WStack History Part 4: End and begin again

But I was exhausted. I could not find a healthy balance in my life. Even while working in a great school. Even after learning from an amazing mentor, I did not feel that I was achieving my original goals. I was not preparing my students to live satisfied lives. I was preparing them to pass a written test.

 When I packed up my meditation cushion and rode my bike home from the river on that blissful day years ago, I did not visualize a world filled with high stakes testing. I just wanted to help make things a little better for kids as they grew up.  Instead I found myself part of a system that I didn’t believe in.  It was a well-intentioned set of ideas practiced in a way that unintentionally made kids feel miserable. I felt miserable. I hoped my students didn’t notice how I felt. I hoped they would learn to live happy lives. Maybe I put my mediation cushion away to early. How can we expect kids to live happy, content lives when we can’t do it ourselves?

This question has led me to begin a new journey. Jessica and I are taking a year off from teaching to attend Waldorf training in New Zealand. Land of the Kiwi! Hopefully, we will learn some really great ideas for using the arts to teach students, but, mostly, I hope we learn to live the satisfied kind of lives that we all wish for our children. This blog will detail that adventure. Thanks for reading!