This is the title of an inspiring article by Nancy Oelklaus, who is a former assistant superintendent of schools in Texas. Nancy is also an executive coach and the author of Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically and Alphabet Meditations for Teachers.
Nancy describes ‘the invisible school’ – the billions of neuronal patterns that each of us is carrying around inside our heads. How we think about school. How we feel about each other.
This invisible school has its dark side – our negative responses to others’ imperfections and our tendency to analyse, judge and perhaps condemn.
But as Nancy says:
Since we are susceptible to the phenomenon of mirror neurons-being influenced by another person’s state of mind-we need to protect our brains from invasion by negativity.
A starting point is to write or draw or create in some visual form our commitment to our relationship with ourselves, parents, students, and colleagues. Following are some examples.
My hope is that these words inspire you to write your own commitments, read or write them every day, and have a more peaceful and rewarding experience in education.
Download The Power of Commitment