Reflection from “Opening the Spaces: Creating community within complexity”
Karolyn Toews – Jan. 25/16
I resonate with Sue Montebello’s idea of honouring communities in our schools. Sue suggested that we live in the crossroads of dilemmas, challenges and joys that are often than not chaotic. It is our job to come to an understanding of how our lives fit into this. I believe that communities begin with an attitude and mindset that cannot necessarily be forced or conjured up at a meeting or goal-setting conference. Community happens in the everyday of life. Heessoon Bai reflected that there are openings and sacred spaces that give invitation. And where there is invitation, people move in.
This year our Aboriginal Education department allocated money that was specifically earmarked for a Breakfast Program. We have never offered an official before- school breakfast before and I can see that already, it has proven to build community in a variety of ways. Paid for largely by aboriginal funds, the group of students who meets each morning is certainly not all First Nations. It is a mixed bag of kids with a variety of needs and backgrounds. I go in and visit this community of eaters often. What I have noticed is that where there is food, there is fellowship. Fellowship amongst the students, staff and the regular group of parents who have also found this a place of community. Stories – authentic ones – are being shared and discovered. Life in all its many forms is being processed. People are being cared for. A sacred opening. An invitation taken. Community is honoured.
Sometimes community happens unexpectedly. To be sure, the opportunities for community building are often missed because of our inability/unwillingness to reflect, our business and perhaps our lack of seeing how our lives could be enriched by investing in it. Wendi Palmer talked about the importance of paying attention and being astonished at what we see. I am learning about this – by paying attention to the small and subtle beauty that comes from the hearts of my students during our yearly Christmas Choir practices and performances. As with Trevor Found’s drama groups, I have seen that music (art) can be transformative and that it can speak to and illuminate the human condition. Over the years, our choir has not only performed, it has become a community for risk-taking, exploring attitudes and feelings and offering a place of healing for those willing to step into that space of invitation.
Nel Noddings encourages us to look at the importance of care in community. We need to rethink our relationships and our encounters with other people. Our job is about creating those spaces of invitation that allow us to move beyond the mask and share in our vulnerability and humanity. Honouring community is being willing to find it in unexpected places and then take the risk to nurture it and live amongst it.