Our own Saraswati :)

The post offering "Shuganisms" inspired me to share this photo of our own guru of wisdom, Dr. Shugan Jain :)  Thank you for opening your heart to all of us in these past three weeks.  I know your humility prevents you from sharing how much time, work, and effort goes into preparing this absolutely amazing program for us, but I hope you know how grateful we all are.  Thank you, Dr. Jain!!

The world according to Shugan...fondly known as "Shuganisms"

As our ears adjusted to the cadences and nuances of our teacher's careful English, we have been privileged to learn not only of the wisdom of Ahimsa but have been gifted with tidbits of loving advice as well. Throughout the many lectures, if we listen closely enough, dear Shuganji quips little phrases that remind us how to live simply and happily. His gentle humor and happy chuckle remind me of my dad and bring comfort so many miles from home. Following are a few of my favorite "Shuganisms" from the past two weeks that I'd like to share. If any of you have more, lets keep the list growing!

"Take time to harmonize your thinking."
"It is for us to make effort that peace should prevail."
"Happiness is not something you pray for. Happiness is in the moment."
"We must nurture the mind as a gardener does the small sapling."
"Every day, take a moment to do something compassionate and peaceful for yourself."
"Make time to laugh!"
"In this busy time of rush, rush, rush, we must find time to become calm."

"The Roots of Self" Units & EQs - from Laura

Today in our small groups, we spent some time talking about unit ideas for organizing our curriculum.  Personally, I find this to be a really great way to teach both my required content and the content I want to share (nonviolence and peace).  It also helps students make connections between works of literature, often in meaningful ways, as opposed to simply being able to list characteristics of a particular time period's literature.  Anyway, the group asked that I share the units and essential questions, so here they are.

At the start of the year, I ask my students what shapes who they are.  They brainstorm for a few minutes, and then we share out.  As they share their answers, I write their responses on the board.  I'm doing it strategically, though, although they don't know this.  Without fail, every answer can fit into one of three categories:  Community, Self, or Family.  And these are the units senior year is centered on, and the overall theme is "The Roots of Self."

Community Unit Overview

Over the course of the term, we will discuss the following works:
The Visit by F. Durrenmatt
Various speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Long Night's Journey Into Day (film)
“The Things They Carried,” “Love,” “Speaking of Courage,” “Notes,” “In the Field,” “Good Form,” and “Field Trip” from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

As we read/view these works, we will consider how each one illuminates issues of community.  Review the “Essential Questions” (EQ) below.  These questions will guide our class discussion of the stories.

Essential Questions
1. What is a community?
2. What communities are represented in the story?  Which are communities of choice?  Which are involuntary (by reason of circumstance)?
3. What is valued by the community?   Who determines the values?
4. What does the community provide to its members?
5. What does a member lose by being a part of the community?
6. How important is exclusion of others to the sense of community?
7. What are the responsibilities of the individual to his or her community?
8. What are the responsibilities of the community to the individual?
9.    What happens when an individual faces competing demands from two communities to which he or she belongs?  What happens when the demands of the community are in opposition to the individual’s beliefs?
10.   How do you restore a broken community?

Family Unit – Overview 

Sometimes Fern thinks she thinks too much about family. She lives, it’s true, in a time and place of rampant psychotherapy (in which she spent several years herself), but even so, she cannot help looking at people in a perpetual context of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. Especially brothers and sisters.

Often, she imagines herself wearing several leashes, each quite long but held by another member of her far-flung family. She senses various pulls and tugs at various times, never feeling altogether free.

-from Three Junes (Glass 304)


During our study of family in literature, we will consider the “leashes” that our families put on us, and those we may put on them.  In this unit we will study poetry by various authors and Death of a Salesman, a play by Arthur Miller.

Consider the questions below as we read and discuss these works.  Essential Questions:

1. What is a family?
2. What does an individual need from his or her family?
3. What are the potential sources of conflict and stress in a family?
4. What strengths and weaknesses arise out of family conflict and stress?
5. What do individual family members owe each other?
6. How do our families shape our identities?
7. What are our expectations of each other in a family, and what happens when those expectations are not met?
8.  How, when, and why do we choose between responsibility to ourselves and responsibility to our family members?


Self-Unit Overview
In this unit we will be exploring the forces that shape individual identity, both external and internal, and we will continue to look at the consequences of an individual’s choices both on his or her own development and on the world around him or her.

We will read and discuss the following works:
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

As we read, we will consider how each one illuminates issues of the self.  Review the “Essential Questions” (EQ) below.  These questions will guide our class discussions.

Essential Questions
1. What is “self-fulfillment?”
* Does the idea of “self-fulfillment” vary among cultures?
* What experiences are necessary for a “fulfilling” life?
* What is the difference, if any, between fulfillment, happiness, and success?

2. What is “self-identity?”
* Are there “steps” one must take in order to find self-identity?  If so, what are they?
* Is there a gender difference in the self-identity journey?

3. What part(s) of one’s identity is within one’s control? What is outside of one’s control?
* Why is this (the idea that some parts of one’s identity are involuntary) important to consider?
* Can you change your identity?

4. What choices most significantly shape one’s identity?
* What role do others have in the shaping of your identity?  (e.g. their perception of you)
* Who and what outside of the individual are affected by the choices he or she makes?

5. Does reading constitute experience? Can you be affected by something you read or are taught in the same way as you are by your own direct experience? Can teaching or reading permanently affect you, or does it just affirm a path you are already on?



I alter the questions slightly every year, but I've really enjoyed teaching the senior curriculum through this lens.  And I think these EQs are ones that can be adapted for the younger grades; in fact, some of them probably don't need adapting!  :)  I hope this helps in some way.  Thank you, group, for asking! :)

Reflections & Resource for studying nonviolent conflict

One thing that has come up repeatedly at this program is that it's hard to teach about nonviolence when we haven't been taught it ourselves.  Most of us grew up with Social Studies classes that were more like lists of violent conflicts than actual "social studies."  One of the most profound moments for me, in my own journey of nonviolence, was learning that there IS another way.  And I honestly believe that our students are looking for a better way, too.  Even those who are invested in the military or who have loved ones in the military-- our work is so that they don't have to put their lives in danger for a living.  One of my best friends is a veteran of the Iraq war, and he is headed back to Afghanistan this summer, and I constantly tell him that he's the inspiration for so much of the peace work that I do.  I hear the horrific stories he shares with me, and I want to help build a world where those nightmares don't happen.  And while I know it seems idealistic, I can't believe that it is just an ideal.  I, after all, am part of a statistic -- before 2011, I did not, in any way shape or form, believe in the power of nonviolence.  I would have been one of the many who think that it's impossible for a minority to gain power over a majority, and that war was how we had always done things, and there really wasn't an alternative.  All it took to convert me was an exposure to nonviolent conflict its strategies.  It made sense.  Gandhi's Hind Swaraj made sense to me.  I want to share an excerpt from Hind Swaraj that particularly resonated with me (Gandhi is the "Editor" and his detractor(s) is the "Reader":

Reader: From what you say I deduce that passive resistance is a splendid weapon of the weak, but that when they are strong they may take up arms.

Editor: This is gross ignorance. Passive resistance, that is, soul-force, is matchless. It is superior to the force of arms. How, then, can it he considered only a weapon of the weak? Physical-force men are strangers to the courage that is requisite in a passive resister. Do you believe that a coward can ever disobey a law that he dislikes? Extremists are considered to be advocates of brute force. Why do they, then, talk about obeying laws? I do not blame them. They can say nothing else. When they succeed in driving out the English and they themselves become governors, they will want you and me to obey their laws. And that is a fitting thing for their constitution. But a passive resister will say he will not obey a law that is against his conscience, even though he may be blown to pieces at the mouth of a cannon.

What do you think? Wherein is courage required -- in blowing others to pieces from behind a cannon, or with a smiling face to approach a cannon and be blown to pieces? Who is the true warrior be, who keeps death always as a bosom-friend, or he who controls the death of others? Believe me that a man devoid of courage and manhood can never be a passive resister.

This however, I will admit: that even a man weak in body is capable of offering this resistance. One man can offer it just as well as millions. Both men and women can indulge in it. It does not require the training of an army; it needs no jiujitsu. Control over the mind is alone necessary, and when that is attained, man is free like the king of the forest and his very glance withers the enemy.

Passive resistance is an all-sided sword, it can be used anyhow; it blesses him who uses it and him against whom it is used. Without drawing a drop of blood it produces far reaching results. It never rusts and cannot he stolen. Competition between passive resisters does not exhaust. The sword of passive resistance does not require a scabbard. It is strange indeed that you should consider such a weapon to be a weapon merely of the weak.

How powerful is that? I teach all this literature that defines courage and heroism as using violence -- but really, when you step back and think about it, it's so clear that it's not. We've been conditioned to think that not fighting is cowardice, and this is an education we can reverse. Students know that to be a "man" isn't to be violent, despite what society suggests. Whenever I read Harry Potter (or watch it!), I think of this -- notice that Harry never uses the violent spells, but always the disarming one.  He's an example of nonviolence in action! :)  But our students also need affirmation in the real world... they need to be made aware of the "real men" they see every day.   But that these are in fact, "real men" is so rarely validated. One thing we can do is to validate that opinion is to show we feel it ourselves.  And to ask them about it.  Ask them to think about who some of the bravest people they know are -- when it comes down to it, in all of our hearts, I believe we share the same nonviolent values.

Cesar Chavez once wrote, "Perhaps we can bring the day when children will learn from their earliest days that being fully man and fully woman means to give one's life to the liberation of the brother who suffers. It is up to each one of us. It won't happen unless we decide to use our lives to show the way."  He also said, "You know, if people are not pacifists, it's not their fault. It's because society puts them in that spot. You've got to change it. You don't just change a man - you've got to change his environment as you do it." And this is part of our job, right? To help change the environment. And part of changing this environment is bringing to light all of those examples of nonviolent conflict that history textbooks ignore, and all those examples of "real men" that students need to see. How else will anyone see nonviolence as an alternative? How else will students listen to debates about entering a war, and be able to say, "Hey, what about nonviolent alternatives? Have we exhausted all nonviolent possibilities before resorting to violence?" This dialogue can't happen unless someone shows them that it's a real possibility -- and this is something we can do, because it's been done before.  I stand as an example of the power of simple exposure to nonviolence; 3 years ago, I couldn't say more than a sentence about Gandhi, had never heard of nonviolence or ahimsa, and confused Cesar Chavez for Che Guevara (true story).  And now I consider it one of my core values, and simple awareness has transformed my teaching.  That's the beauty of nonviolence -- it fills the gap so many of us are searching for, and it does it without force or coercion -- it does it simply by existing.  

I'm so fortunate to have the opportunity to be with you all to share our passions and questions and support, because one of the most important elements of nonviolent resistance is community support.  5%, right Kristy?  :)  So thank you for listening to my rant (it wasn't my initial intent!), and thank you for being here in India.  Love you all :)

And now, the original point of this post, haha, was just to share that link to learn more about nonviolent conflict, both as a strategy and to learn more about examples is history:  http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/

Rocks, ritual

I had e-mailed with some of them beforehand, or answered questions on Facebook. But really, they were strangers—13 other women, mostly from the US, mostly schoolteachers.

I had returned to Delhi on the night train from Varanasi; most of the scholars from the six week program had departed or were in the process of departing. In charge of this last journey, I had gone back and forth between our four cars, checking and double checking that everyone had a seat, was settled, had dinner, had water, and was calm. I answered questions about lodging for the last night before they went to the airport. I answered questions about wifi, food, availability of ATMs, printing boarding passes, pick ups from the train station, and cost of auto-rickshaws. I mediated a few little conflicts, mostly cranky and tired nerves, and people weary of one another after six long weeks of travel and complicated academic research.

We said our farewells. One student was vomiting, sick. I kept problem-solving, sharing wipes, water, medicine, reassuring words, information.

The start of the teachers’ program: new people, new energy, new questions. Finally, an art teacher led us in a simple activity. We each chose a small rock. She had provided paintbrushes and acrylic paint. In silence, we were each to paint our rock, however we liked.

What a simple task. I don’t think I’ve done something so simple since I left home in May.

I looked at the colors, and chose white, pearl, bronze, dark copper, and pale pink. I painted my entire rock white, first, and then waited while it dried. I immediately found a flat side of the rock, and thought about ways to use that side, and whether I wanted to paint words, or a design, or another object.

It felt so good to paint! Everyone painted, including both Jain professors. The room was quiet for a long time. I loved seeing the pearlized surface of the rock once I used the pearl color, and then appreciated—my mouth watered—the sensation of laying down the paint with the wet curve of my cheap paintbrush.

It was so satisfying to see the surface of the rock change, to make my creative mark on it, to be left alone to work with pretty shades of paint, chosen only by me.

The rocks are radically different. One person painted a really great tiny portrait of a face, another did an elegant and minimal flower, following the grain of the marble in the rock. Some people used every primary colors, others used restraint. Each morning, we bring our rocks and place them on white cloth. At night, we take them back to our rooms with us.

Sometimes, I place my rock colored-side down so only the golden-pearl side shows up. Sometimes, I put my rock so it slightly touches my roommate’s. It’s such a tiny ritual, and it’s not very intellectual or complicated at all…and yet, it satisfies me.

One of the challenging things about travel is that we have so little of our familiar home routines. And actually, this can be transformative, as we practice the posture of hands open, ceding control.

It’s a kind of balance: I always decorate whatever room I’m staying in. I hang maps and make collages out of wrapping paper, newspapers, and mantra cards. I put up photographs, patterned paper, and letters above my bed. I hang scarves and put out objects, stacking my books under a make-shift paperweight. I like to walk into my room and see something home-like, something recognizable as “Stephanie’s room.”

And small rituals reassure us. It’s interesting that something as elemental as rocks, paint, silence, and routine (carrying home, carrying back) can provide a touchstone for the group, a marked beginning and a little melody to carry us through the day.

Ahimsa Center @ Cal Poly's K-12 Curriculum Site

In 2011, Kristy Smith, Gina Pagel, and I attended a 2-week summer institute at Cal Poly Pomona called "Journeys of Nonviolence."  It was the inspiration behind this entire program, and it has transformed the work that I do in the classroom.  Dr. Tara Sethia started the program and is incredibly inspiring and passionate about her work.  During the two-week institute we completed ample reading, writing, viewing, and reflecting about Gandhian nonviolence and its impacts on other nonviolent movements in the United States (particularly Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers' movement.  In 2007, the institute focused on MLK Jr., and this year it focuses on sustainability).



Anyway, a requirement for the institute is the creation of 2 standards-based lessons plans incorporating course content.  Professor Sethia then has TAs give us feedback on the lesson plans, which we revise, edit, and resubmit -- and then they are published at the Ahimsa Center website.  I thought you all might be interested in using it as a resource, so here it is!  Again, each lesson is standards based, and includes a content essay to help build your background knowledge.

Click here for Ahimsa Center K-12 Nonviolence Curriculum

Some examples of lessons on the site:

• "Gandhi's Self-Rule and Democracy in the Classroom," by our own Kristy Smith!  (grades 5-8, Social Science)
• "Interculturalism and Immigration: A Nonviolent Approach," by our own Gina Pagel! (K-8 Social Studies/Spanish)
• "Gandhi and Lord of the Flies: Does 'the apparel proclaim the man'?", by yours truly :) (HS English)

Other Lessons:

"Need vs. Wants in Creating Sustainable Communities," 9th grade Earth Science

"Ahimsa in the Real World: Truth, Love, and Nonviolence," 2nd grade

"Cesar Chavez as a Role Model for Creating Responsible Citizens and a Caring Community," K-2 (by Jami Arnst, who was here in India with us last summer!)

"Unpacking Nonviolence: A Family Night Activity," Middle school family night event

"The Way You Dream: Gandhi and King’s Visions of Nonviolence," HS Humanities

"Integrating Gandhian Principles of Communal Unity in Mathematics," Grades 4-6

"Consumer Confusion: Wants versus Needs and Gandhi’s Wisdom," Grade 4 Social Studies

Our official group photo!