From ***@***, by Suzanne
This is more of a real folk song:
The soldier came knocking upon the queen’s door
He said, “I am not fighting for you any more”
The queen knew she’d seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, “I’ve watched your palace up here on the hill
And I’ve wondered who’s the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why.”
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down.
He said, “I see you now, and you are so very young
But I’ve seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I’ve got this intuition, says it’s all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?”
a commission on the Way of the Cross day
You like to walk your ways, those which you know, those you are accustomed to. You never want to try any new ways, out of fear. And the whole life is spent on the same way, to and fro. Like a horse that knows its way home and is able to come back even blindfolded. To work, and back from work, to school and back from school, to the grocery and back form the grocery, on vacation and back from vacation. The same way all the time.
He let Himself be led a different way, a way He hadn’t known before, a unique way.
How absolutely fantastic it is to enter the way which you have never tried before, the way you put your steps on for the first time, the way that was not planned before, or maybe even not wanted before. Only then you may feel you live for real.
And it does not matter, that some blood might be spilled on the way. After all, Life means more than life.
(michał_t)
Via Dolorosa
Wednesdays, 1.30 pm
What do we do every other Wednesday at 1.30 in GV?
We learn how to talk and listen. A group of teachers meets Jacek, a psychologist and psychotherapist, in order to spend together 1.5 hours sharing our professional experiences, opinions and comments on situations that happened to us while teaching.
Why do we do that?
To learn the demanding art of paying full attention to the other person, to listen and talk in a non-judgmental way.
Do we really need that?
Everybody needs that! I believe that most of the problems in this world are caused by our inability to communicate. Not listening, constant judging, approaching a situation in a schematic way, reacting and not responding can only lead to misunderstanding.
How is a session organized?
The Balint Group, a group method of training doctors and specialists which emphasizes the importance of the use of the emotions and personal understanding in the doctor’s work, serves us as a model. One person reports spontaneously a case from their professional experience that poses a problem. Then, members of the group help the presenter, by means of associations, questions, and interpretations, to elucidate the difficulties in the presenter’s relation with the patient. Of course we discuss our students and classroom situations.
Is it easy to talk like that?
Actually, it’s quite difficult. As teachers we are in the habit of doing things according to a certain set of rules, but here we have to stop all that and think differently. I heard that a teacher should be a controller, an organiser, an assessor, a prompter, a participant, a resource, a tutor, an observer, an explainer, an enabler, an involver, a helper … How about a teacher who is a human being, sometimes confused, disoriented, stuck? The language teacher teaches how to communicate. But what to do when communication fails?
What are the benefits?
Jacek encourages us to appreciate silence, to come up with more than one answer, to be slightly embarrassed. Let’s try and evaluate cautiously, avoid oversimplification, imagine ourselves in other person’s shoes. Let’s realise we are in a role, but we are not the role. Let’s not look for a quick fix. The effect can be uplifting, inspiring, even enlightening, but sometimes the answer can’t be found. However, we stay curious with more open, spacious mind and relaxed attitude, willing to know others (and ourselves) better.
(justyna_t)
