EDUC 820 - Current Issues In Curriculum And Pedagogy
We certainly hit the ground running in beginning 2016 with Dr. Kumari Beck's class, EDUC 820. Kumari embodied the perfect balance between the meticulous analytic scholar and the compassionate and holistically embodied being. I learnt a lot not just from her teachings, but from the way she taught. The classes, in my opinion, were most optimally balanced between theoretical discussion and contemplative practice. We would begin each session with a short meditation and end each session with silent creative writing. These contemplative activities on either side, beautifully balanced the profound, but heady, theoretical discussions we had in the middle of class. I believe, it is this balance, between head and heart, that contemplative education most aspires to create.
It was in this class that we, as a cohort, learnt how to analyze and deconstruct more conventional 'mainstream' school curriculum models. Doing so, were able to step outside of the neoliberalist lens that dominates current curriculum design, and in turn, reshape the curriculum from alternative angles. We did so under the figurative guise and gaze of education giants like Ted Aoki, Arthur Zanjonc, Parker Palmer, and Bell Hooks; reading their works helped me understand the effects of neoliberalism and globalization on the current education climate. Studying this, it became clearer to me, as to why much of education is end-goal or 'destination' orientated; that is to say, it doesn't credit the 'education journey' with the importance it deserves. The reason for this, as far as I understand it, is because current educational practices are grounded in a capitalistic society that values product (destination) and not method (journey). Therefore, education practice and pedagogy, by default, becomes more goal-orientated and product-based. This began to illuminate why corporate mentality towards contemplative practices, like mindfulness, is also objective and end-goal orientated. For in institutionalized form, despite it being contradictory, these kinds of educational methods are also treated as a means to an end, when really they need to be treated as a means to a means.
These realizations I was having in this class were essential for the step that was about to come next. For at this point I had already been contacted by a university in Malaysia – Taylor's University - to teach a series of mindfulness meditation workshops to the students and staff over there. The stars had aligned and my time had come to put theory into practice. With well wishes from Kumari and the class, I was jetting off to South East Asia on the last weekend class, to teach mindfulness in Malaysia.
It was in this class that we, as a cohort, learnt how to analyze and deconstruct more conventional 'mainstream' school curriculum models. Doing so, were able to step outside of the neoliberalist lens that dominates current curriculum design, and in turn, reshape the curriculum from alternative angles. We did so under the figurative guise and gaze of education giants like Ted Aoki, Arthur Zanjonc, Parker Palmer, and Bell Hooks; reading their works helped me understand the effects of neoliberalism and globalization on the current education climate. Studying this, it became clearer to me, as to why much of education is end-goal or 'destination' orientated; that is to say, it doesn't credit the 'education journey' with the importance it deserves. The reason for this, as far as I understand it, is because current educational practices are grounded in a capitalistic society that values product (destination) and not method (journey). Therefore, education practice and pedagogy, by default, becomes more goal-orientated and product-based. This began to illuminate why corporate mentality towards contemplative practices, like mindfulness, is also objective and end-goal orientated. For in institutionalized form, despite it being contradictory, these kinds of educational methods are also treated as a means to an end, when really they need to be treated as a means to a means.
These realizations I was having in this class were essential for the step that was about to come next. For at this point I had already been contacted by a university in Malaysia – Taylor's University - to teach a series of mindfulness meditation workshops to the students and staff over there. The stars had aligned and my time had come to put theory into practice. With well wishes from Kumari and the class, I was jetting off to South East Asia on the last weekend class, to teach mindfulness in Malaysia.
Action Research Project - Teaching Mindfulness In Malaysia
In a wonderful sequence of events, I had met Dr. Pradeep Nair - Vice Chancellor of Taylor's University – at the Roundtable Conference in Kyoto, a year earlier. He said Taylor's were very interested in integrating mindfulness meditation practice into the holistic education curriculum and invited me to come over and teach some demonstration workshops. Come March of 2016, I was flown over to Kuala Lumpur where I taught three series of two-day immersion mindfulness workshops to select groups of Deans, lecturers, and students in Taylor's University. To me, this was putting into practice all that I had learnt over the past 2 years, both in this M.Ed program and in my mentorship programs. The teaching of the three immersion-style workshops was overall highly successful and well received by the staff and students at Taylor's. Most of the participants saw the potential of mindfulness meditation in creating balance and reflection in their lives. But like all successful things, it did not come without its challenges; below is an excerpt from my journal that I wrote the day after teaching the first workshop series:
Reflections on Mindfulness Meditation Workshop – 'Turning Down the Radio' (March 20th, 2016)
I want mindfulness practice to stay connected to its roots. The people who attended my workshop, I care deeply for them, and so it seemed, they for me. Many of them wanted to see me succeed, and I wanted to seem them reach peace of mind/heart. So then, how do we reconcile any differences on our perspectives of mindfulness practice and its appropriation to institutionalized form? – how do we meet halfway? That’s the question that now comes to my mind, post-workshop. I don’t want to create a monster. In some way I have ‘sold’ the prof’s and Deans over here on the effectiveness of the practice of mindfulness, but what about the philosophy/wisdom tradition behind it? Isn’t that just as important for them to understand? That’s a question for another day. Tomorrow, I go to work in laying out the next steps to this workshop – the improvements.
The caution that I capture in this recollection is related to the appropriation of mindfulness that often occurs when teaching at institutionalized levels. I foresaw how some of the staff members were jumping to conclusions before letting the practice really sink in and permeate their being. Mindfulness is a process not an end-goal that we jump to, was my response to a lot of their questions. Now that this university has hired me to continue my teaching and research in mindfulness meditation, I make it a personal mission to make sure that mindfulness is integrated into the institution in a way that it remains connected with its deeper roots. In other words, so long as I can help it, I vow to not let mindfulness meditation become uprooted from the wisdom traditions it stems from.
Reflections on Mindfulness Meditation Workshop – 'Turning Down the Radio' (March 20th, 2016)
I want mindfulness practice to stay connected to its roots. The people who attended my workshop, I care deeply for them, and so it seemed, they for me. Many of them wanted to see me succeed, and I wanted to seem them reach peace of mind/heart. So then, how do we reconcile any differences on our perspectives of mindfulness practice and its appropriation to institutionalized form? – how do we meet halfway? That’s the question that now comes to my mind, post-workshop. I don’t want to create a monster. In some way I have ‘sold’ the prof’s and Deans over here on the effectiveness of the practice of mindfulness, but what about the philosophy/wisdom tradition behind it? Isn’t that just as important for them to understand? That’s a question for another day. Tomorrow, I go to work in laying out the next steps to this workshop – the improvements.
The caution that I capture in this recollection is related to the appropriation of mindfulness that often occurs when teaching at institutionalized levels. I foresaw how some of the staff members were jumping to conclusions before letting the practice really sink in and permeate their being. Mindfulness is a process not an end-goal that we jump to, was my response to a lot of their questions. Now that this university has hired me to continue my teaching and research in mindfulness meditation, I make it a personal mission to make sure that mindfulness is integrated into the institution in a way that it remains connected with its deeper roots. In other words, so long as I can help it, I vow to not let mindfulness meditation become uprooted from the wisdom traditions it stems from.
EDUC 883/904 - The Finale!
Our final classes together, were really a series of reflective gatherings. We had come full circle together along this contemplative path and finished back where we started - with Heesoon, Charles, and Laurie – but with a fair bit more wisdom now (or so we'd like to think). As the weeks unfolded through these final classes, we shared in circle gatherings, pivotal points of our journey together and the key learnings that occurred during this process. Doing this, helped the development of our portfolio projects, which we were to later present during the class finale. I presented on my action research project in Malaysia as I really felt this was my crowning achievement during this program.
This sharing of portfolios was a lovely process and I particular enjoyed the 'gallery walk,' whereby people visually laid out their art pieces that they had created throughout their contemplative journey. In response, we were able to wander around and view them at our own pace; it this is the kind of learning-at-your-own-pace-while-reflecting process that encapsulates the philosophy of contemplative education so well.
For our final weekend together we gathered at Kumari's house and broke bread together for the last time - enjoying a delicious meal of salmon, veggies, and to end it chocolate cake. Tears were shed, wise words shared, and we all surmised that this would not be the last time we would gather in this circle, but it could be a little while till the next time....
till then.
This sharing of portfolios was a lovely process and I particular enjoyed the 'gallery walk,' whereby people visually laid out their art pieces that they had created throughout their contemplative journey. In response, we were able to wander around and view them at our own pace; it this is the kind of learning-at-your-own-pace-while-reflecting process that encapsulates the philosophy of contemplative education so well.
For our final weekend together we gathered at Kumari's house and broke bread together for the last time - enjoying a delicious meal of salmon, veggies, and to end it chocolate cake. Tears were shed, wise words shared, and we all surmised that this would not be the last time we would gather in this circle, but it could be a little while till the next time....
till then.