[Dialogue] Salmon: [Oe List ...] Fwd: Question about Imaginal Education these days

[William Salmon via Dialogue]

Colleagues--
    I'm with Randy at this point. In utilizing the tools of Imaginal Education, there is a shift from teacher to student; transformational learning is the contextual shift.         Last December I wrote a paper for the Central Kansas Cooperative In Education.This is the organization that hires Para-Educators for 17 school districts in Kansas. The paper was titled, "Wounded Birds" as a metaphor addressing the needs of Special Education students. This year is a follow up paper on identifying the behavior of students for what their behavior tell us about their needs.
    In Salina (Kansas), we have a special school for mentally challenged grade school youth titled "Opportunity Now." The director is Jeff Hays. In brooding about the context of this paper, I asked Jeff about the direction it needs to take. He replied, "Tell them, 'How to make horses thirsty.'" 
    On clarification, he observed the axiom, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink." What do you do to make it drink what you have to offer. 
    On conversation when on to identify the difference between "compliant" students and "engaged students." My high school classes in woods, metals, art and drafting are engaged in their assignments because in their experience they see the relevance of what they are doing. 
    Compliant students are nice to have in class, but they see only what is necessary--their lives are not changed. Engaged students catch the vision of how this course can be useful to them; i.e., the course changes them. 
    The focus of my paper is to inspire in the teachers of Math and the Social and Physical Sciences to deliver their curriculum so that their students are inspired to "drink what they have to offer."
     An illustration--Last year, Scottie transferred in mid-first semester and assigned to a metals class with me as his para-educator. He was extremely self-depreciating and unable to look anyone in the eye. In desperation, the teacher asked me to do anything with him. 
    I picked up large piece of scrap metal and put it on the table used by the oxy-fuel cutting torch that slices through metal plates like it was butter. I assigned Scottie to simply play with the cutter making circles or whatever. Scottie used this equipment for 45 minutes. 
    I went to the store and bought large stencils. For the next class, I copied the letters A to Z and numbers 1 - 0. Scottie was assigned to cut them out. Each numeral was cut better than the previous. Next, I went home and copied comic strips characters and transferred them with caulk to the metal for Scottie to work on and paint. 
    A teacher noted, "Today, I saw Scottie smile for the first time." 
    At the end of school, I enlarged his school picture and transferred it to a steel plate. Scottie worked on in for a couple of weeks, while I built a metal stand for it. After it was done, Scottie noted, "How am I going to get these things home?" After school was out, Beverly and I volunteered. His mother could not say enough about how Scottie had changed. 
    As Imaginal Educators, we spent a lot of the time in the 1960s and 1970s learning to use this tool. Perhaps, the emphasis always was on the recipient; it certainly was in 5th City. However, I honed my skills as a First Teacher on many RS-Is, a couple of PLCs, and courses in the Brussel's Academy. 
    I can witness that IM changed me as an educator. Now, I know that IM changes the recipient as well. 
    There are many stories to share. Sometime, I'd like to tell the story of the Juju Do high school students who spent a long winter vacation with me in a cold grade building learning to improve their American English. How exciting. 
    Inner Peace, 
    Bill Salmon
PS: This year, when I first saw Scottie in the hallway, I asked him if he was enjoying his Art class? He replied, "I'd rather be in metals!"
    wes
    
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Randy Williams via OE 
  To: Jack Gilles 
  Cc: Dialogue at wedgeblade.net ; Tim Dove ; OE at wedgeblade.net ; Burna Dunn ; oslotta at earthlink.com 
  Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2014 11:26 AM
  Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Fwd: Question about Imaginal Education these days


  I sense that the focus in structured institutional education is shifting from the teacher/educator to the student/learner.  In that context I like the term "transformational learning" more than "imaginal education."  Would love to see what Tim Dove has said.
  Randy


  On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 11:10 AM, Jack Gilles <jackcgilles at gmail.com> wrote:

    Dear All,


    I think Jeanette has done the best job of answering the question of a definition. But we have to understand that “we” have a long history of this definition and tend to assume that others grasp the profound depth behind it, and I don’t think they do. For instance, although the term ORID is based on a natural flow of consciousness, to utilize it effectively requires a depth understanding of I.E. and that in and by itself is not Imaginal Education (as we define the term). The same for Project Work, Strategic Planning and other methods we have honed and championed. 


    It could be said that all “education” is “Imaginal”, that is, it is based on a set of images and assumptions that are then communicated in a method called Education. And it is more than just being “conscious” about the process. Those who want to teach about American Exceptional-ism are very clear that they want certain “images” to be communicated and to take root. Thus you have a spectrum of Imaginal Education from outright designed propaganda to unconscious and unquestioned “Images” that are the basis of what is being communicated. 


    So the issue of I.E. is the life stance and understanding that is underneath the process. To use our language, the “Word” is absolutely essential for the process. That reality is worthy of a long” discourse, but to be an effective Imaginal Educator it needs to be understood at the heart of the creative effort. For people’s information, Mark Dove’s son, Tim, has done a fantastic job of just that, without ever mentioning any of our historic language. So, having a profound and self-conscious understanding of humanness is essential for effective Imaginal Education as we have framed it. 


    Good discussion (dialogue)!


    Jack


    P.S. I’ve added Tim Dove’s name to the list so that he can see how this discussion is going and can respond if he so desires. He is the best example of anyone I know who has built a whole-system understanding of education based on Imaginal Education.


      On Dec 7, 2014, at 10:23 AM, Jeanette Stanfield via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:


      For me, imaginal education is an art.  It is the discernment of images that are blocking a person, a group, a community, or society from moving positively into the future.  Once discerned, messages are powerfully and creatively put into the learning environment through questions, stories, art forms, projects, activities,models etc to release the negative images and allow new images to emerge and thus new decisions and behaviours. 


      Thank you Steve and Loren for inviting this conversation. 


      Jeanette 


      On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 10:22 AM, Randy Williams via Dialogue <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

        I would say that the goal of imaginal education is to change behavior.  Our outmoded, out of date stories of reality (images) are at the root of all our problems. Example of an outmoded story--we can have unlimited economic growth on a finite planet--the story underlying climate change, global warming, and all the associated symptoms. 
        Randy 

        Sent from my iPad

        On Dec 7, 2014, at 9:09 AM, Karenbueno via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:


          Imaginal Education acknowledges that images affect behavior and that images can change.  The goal of the Imaginal Educator is to change images by using a variety of teaching methods, one of which is the structured conversation model, called ORID.  The goal of Imaginal Educators trained by the ICA has been to change a victim image to an image of  one's individual power to affect one's life and the world.

          from Karen Bueno 


          -----Original Message-----
          From: steve har via Dialogue <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net>
          To: Order Ecumenical ICA-USA <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net>; oe <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>; Tatwa P. Timsina <tatwa at ica-nepal.org>
          Sent: Sun, Dec 7, 2014 7:32 am
          Subject: [Dialogue] Question about Imaginal Education 9these days


In Nepal and India
Nelson Stover and Loren Weybright are collaborating on two schools one
in Nepal and one in Chikhale school in Maharastra.

Loren is onsite in Nepal for 3 months doing Action Plan projects with
the staff & teachers and curriculum design and coaching with
individual teachers.

In January they both will be in Maharastra at the Chickhale school for
a 2 day professional development.

Here is a question that needs an answer:
Just what is Imaginal Education, Now and how do you practice it?

Nelson asked this question and they are looking for a variety of
(simple) responses.

Can you share a sentence on Imaginal Education rom your experience,
short, simple?

-- 
Steve Harrington
PS if you want you can track developments in Nepal and Chikhale by
signing up at the Imaginal Education Collection upper right hand
corner here: https://wedgeblade.net/wordpress/imaginaleducation/blog/
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