Today I read the chapter “Layered voices in teaching: The uncannily correct and the elusively true” from Curriculum in a New Key – The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki, while listening to the splashing of my garden pond. I planned to sit outside on this beautiful summer morning to ground myself in a thoughtful space to fully enjoy the teachings of this chapter in what I have come to understand as a book brimming with deep meaning. The text called me as a teacher to reflect on my understanding of what teaching is. I will not summarize the chapter but will consider how the teachings offer me a tool to think differently.
The element in the chapter that is pulling me to think differently is the description of thinking in a fuller way that is not purely based in the head. As Aoki notes, “some psychologists tell us, the bulk of the behavior we call thinking is cerebral, all in the head above the neck, as it were, holding in lower regard anything below the neck as being secondary attachments” (Ted Aoki, p. 196). In my life each day, I need to constantly remind myself that thinking is also in the body and the heart. I tune out what my body and heart are saying and only listen to my head. I am logical and practical, and have a hard time feeling my feelings. I practice this re-connection of head and heart effort at home but have not before considered how I might also do this while teaching. The steps that I currently take to remind myself to not only listen to my head but also to slow down and visualize a line between my heart and head. I then listen closely to what my heart is saying which might be in conflict with what my head is (often) more loudly speaking to me. I imagine that the more I do this, the easier it will become. I have not tried this yet but have also heard that I could keep rose quartz near my heart to help me visualize and remember to listen to what my whole being is saying. While sitting in my garden and finishing my thoughts for the morning, I also can see the benefit of nature in remembering I am a whole person. The sensory input of the light breeze, garden pond, birds, beckoning flowers, and rustling of leaves reminds me where I am and who I am.
Curriculum in a New Key | The Collected Works of Ted T. Aoki | Ted T. (n.d.). Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/pdfviewer/
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