“We have an enormous responsibility and an amazing opportunity. If we truly want to prepare them for the world outside we must also educate the heart. Because to navigate the world outside with compassion, acceptance and tolerance we need to teach them compassion, acceptance and tolerance. This can begin in our schools and it can begin today.” – Shane Koyczan

This poem, “Educate the Heart”, was written by Shane Koyczan for the Dalai Lama Centre in Vancouver.  I have viewed this video over and over again because I find it to be so inspirational.  What draws me to the video isn’t just the message but the images themselves.  As I stated in my philosophy, I am focused on inspiring the mind, which also means supporting students’ outlets for expressing their learning.  Giving students time and space to be creative is a way to honor a students interests and passions.

This year, as I completed a BEd I discovered that I am creative.  The craving to express my ideas and see them come to fruition is relentless, and after experiencing this myself I can only want the same things for my students.

Morning Meeting: expressing feelings through drumming

In our classroom each morning students sat in a circle and expressed how they felt by giving a number between 1 and 10.  There was a lack of honesty and authenticity when it came to their responses.  In order to encourage students to share their feelings, we made drums out of two cardboard bowls and drummed our feelings.  Students became very creative with their musical expressions and begged to decorate them to express themselves!