little surprise that year after year nothing changes, especially in more difficult urban schools. Senses are dulled, self-interest thrives.

So what would an Athenian Wilderness Experience for the teaching profession look like?  I’ll provide some answers to that next week….

Meanwhile, enjoy the remaining fullness of the moon and welcome in April.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 8:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.