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"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
- T.S. Eliot
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Travelers: From the beginning, we ask participants
to approach each phase of the training as though they were entering
a foreign country. All around is a world of unfamiliar sights, sounds,
colors, tastes and customs. It is a time to try new things, from
sarongs to kilts and from calamari to the local stew pot - whatever
it may hold. In this unfamiliar territory there will be many new
and strange ideas and experiences. Even the familiar will be approached
in new ways. We ask participants to lean in fully - suspending judgment
and opinion, noticing but not acting on their resistance - until
they have tasted all that is offered.
Later participants will have the opportunity to reflect on and critique
their experiences. They will compare the new with the old,
sometimes rejecting one or the other, sometimes weaving them together
into new, whole cloth. But it all begins with openign to the new. In the end it is critical for the teacher
to be able both to lean in fully without judgment and to step back
and reflect objectively. Only then can she choose wisely.
Contemplative Education: Contemplation can be defined as
the viewing of something for its own sake, giving complete attention
or standing in rapture. This quality of attention is central to
all we do in this program, be it arts, movement, study or community
life.
The contemplative attitude that runs throughout this program is
specifically cultivated through a non-sectarian mindfulness meditation
practice. This particular practice has been used in many traditions
throughout the world. By sitting still and bringing our attention to our breathing,
mindfulness meditation brings us back, again and again, to the present
moment. It is here we rediscover our simple humanity and natural
appreciation for life. Like the child, we see things anew; we come
to know each moment for the first time. This is the openness of
the beginner's mind. This practice does not preclude any other form
of spiritual, religious, or psychological practice students may be
pursuing on their own, but offers a simple and direct way we can
come back to the present moment.
Does this mean our only concern is ourselves? No - quite the opposite. Contemplative
practice provides a foundation for working genuinely with the issues
of our time. We believe a global perspective must be based on viewing
the peoples and cultures of the world for their own sake. An ecological
one must grow from perceiving the earth for its own sake. And how
can we possibly know the compassion of an ethical or religious view
unless we look with open eyes, awake to the moment?
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in
the expert's there are few." - Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi
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Outside In and Inside Out: To provide
direct, experiential learning, we work from both the outside in
and the inside out. Working from the outside in, participants engage
in research, presentations and lectures on specific views of child
development, curriculum, and methodology. They are challenged to
look through each theorist's eyes and connect with his wisdom and
passion. In this process they come to see which ideas resonate with
their own experience and which do not. As different, and sometimes
contradictory views are encountered, each participant discovers
more about her own assumptions and biases, and more about her own
wisdom.
Working from the inside out, participants undertake a variety of
artistic endeavors that bring them direct, personal experience of
how children learn at different stages. For example, they are asked
to enter the young child's world where learning happens primarily
through imprinting/ imitation. Expert and beginner alike will learn
to play recorder, paint, and dance solely by following the instructor's
movements. Immersion in the texture of the child's experience has
a deep and far-reaching impact as participants awaken sleeping capacities
and re-visit their own childhoods. From this internal vantage point
they are asked to look outward and re-evaluate their own views of
education.
Joining Body, Heart, and Mind - An Artistic Approach: Underlying
the Enki approach is the understanding that human beings have several
very different capacities - divergent modes of experiencing, learning
and expressing. In the Enki program, we call these body, heart, and mind.
Although each of us experiences all three capacities throughout
life, in the course of child development there are successive stages
in which different capacities are dominant. Each capacity has its
own strength and its own challenge. In the realm of body, we rediscover
the ability to explore and express through movement, and the open,
unbiased quality of being imprinted by all we meet. Here we find
the young child. In the realm of heart, we rediscover the artist
in us as we explore color, song, and story, bringing learning to
life through the imagination. Here we find the grade school child.
As we question, analyze, and wander down logical mazes, we train
the powerful gifts of mind. Here we find the adolescent, awakening
to new powers of thought.
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Mirroring this process of development, in the Enki
Teacher Training Program we strive to re-awaken and integrate these
capacities. We are working for a harmony that goes beyond balance.
It is not so much a matter of making sure we have a fair share of
everything in our stew, but that the ingredients are mixed to create
a single dish. At different ages for the child and in different
contexts and endeavors for the adult, particular combinations will
spark this harmony. Throughout the Enki program, in every class
and every workshop we strive to draw on all three capacities and
weave them together; this is the seat of well-being.
By its very nature this is an artistic undertaking. The teacher
works with the elements of each class much as a painter brings together
colors or a musician, tones. Specific concepts, skills and traditional
arts are the colors on the teacher's palette; music, painting, drama,
and movement are as much a part of the academic learning as are
study of facts and ideas. No particular skill or prior artistic
experience is necessary; artistic training is part of the course
work.
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