The Container Concept:
Conditions for Creating a Sense of
Community
Stillwater Area Public Schools
August 2015
Agenda/Flow
•
•
•
•
Introduction/Context
Mission: What is a sense of community?
Vision: Why create a sense of community?
Strategies:
– Conditions for creating a sense of community
– Sequencing/Flow of the process
• Closing
INTRODUCTION/CONTEXT
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
-T.S. Eliot
Protocols
• Assume good intentions
• Spinach in the teeth rule
(Ouch/Oops)
• Right to Pass
• Make it work for you
• Others?
CONTAINER CONCEPT
Not all Containers are Alike
We Have Choices…
We have Influence…
What are the qualities of your container(s)? How have
you & others felt/operated in healthy containers?
Unhealthy containers?
Mission:
What is a Sense of Community?
From Group to Community
“In genuine community there are no sides. It is not always easy but
by the time they reach community the members have learned how
to give up cliques and factions. They have learned how to listen to
each other and how not to reject each other. Sometimes consensus
in community is reached with miraculous rapidity. But at other
times it is arrived at only after lengthy struggle. Just because it is a
safe place does not mean community is a place without conflict. It
is, however, a place where conflict can be resolved without physical
or emotional bloodshed and with wisdom as well as grace. A
community is a group that can fight gracefully.”
M. Scott Peck M.D.
The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace
Thomas Sergiovanni states that “the need for
community is universal. A sense of belonging, of
continuity, of being connected to others and to
ideas and values that make our lives meaningful
and significant -- these needs are shared by all of
us.”
“The people in one’s life are like the pillars
on one’s porch you see life through. And
sometimes they hold you up. And
sometimes they lean on you, and sometimes
it’s just enough to know they’re standing by.”
Anonymous
Community is consciousness of connection,
combining and comprising: Courtesy,
communication, collaboration, cooperation,
consideration, caring, compassion, curiosity,
commonalities, common goals, confidence,
creativity, courage, challenge, camaraderie, and
conceivably chocolate.
CTC Group, 2004
"… a feeling that members have of
belonging, a feeling that members
matter to one another and to the
group, and a shared faith that
members' needs will be met through
their commitment to be together.”
~ McMillan & Chavis, 1986
Vision:
Why Create a Sense of Community?
VISION
• ACTIVE
• AT PEACE
• CARING
• COMPASSIONATE
• CONFIDENT
• CONTRIBUTOR
• CREATIVE
• CRITICAL THINKER
• EMPATHETIC
• EMPLOYED
• FORGIVING
• GENEROUS
• GET ALONG W/ OTHERS
• GOOD COMMUNICATOR
• RELIABLE
• GOOD PARENTS
• RESILIENT
• HAPPY
• RESOURCEFUL
• HEALTHY
• RESPECT
• HONEST
• RESPONSIBLE
• INDEPENDENT
• SELF DIRECTED
• INTEGRITY
• SELF ESTEEM
• LITERATE
• SELF RESPECT
• LOYAL
• SELF SUFFICIENT
• MOTIVATED
• SENSE OF HUMOR
• PATIENT
• SUCCESSFUL
• PERSEVERENCE
• POSITIVE ATTITUDE • WELL-INFORMED
• PROBLEM SOLVERS
• PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS
"Many of those personal qualities that
we hold dear—resilience and courage in
the face of stress, a sense of craft in our
work, a commitment to justice and
caring in our social relationships, a
dedication to advancing the public good
in communal life—are exceedingly
difficult to assess. And so, unfortunately, we are apt to
measure what we can, and eventually come to value
what is measured over what is unmeasured. The shift is
subtle and occurs gradually.”
From: Alexander, L. & James, H.T. (1987) The Nation’s Report
Card: Improving the assessment of student Achievement.
Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.
Creating a sense of community…
SUPPORTS LEARNING
Learning &
emotions are
intertwined
(see amygdala)
Fight, Flight,
Freeze inhibits
learning
Fear,
embarrassment,
frustration,
boredom…
…can trigger
fight, flight,
freeze
Fundamental Elements of Brain-based Teaching & Learning
Caine, et. al. Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action
Relaxed Alertness: Creating the
optimal emotional climate for learning
Orchestrated Immersion in complex
Experience: Creating optimal opportunities
for learning
Active Processing of Experience:
Create optimal ways to consolidate
learning
Creating a sense of community…
PERSONAL/SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Through
FOSTERING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
Maslow’s
Hierarchy
of Needs
Esteem
Belonging
Security
Retrieved from: http://two.not2.org/psychosynthesis/articles/maslow.gif
Supports Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
See www.CASEL.org
Bullying – More than a label
“A student is being bullied or victimized
when he or she is exposed, repeatedly
and over time, to negative actions on
the part of one or more students.”
~ Dan Olweus
Social-Ecological Framework
•
•
•
•
Pain
Fear
Adult attitudes
School climate
Pre-Bullying
1. Behavior that, if escalated, could become bullying.
2. Norms that set the stage for bullying if the behavior
becomes intentional, consistent, and abusive (e.g.
sarcastic humor, put downs, unconscious and/or
unchallenged use of derogatory terms)
Strategies: Conditions for Creating a
Sense of Community
Elements of Sense of Community
•
•
•
•
Membership
Influence
Integration & Fulfillment of Needs
Shared Emotional Connection
McMillan & Chavez
Conditions for Community to Develop
• Intentionality
• Safe and Trusting Environment
• Balancing “Me” and “We”
• Ownership
• Positivity
• Others?
g
tin
s
Tru ent
&
fe ronm
a
S
vi
En
INFLUENCE
”
INFLUENCE
Positivity
me
“
ing e”
c
l an “ w
a
B
&
Po
sit
ivi
ty
Ownership
Ownership
In
te
nt
ion
ali
ty
INTEGRATION &
FULFILLMENT OF
NEEDS
SHARED
EMOTIONAL
SHARED
EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
CONNECTION
MEM
BERS
HIP
MEMBERSHIP
INTEGRATION &
FULFILLMENT OF
NEEDS
Intentionality is Key
Presenting activities do not, in
themselves, guarantee the attainment
of lifelong learning and skills.
The more intentional and systematic
we can be, the more possible it is to
achieve what we wish to achieve.
Invitational Education – a Container Framework
Making time for relationships
Invitational Education
www.invitationaleducation.net
Examples of Tools
• Community Meetings
• Greeting people when they arrive
• Activities
• Curriculum & lessons
• Books, movies, internet
• Rules and norms
• Traditions
• Peace Circles
• Bulletin Boards and signage
INVITATIONAL EDUCATION
INTENTIONALLY
UNINTENTIONALLY
INVITING
INTENTIONALLY
INVITING
UNINTENTIONALLY
INVITING
DISINVITING
INTENTIONALLY
DISINVITING
UNINTENTIONALLY
DISINVITING
Safe Environment
Relational Trust
Physical/Emotional Safety
• Physical and verbal violence has to be
addressed.
• Ground rules and social commitments help in
establishing boundaries.
• Instances of harassment, hitting, etc. though,
must also be dealt with quickly.
Relational Trust
SEQUENCING AND FLOW
Two Perspectives on Sequencing
1. Ice Melters
1. Getting Acquainted
2. Deinhibitizers
3. Trust Activities
2. Learning to Trust and
Support Each Other
3. Communication Skills
4. Problem Solving
Initiatives
4. Setting Goals
1. Challenges
6. Extensions
5. Problem Solving and Conflict
Resolution
A COMMUNITY BUILDING MODEL
·
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·
·
Tools
Social Agreements
Challenge with Choice
Goal Setting
Activities
PROBLEM SOLVING
TRUST
COOPERATION
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·
·
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Put-Ups/Put-Downs
Hidden Agendas
Active Listening
Mixing
Perspective Taking
·
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Activities
Ice Melters
Deinhibitzers
Challenge with Choice
Social Agreemtns
Role of
Facilitator:
© 2013 Laurie Frank
Leader
CHALLENGE
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·
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Making Mistakes
Empathy
Trustworthiness
Risk Taking
Physical/Emotional
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Activities
Trust Building
Feelings Literacy
Behavioral Goal Setting
Individual Low Ropes
OU
R
G
ION
T
MA
R
O
PF
Guide
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·
·
Decision Making
Group Goals
Taking Turns
Leadership
Conflict Resolution
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·
·
Activities
Problem Solving
Team Low Ropes
Collaboration
Conflict Resolution
Academic Content
UP
O
GR
----
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Individual Goals
Stating Needs
Encouragement/Support
Collaborative Leadership
Success/Failure
·
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Activities
High Ropes
Outdoor Pursuits
Urban Experience
Public Presentations/Projects
Service Learning
P
OU T &
R
G
OR NT
P
--- SUP EME
GE
IEV
N
H
E
C
A
ALL
H
C
Mentor
Consultant
LSFrank@mac.com
Empowerment “Me”
Social Commitment “We”
Empowerment: “Me”
Panic Zone
Growth Zone
Comfort
Zone
“Me” Topics
•
•
•
•
•
Noticing vs. praising
Challenge with choice vs. right to pass
Competition
Pseudo choice
Other topics?
SOCIAL COMMITMENT: “WE”
The central message of the consumer culture in
which we live is: You’re the most important thing
on earth. You’re the heaviest object in the
universe and everything orbits around you. And
we’ve enshrined this idea as ‘human nature.’ Not
remembering that most people in most places
have had other things very near the center of
their identity – the tribe, the community, their
relationship with the natural world, or the Divine
– something that gave them more of a sense of
identity not obsessively rooted in themselves
Bill McKibbon (Interview aired on May 26, 2007)
Rules & Expectations
•
•
•
•
External
Enforced
Safety
Respect
General School/Community rules
Specific Classroom rules
Non-negotiable
Always in Place
Agreements & Contracts
• Internal
• Owned
(co-created)
• Rights
• Responsibilities
Agreed Upon
Important to the Group
Negotiable
Open to Change as
Group Evolves
Rules vs. Agreements
• External
• Enforced
• Safety
• Respect
• Internal
• Owned
(co-created)
• Rights
• Responsibilities
Rules vs. Agreements
• General
School/Communi
ty rules
• Specific
Classroom rules
• Non-negotiable
• Always in Place
• Agreed Upon
• Important to the
Group
• Negotiable
• Open to Change as
Group Evolves
What Guides You? What shows you the way?
• People
• Talents/Gifts
• Ideas
• Insights
• Inspiration
• Life Experience
• Family
• Beliefs & Ideals
• Values
• Theories & Models
How have you added to your cairn
so far at this conference?
57
GOAL SETTING
The 3 ‘R’s
• Routines
What are some routines you have in your
classroom/school?
• Rituals
What are some of your family, cultural, or personal
rituals? What are some of your school traditions?
What is a rite of passage you have experienced?
• Responsibility
What do you in your classroom/school to engender
responsibility toward self and others?
Reflections on the 10
•
•
•
•
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Joy
Gratitude
Serenity
Interest
Hope
•
•
•
•
•
Pride
Amusement
Inspiration
Awe
Love
From: Fredrickson, B. (2009) Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to
Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive.
New York, NY: Crown Archetype.
Positivity
Individuals
Groups
1. Broadens our
minds and our
hearts
2. Transforms us for
the better
1. Asking questions and focusing
outward (open to new ideas)
3. Fuels Resilience
2. Connectivity and attunement
of the team. More responsive
to one another
3. Bouncing back from adversity
rather than getting stuck in
self-absorbed advocacy
Positivity Ratio
The Tipping Point
Flourishing = 3 to 1
“… only when positivity ratios are higher than 3 to 1
is positivity in sufficient supply to seed human
flourishing.” (Fredrickson, 2009)
A Place for Negativity
• Global and unfocused
• Specific negative
negative emotions
emotions help us
overwhelm and
focus and take action
poison
us.
(such as in resolving or
transforming conflict). • The difference
between anger and
contempt or guilt and
shame
An old Cherokee is teaching his
grandson about life. “A fight is going
on inside me,” he said to the boy.
It is a terrible fight and it is between two
wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority, and ego.” He continued, “the
other is good – he is joy, peace, love hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,
empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and
faith. The same fight is going on inside you –
and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a
minute and then asked his
grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied,
“The one you feed.”
I am because we are
我是因为我们
私たちがいるので、私は
Ako mao tungod kay kita
हम कर रहे हैं क्योंकक मैं कर रहा हूँ
Mimi ni kwa sababu sisi ni
Yo soy porque nosotros somos
To download this PowerPoint,
please go to my website:
www.goalconsulting.org
Laurie Frank
GOAL Consulting
+1-608-251-2234
LSFrank@mac.com