“if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that...

11/17/16

© 2016 Julia Volkman. All rights reserved.1

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

- Mother Teresa

Working with adults

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Facilitated by Julia VolkmanSeton Montessori Institute

November 13, 2016

Please take one-minute to make the following short list

Why am I here?

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Meditation practice

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZZwQx6R7Zg

Mindfulness practices in schools focus on promoting self-awareness & self-regulation

4 Waters, et al., 2014

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Pause and breathe before respondingWalk with all of your attention in your feetListen completely to the sound of a gong and notice what fills in when the sound fades awaySit in an upright, self-supported position for one-minute and count your breathsPut a bit of chocolate in your mouth and notice how it melts (don’t chew)

Creating a culture of mindfulness

5 Image: http://www.yogamagazine.com/balwin-mediation-and-yoga-for-refugee-children/

Neural networks for learning

Defining the fifth plane

Cultivating a normal school cultureSkillful, strengths-based speech

Protective factors

Relationships: Being solidly on the same team

Connecting adults with the community/work of the schoolFamily orientation program

Co-creating plans

Mentoring

Agenda?

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Neural Networks for Learning

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Recognition: Notice what’s happening

8 National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2014

How can we make our

information accessible to

everyone in our highly variable

audience?

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Use attention grabbersRedundancy is good

Say the same thing seven times in seven different waysNewsletters on paper and in email and on website and in office

Videos of parents talking, staff talking, school grounds, children working

Book clubs

Childcare sharing cooperatives

Parent mentors

Staff mentors

Multiple accessibility points

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Affective: Do I care? Does this matter?


How can we touch the hearts and minds of our

audience?

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Strategic/Executive: Where do I focus?


How do we help people know

what their work is and then get it

done?

The Fifth Plane: Adulthood

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What are the fundamental needs of humans?

13 Montessori for Everyone

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Concentration

Ability to adapt/be flexible

Ability to complete tasks

Self-discipline/self-control

A positive, balanced self-image and self-esteem

Internal peace, joy, tranquility, happiness

Independence

Awareness and consideration of others and their needs

Rational choices

Ability to handle frustration

Security within one’s self

Traits of ‘Normal’ humans

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Reason/Understand (She is trying to figure it out)

Concentration (He’s so focused)

Sensorial Exploration (She’s so curious)

Imagination/Abstraction (She’s so creative)

Independence (He is fiercely independent)

Language (She never stops talking)

Movement (He is an energizer bunny!)

Order (I am so OCD sometimes)

Precision (She has great attention to detail)

Work (You can count on her to get the job done)

Socialization/Communication (He is always leading a herd)

Self-Perfection/Repetition (He won’t give up until he gets it)

Human Tendencies

Searching for meaning?Seeking balance of obligation and freedom?Seeking joy? Material success? Immortality?Sensitivity to the mystery of life?Sensitivity to passion?

What are the guiding questions/sensitivities of plane 5?

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“We must tear out our hearts, cleanse them of prejudices and begin again so that the theory and the practice are one and the same. But there must be faith that the theory is really true in

order to apply it, to put it into practice. We must believe that all beings develop by themselves, of themselves, and that we cannot

do better than not to interrupt that development. We must confess to ourselves that the psychic life of man is full of mysteries and this is the reason man is full of suprises for us. The preparatioinfor the teacher is twofold: to be sensitive to the mystery and to be

sensitive to the wonder of life revealing itself. This is a sensitiveness which the habit of seeing miracles often makes use

lose so we no longer feel the mystery.”

- Maria Montessori, The California Lectures of Maria Montessori, 1915, p. 35

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Transformation of the Adult

Willing to tear out heartSensitive to the mystery and wonder of life revealing itself Cleansed of prejudices

Practices skillful speechHolds a strengths-based view

Trusts the theoryIs guided by the human tendencies and planes of development

Vigilantly protects the self-construction of all humansCultivates protective factorsCo-creates with the adult

Supports executive function development/maintenance at all ages

School culture

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Supports executive function development/maintenance at all agesBalances school and home obligations (to avoid excessive stress/cognitive overload)Models inhibitory control and cognitive flexibilityCultivates mindfulness/meditation practices

School culture (cont’d)

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Speak when what you have to say is:1. True2. Useful (not idle chatter/gossip)3. Spoken from a kind heart (not divisive)4. Spoken at the right time

Otherwise, hush up

Using skillful speech

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Listen actively

Attendance problems“Your presence here is essential. We need you, everyday. It is very difficult for us to be without you.”

Lack of professionalism“People model themselves after us. We have to hold ourselves to the highest standards of behavior. So, let’s do what Michelle Obama would do. How would she have handled it when…”

What other situations are you facing?

Strengths-based possibilities

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Let’s pretend… Form teams.Choose a scenario and decide the skillful responseRole play so everyone has a turnSummarize it for all of us when we regroup

Skillful speech practice

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Cultivate protective factors

http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/24

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Financial sustainability

Center on the Developing child, 201625

How do we connect adults with the school community and help them find

their work?

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A model for strong relationships

Cully & Teten, 200827

https://www.maitrilearning.com/pages/learning-center

Preschool Orientation Program

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Define goalsIdentify components of the larger goalIdentify measurable/observable indicators of progressive (feedback)Define a long-term schedule (keep it alive over time)

For coaching, include the following in your plan:Real-time observationActive modeling

Feedback (strengths-based skillful speech)

Co-creating plans

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Coaching

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Is there anything on your lists that still needs attention?

What do I want to know about adult development? Why am I here?

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1. Begin on time2. Mindfulness practice (so everyone cognitively arrives)3. Agree on goals for the gathering (this will clarify roles)4. Get people talking5. Listen actively6. Revisit goals and instill hope7. Identify next steps/follow-up plan8. End on time

Possible meeting structure

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“In this new picture, the adult will appear not only as the builder of the external world,

but even more importantly, as the protector of the moral and spiritual forces that appear

anew in every human being born.”- Maria Montessori, Education and Peace, pp. 58-59

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The role of the adult

1. Defuse stress and don’t add to it2. Be who you want them to be—Guru Yoga

3. See their full potential—take the long view4. Formally incorporate mindfulness into each interaction5. Use skillful speech—Never lie or mislead

6. Give them choices: Freedom within limits7. Hold firm boundaries8. Inspire them to find their work, be normal, and reach their full potential

Julia’s top picks for working with adults

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2016). From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts: A Science-Based Approach to Building a More Promising Future for Young Children and Families. http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu

Cully, J. A., & Teten, A. L. (2008). A therapist’s guide to brief cognitive behavioral therapy. Houston, TX: South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center.

Montessori, M. (1997). The California Lectures of Maria Montessori, 1915. Clio, Oxford, England.

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2014). What is UDL? Available at http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

Waters, L., Barsky, A., Ridd, A., & Allen, K. (2014). Contemplative education: A systematic, evidence-based review of the effect of meditation interventions in schools. Educational Psychology Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9258-2.

References

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Pair upOne of you will follow the instructions I give, the other will keep a tally of your scoreThen, I’ll give a new instruction and you’ll switch

ScoringTwo points if your partner does exactly as directedOne point if your partner makes a mistake but corrects herselfZero points if she does not do as directed

Cognitive flexibility test: HTSK (TSHK)

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California girls, we’re unforgettableDaisy dukes bikinis on top

Rah rah ah-ah-ah!Ro mah ro-mah-mahGaga oh-la-la!Want your bad romance

Hey Mickey your’re so fineYou’re so fine you blow my mindHey Mickey, awwww, hey Mickey

My bologna has a first name it’s o-s-c-a-rMy bologna has a second name it’s m-a-y-e-r

Don't stop believin'Hold on to the feelin'Streetlights, peopleLiving just to find emotionHiding somewhere in the night

Mama, just killed a manPut a gun against his headPulled my trigger, now he's deadMama, life had just begunBut now I've gone and thrown it all away

In the jungle the mighty jungleThe lion sleeps tonightOooooo eeeeeeeeee eeeee um bum buway

Inhibitory control test: Interference control

Sit quietly and count your breaths for twenty seconds—Do not replay the song in your head

Pair up and get your feathers ready

Step 1: Person One—Tickle your partner’s ear.Step 2: Person Two—Do NOT move!Step 3: Switch

Inhibitory control test

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