Dear Reader,
Who was it that said that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different to happen? The source is debatable. But wow is it true that we tend towards loops that fit that definition. Perhaps that’s why we deny that we’re stuck inside them, or perhaps because we’re hopeful, thinking that if we just try a little harder to do the thing, someday it will work out.
In schools, for example, our pre-packaged curriculum is re-packaged and sold/bought again. The standards get sturdier. The tests more frequent. The time more constrained. We don’t leave children behind. We race to the top. And, if you ask the people involved, it fits the definition. It’s insane.
This year, here at home, we have Yondr pouches. Maybe you do, too. One might argue: That’s different, right? Like you, maybe, I remember going to school before cellphones existed. But I’ve been in schools recently and don’t see much different - in the school part. In some cases, a lot of new things have been purchased - and some language and topics have changed - but the basic theory of unidirectional information sharing and earning gold stars (or not) for memorizing it hasn’t changed. What has changed is that there are companies that didn’t exist then (both the phone and the pouch, for example) that earn billions selling us things that make things seem different but don’t provide an exit ramp off the old loop of insanity. Change is hard, after all. And companies grow when they succeed in convincing us that we don’t have to. We don’t have to change the old problem as long as we buy the thing that seems like a new solution to it. And we do.
But actually, I digress a bit. Because what I want to write about today is sanity. In Restoring Sanity, the book we're reading this month in The Studio, Margaret Wheatley writes, “Sanity is an honest relationship with reality. … Sanity creates possibility because we see more clearly. We work with what’s here, not what we want to hope is here, but what is truly present. … Sanity creates the possibility for wiser actions. … Even if our actions fail, we are more awake, more discerning, more fully human. We can persevere and meet our challenges with greater confidence.” If we took an honest look at our systems of education and care, what would we see? What wiser action might we take?
Our weekly meet-ups in the Studio for Playful Inquiry give those who arrive a chance to see more clearly - wherever they are in the world. Today, folks from Tacoma to Tel Aviv met in the Zoom space and left ready to persevere, to meet their varied challenges with greater confidence knowing that they are not alone, not isolated, not incapable of feeling connected to something greater than their everyday routine. They gave that to themselves - as hard as it was for some to stop and turn towards something other than their busy busy schedules and endless responsibilities. We wondered: By taking that time for possibility - how do you find a greater sense of refuge?
In the 1940’s, when they looked at reality, the Italian citizens in Reggio Emilia saw facism, rubble, grief. And from that clear relationship with reality - they took wise action and created an “island of sanity” such as Wheatley proposes we do. She writes, “An island of sanity is a gift of possibility and refuge. It is a true island because it sets itself apart from the destructive dynamics, policies, and behaviors that are afflicting people on the mainland.” Like Wheatley, pedagogical leaders in Reggio Emilia work to set themselves apart. “We propose activism, inventiveness, the production of knowledge, renewal, critique, political thought and action, liveliness, curiosity, possibilities and openness to wandering - for all those working with young children.” And they wish to promote an image of “teacher as intellectual, a lively, curious, inventive and knowledgeable researcher and radical activist intent on transformation of self and system, delirious to continuously mettersi in gioco (put oneself into play).” This embrace of a transformative ethos and invitation to participate in and practice in ways that awaken generosity, creativity, and kindness in ourselves - and sustain those qualities in children - this feels like refuge. It feels like possibility.
We could choose to look clearly at our reality, and to look for realities that make our values sing. We could seek more images of possibility because our capacity to imagine how different things could be is weak. We’ve let rigor mortis set in on an image of children as passive, disinterested, needy recipients of stagnant bodies of linear information. And in this image we’ve designed systems of inoculation against ignorance that prioritize the needs of corporations to have a ready and willing workforce.
For all of these reasons, I was so moved and thrilled to hear Vanessa Esquivel - in response to a question about supporting Nest Tijuana - say that one of the best ways we could support them was to pay attention to what they are doing. She challenged us to see clearly what was present in what they are doing - by paying attention to what they are paying attention to and what they are learning. Yes they need material goods and volunteers. But what if we did not focus on what we can do to meet the needs we believe these children have - what we can give them, or even what we believe they deserve. What if instead we put focus on what we can learn from a community that prioritizes care and relationship above all else - a community like Nest Tijuana. What might we learn from the possibility of this refuge - this island of sanity?
Nest Tijuana serves a population of young human beings and families who are living through traumatic experiences such as war, violence, poverty and invisibility. These people are the actual people whose image is being contorted and used by people with tremendous wealth and power to leverage more wealth and power for themselves. They are the real people demonized and dehumanized for political gain. The steady diet of false narratives leaves it hard for us to see the reality in what the Nest is offering us. If we were able to see the reality of the human response to care and the power of dialogue and community to navigate tension, uncertainty, struggle, grief, frustration, exhaustion - if we were to take those lessons and apply them in our own communities - what might change for us all? What alternatives might arise for those who are most marginalized by the insane, destructive system that afflicts us all?
Let’s pay attention to the quality of learning that happens when we hold such a strong image of human beings and of humanity. Human beings who have rights and who are all hardwired with kindness and creativity and generosity and love. Those of us who are still stuck in these loops of insanity will do well to pay attention to the reality of the Nest - they are showing us a way to getting unstuck - by creating refuge.
Watch this month's Guide Line with Vanessa and her Nest Tijuana colleagues, Xitlali Zárate and Alicia Bustamente, here.
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Open Now
LAUGHING MATTERS
We're so excited to offer a new course from Shawna Coppola - a colleague we hold in very high esteem - about a topic we care about deeply: humor in and out of the classroom.
Register now and receive an early bird discount on a your a la carte registration. This and other courses are included with a Transform Plan membership.
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WATCHING, LISTENING, READING
Good things:
We'll be at the Denver Art Museum next month. If that's near you, we'd love to see you there!
Our friends at Project Zero have launched a new initiative, Reimagining Early Childhood Education. They're hoping for your input: Answer a few questions here.
Brené Brown posted a provocative new conversation with Valarie Kaur this week. We're thinking that we'll be digging into revolutionary love in our work early next year.
Margaret Wheatley writes about islands of sanity in schools for School Administrator here.
We've nearly filled Leading Playful Inquiry: Nurturing Ecologies of Joyful Learning - which is so exciting. We're considering opening a little more space - but we'd need to hear from you real soon. Complete the application or reach out to us by email.
“It is the multiplicity of gazes and exchanges of perspectives and knowledges that opens our minds.”
— Stefania Giamminuti