Staying the Course is a Journey Volume 1: Post 2

Caution:  Do You Know Your Inner Landscape?

[Grab your Map if You Don’t]

 

LISA SCHELLENBERG NOVEMBER 18, 2020

 

“It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said to do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more.” -Marge Piercy, “Low Road”

I wish to share with you my inner soul – my inner landscape – and ask you to discover what your inner landscape is. I #EnCourageU to think about it, answer the question, and then celebrate your identity, and self through refusing to harden your heart and continue to love to learn and teach.

[picture of San Clemente Pier at sunset]

I started to teach at age 18 when I decided to follow Jesus and became born again in San Clemente, California and served in Sunday school. I loved telling stories in a performative way-funny huh (considering I am not in the performance field of communication studies). I loved my work so much that I #StayedTheCourse to work as a Sunday school teacher until 2013 (at age 43!). The students, pastors, co-teachers, and parents #EnCouragedMe to continue as they stated “I had a heart for teaching”.

According to Palmer, “teaching…emerges from one’s inwardness” and the experience I gained in these Sunday school classrooms came from my inner landscape. It is important that we know ourselves in order to teach well because when we don’t, we can’t understand our students. Let’s instead, use this pedagogy as #EnCourageMeant so that we can make a difference in our students’ lives like so many of our communication studies professors have done for our inner landscape.

“Self-knowledge is the hidden secret in plain sight”. – Parker J. Palmer

I remember the first time I was so upset at one of my TCC NW teachers that I told my mentor. The teacher went super-fast with the PowerPoint that I was unable to take notes. I had asked the teacher after class if she could go slower or provide me with the PowerPoint, but she replied “No”. My mentor looked at me quizzically because I seemed to be rambling on and on with complaints.

Instead of being #EnCouraging and optimistic, I was teacher-bashing and quite negative. My mentor realized I had ADHD (other instances also caused suspicion) so she recommended I see my doctor. I ended up getting approved for accommodations and did receive the PowerPoints. As Parker points out, when teachers (and I believe as students as well) are “panic-stricken by the demands of the day, we need scapegoats for the problems we cannot solve”.

When we are having daily interactions in our peer mentoring circles, TA space, Zoom break-out sessions, phone calls, and eventually, in-person, and we self-disclose teacher-bashing or student-bashing, let’s #EnCourageEachOther to “cherish-and challenge-the human heart that is the source of good teaching”.

We are already having a hard time to survive (be successful in all that we do) in graduate school both as citizens, workers, students, relationships and in our personal lives but when we are combating possible conflicts and negative interpersonal relationships, we jeopardize our teaching and learning. Let’s not blame our teachers or our students. Let’s choose to remain #EnCouraged and #StayTheCourse to be successful and remember that they are the ones “who could help us find our way”.

We can consider a metaphor for our map. A map could be the places we have traveled, lived, and/or visited in our life thus far. So, I have lived in California, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, and Texas. These encompass my map. I can’t rip apart my map into pieces and say I have only lived in California-my map needs to remain in one piece. This landscape is our inner and outer self which taught us and therefore allowed us to learn and teach others.

[picture of an older map of the United States of America]

Our travels included our intellect, emotions, and spirit as a whole within our human soul and education. Ask yourself how you know and learn, how you feel as a teacher and learner, and what diverse ways you long to connect to teaching. The more we learn about our inner landscape (self) the more confident we are as teachers and as individuals. How #EnCouraging!

Let’s #EnCourage and guide our students (and close relationships too) on taking an adventure by grabbing their map, and finding their inner landscape “toward more truthful ways of seeing and being in the world” because “teachers possess the power to create conditions that can help students learn” so much.

We can do this! I hope I #EnCouraged you! I hope I leave behind a legacy as a #EnCouraging mother, granddaughter, daughter, niece, cousin, friend, mentor, student, peer, employee, future boss, and colleague. It’s hard but we can #StayTheCourse!

[picture of my nana, papa, and me. I am 20 years old.]

Palmer, P.J. (1998/2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. SanFrancisco: Wiley & Sons.