The Soul of Educationby Rachael Kessler

EDUC 571 Fall 2013

Presentation created by:Stephanie Hubner

Jami JohnsonJackie NeypesEmily Siewert

The Soul of EducationHelping Students Find Connection, Compassion and

Character at School

Written by: Rachel Kessler

Introduction created by Stephanie Hubner

Background:

Director of The Institute for Social and Emotional Learning. There she consulted on curriculum, staff training, and development of schools.

Conducted trainings for constructive dialogue in highly polarized settings.

Heralded by Daniel Goleman in the New York Times as a “leader in a new movement for emotional literacy.”

Rachael Kessler

Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators (ASCD, 1997).

Honoring Young Voices: A Vision For Education (Video, 1992).

Other works by Rachael Kessler:

Context This book was written for educators

looking for ways to infuse soul into their curriculum and schools.

This text focuses on fostering connections, silence, meaning and purpose, joy, and creativity in the lives of teens.

The focus is also on guiding students to approach a healthy adult life with a clear vision and strong character.

For use in schools committed to preventing violence.

For use in schools where the curriculum is student-centered, and staff desire to produce caring citizens.

This book contributes to the field by:

Being a solid how-to reference for guiding students on the quest to care for others.

Introduces appropriate methods for teaching about the passion of caring to youth.

Contains salient philosophical support for the methods presented without violating the division of church and state.

A Must Have On The Book Shelf

Primary Thesis of The Soul of Education

Soulful teaching and learning: Should modern

public school have a soul?* “We modern Americans have a spiritual problem. There is something fundamentally wrong with our culture. We who have succeeded so brilliantly in matters of economics, science and technology have been less successful in matters of heart and soul”( Nord, 1995 p. xi).

* Thesis and review by Jami Johnson

Prevention of violence and honoring the spiritual

aspect of young people:

“…when schools systematically exclude heart and soul, students in growing numbers become depressed, attempt suicide or succumb to eating disorders and substance abuse”(Kessler, p. xii).

CONCEPTS ADDRESSED:

Meaning PurposeConnection Expression

“CARING ABOUT THE INNER LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS MAKES EDUCATIONAL SENSE AT EVERY LEVEL” (Kessler, p.159)

Ch.1 Honoring Young Voices: Highlights Felicia, a senior with bone cancer. Q- How do educators begin to make a place for

the soul in class?

Ch. 2 Deep Connections: Highlights self and others, Community, Heritage, Nature and Higher Power. Q- Can teachers mention God in class?

The Soul of Education Quick Review:

8 Chapters, each including real student commentaries.

Ch.3 Silence and Stillness: Highlights rest and renewal. “Enhancing the capacity to learn, to cope and to relate, silence and stillness also nourish the soul”(Kessler, p.43).

“No simple formula exists here- but the climate of a classroom shifts when both teachers and students value the principle of solitude”(Kessler, p.53).

The Soul of EducationQuick Review

continued:

Ch.4 Meaning and Purpose: Highlights the fact that loss of meaning leads to “at risk.” Q-How do students find a frame of meaning?

Ch.5 Joy: Definition of joy. “A delight and gratitude in being alive”(Kessler, p.73). Q- Do students have freedom and the impulse

to experience joy?

The Soul of EducationQuick Review

continued:

Ch.6 Creativity: “Art and science make a fine marriage” (Doug Eaton interview, 1999). Highlights creative process: Preparation plus Incubation equals Illumination.

Ch.7 Transcendence: Highlights the positive effects of students and athletes being “in the zone” or experiencing “flow.”

Ch.8 Initiation: “Traditional Cultures taught us that adolescence is a particularly important point in the spiritual life cycle” (Kessler, p.135). Q- How can we respect the transition from childhood to adulthood?

The Soul of EducationQuick Review

continued:

“A soulful education embraces diverse ways to satisfy the spiritual hunger of today’s youth. When guided to find constructive ways to express their spiritual longings, young people find purpose in life, do better in school, strengthen ties to family and friends and approach adult life with vitality and vision” (Kessler, p.x).

Helping students find connection, compassion and character at school…

Positive Responses

Sheri R. KleinUniversity of Wisconsin

“As a reader, I appreciate Kessler’s articulation of soul as a way to call attention to the inner life.”

Responses & Reviews by Jackie Neypes

Lillian M Bitonti Yahoo Contributor Network

“Kessler has given a great suggestion for handling the issues we, the teachers, can use when we're confronted with questions that may be difficult for us to answer.”

  “There are so many important

lessons in The Soul of Education that really resonated with me as a teacher and as a person.”

“The Soul of Education offers an inspiring, hopeful, and much-needed antidote to the malaise that afflicts too many children…a practical, inclusive and sensitive guide for helping children connect with their spiritual yearnings.” 

Daniel GolemanAuthor of Emotional Intelligence

“Throughout her life and career, Rachael invited each of us to see and acknowledge our own power, fragility, grace, joy, sadness, light, shadow, and beauty.”

Remembering Rachael… By Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding

Passageworks.org

Founded by Rachel Kessler

A whole community who has responded to her literature and created a community

Group Reviews Are In!

“This book is addicting. It helped put education in a new light. The stories are real and so easy to connect to!”-Jackie

“I cried repeatedly while I read this text. Those tears were product of the realization that we MUST teach our young people to have compassion for one another” -Stephanie

* “This book opened my eyes to the necessity of incorporating soul in the classroom. A must read for teachers who really want to make a difference.” -Emily

* “This book gave me license to confirm what I already knew… “When the soul is present in education, attention shifts” (Kessler, p.x). The commentaries from real students were touching and telling.”-Jami

“Kessler's guide is must reading for any teacher or parent concerned with helping today's adolescents become tomorrow's caring and effective leaders at home, at work, and in the community.” –William Ury

In this book, Kessler traces the development of her program to integrate heart, spirit, and community in the classroom.

Benefits by Emily Siewert

Benefits for Educators

“The Seven Gateways to the Soul of Young People”(Kessler found these 7 things to be what young people desired the most.)1. The yearning for deep connection. 2. The longing for silence and solitude. 3. The search for meaning and purpose. 4. The hunger for joy and delight.5. The creative drive. 6. The urge for transcendence.7. The need for initiation.

Kessler built her book around these seven gateways.

Each chapter contains methods and strategies that educators can use to successfully implement soul into their schools and classrooms.

The book as a whole answers ways for educators to prevent violence in school and how to honor student’s spiritual yearnings.

Benefits for Educators Cont.

Kessler also addresses the questions of how to deal with student saboteurs and the “at-risk.” In every classroom there is bound to be a

student who shares too much or who sabotages other student’s soulful responses. Kessler provides many examples of how to help

these students, including making the saboteur an ally.

Benefits for Educators

Kessler identifies ways to get parents involved in this movement. Teachers can host Parent Evenings “Parent evenings not only help parents support

the growth of their own children, but they also help strengthen the adult community essential for soulful approaches to survive in schools” (Kessler, p. 165).

Benefits for Educators & Parents

“If all of us, leaders and followers alike, would embrace the principles of soulful teaching and learning that Rachael Kessler advocates so convincingly in this book, we would neither tolerate nor promote an education that ignores the inner life…It will give us the courage to create new forms of authentic education that can contribute to the healing of souls—our children’s, our own, and the world’s.”

-Parker Palmer (Kessler, vi)

References:

Bitonti, L.M. (2009). Helping to Uncover the Soul of Education. Retrieved from: http://voices.yahoo.com/rachael-kesslers-soul-education-2799106.html?cat=4

Goleman, D. Passage Works Engaged Teaching and Learning. Retreived from: http://passageworks.org/about-u/rachael-kessler-3/soul-of-education

Kessler, R. (2000). The Soul of Education: Helping Students Find Connections, Compassion, and Character at School. Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Klein, S.R. (2005). Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies. Retrieved from: http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/jaaacs/vol1/klein.html

 PassageWays Institute: Connection, Compassion, & Character in Learning. http://www.transformativedesigns.com/passageways/index.html

 Weaver, L. & Wilding M. Remembering Rachael: Retrieved from: http://passageworks.org/about-u/rachael-kessler-3/rachael-kessler-2

References Cont.