Teaching With A Sense of Joy
An interview with Ramona Lundberg, high school educator, former Presidential Science Teacher Awardee, President of the South Dakota Science Teachers Association, and National Board Certified Teacher/Mentor in South Dakota
by Courage & Renewal Facilitator David Henderson
As I write this I am surrounded by thoughts of my experiences with Ramona when she was in the first cohort of Courage to Teach retreat participants that Maggie Anderson and I facilitated in South Dakota. Often a cohort of retreat participants will have a voice that speaks into the circle with particular poignancy. Although this cohort had several such voices, I thought it would be interesting to speak to one of the many classroom teacher voices that have resonated so powerfully for me a few years after their experience:
What brought you to this work?
What brought me to this work was the longing for the opportunity to be real, authentic as Parker would suggest, with fellow teachers. Though I had no idea what the retreat series actually involved, I had read portions of Courage to Teach and thought that if the retreats were based on the book, the experience would have to be good.
Was it primarily value-added (affirming to what you already were about or perhaps tilling a garden you had well under way) or transformational (breaking new ground for you)?
The work was transformational for me. I am, by most accounts, considered a successful educator but prior to the retreats had a certain amount of unspoken doubt and hesitation. I did not teach or live with a joy or sense of well being that I now possess and am not hesitant to reveal. All aspects of the retreats contributed to this change. Through the inner work, the group sharing, personal statements and the Clearness Committee, I gained a sense of peace and assurance of personal worth and goodness previously unknown. The retreats provided me the time and gentle encouragement to learn about what I need. For this I am forever grateful.
As a science teacher, I have always felt a deep connection with the outdoors and all creatures especially horses, but at times had a certain trepidation concerning the sincerity of human adults. I wanted to feel the same sense of connection and purpose with people, especially my students and colleagues. The opportunity to be honest about who I am as an educator and as a person and how strongly the two are intertwined is now central for me. I have more confidence in my day to day decisions and that my decisions are influenced by this transformation. I am more patient and open with my students, my colleagues, my family and myself. I am hopeful; I cry easily and laugh heartily. For the first time in my career I could express and name the love I have for my students. I no longer keep that feeling to myself and I often feel like I want to and can dance with my students. And so we do.
Although you have already touched on this, can you think of other ways the work has continued for you? If so, in what ways? Why do you think this is?
I can readily think of three different ways the work continues for me:
1) Because of the personal awareness I experienced during the retreat series, I have continued to write and become friends with myself in journaling and quiet time. I do a better job of taking time and care for myself and no longer consider that selfish.
2) Several members of our original retreat circle meet in each others’ homes every six to eight weeks for a time of sharing and renewal. We care much about each other and will readily say so. We seek the depth of friendship and the honest words we continue to share.
3) During my Service Learning/Connections class, the students visit in triads and in the big circle. Students in this class establish their own touchstones each fall and revisit their touchstones at semester time. Because of the retreats, my students are provided generous time for journaling and we never hurry through discussions.
Why are these things so? This work is true and this work is now part of who I am and who I want to be. What I carry with me from the retreats continues to support my sense of well being and my purpose – inner work remains this way.
Of the seasonal retreats which lingers most for you?
The fall retreat; previously, I had viewed fall with an inner sadness. As the days shortened and the cold increased, I was often lonesome for those I had loved and are now gone. Fall seemed more like an ending time than a beginning time and this created somewhat of an inner conflict with the beginning of the school year. Since the retreats I look at fall as an anticipatory time, a starting anew time and a time of change, a seed time, a time for patience and hope. I now like all that fall has to offer.
What would you say to an educator contemplating being a part of a Courage to Teach series?
Being part of a Courage circle is the most powerful, positive experience of my career. The opportunity to spend time with caring individuals in a truly safe and nurturing atmosphere provides a glimpse of what Wendell Berry describes, “For a time I rest in the grace of the world and am free.” In our busy lives the opportunity for quiet reflection is rare and this retreat series provides that time. You will have a chance to know people in amazing ways. As a group we also had ample time to laugh and cry together, to be old and new, cared for and caring and to be honest and to just be. Don’t miss the best days you can imagine.