It was a long day. I feel tired and I was not as close to 100% as I thought. Despite that, I had an interesting conversation and, on the way home, I wondered if many children’s dreams have exploded? Do children dream like I did when I was a child? Do some children while others are afraid or unable to dream? I turned those questions over and they reminded me of Langston Hughes’ wonderful poetry. What is my role in holding their dreams with them?
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
About ivonprefontaine
In keeping with bell hooks and Noam Chomsky, I consider myself a public and dissident intellectual. Part of my work is to move beyond (transcend) institutional dogmas that bind me to defend freedom, raising my voice to be heard on behalf of those who seek equity and justice in all their forms.
I completed my PhD in Philosophy of Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA. My dissertation and research was how teachers experience becoming teachers and their role as leaders.
I focus on leading, communicating, and innovating in organizations. This includes mindfuful servant-leadership, World Cafe events, Appreciative Inquiry, and expressing one's self through creativity. I offer retreats, workshops, and presentations that can be tailored to your organzations specific needs.
I published peer reviewed articles about schools as learning organizations, currere as an ethical pursuit, and hope as an essential element of adult eductaion. I published three poems and am currently preparing my poetry to publish as an anthology of poetry.
I present on mindful leadership, servant leadership, schools as learning organizations, how teachers experience becoming teachers, assessement, and critical thinking. I facilitate mindfulness, hospitality retreats. and World Cafe Events using Appreciative Inquiry.
I am writing and researching about various forms of leadership, how teachers inform and form their identity as a particular teacher, schools as learning organizations, hope, nonviolence and its anticipatory relationship with the future, as essential elements to teaching and learning.
Academic publications can be found at Ivon Gile Prefontaine on ResearchGate
Teacher as Transformer 
So true ivon….., I love this.
Warm regards,
mei
Langston Hughes is a favourite poet. I use in class frequently. Take care Mei.
Beautiful! Hope you’ll get to 100% soon.
Thanks Tiny. I am getting there.
I’m sure you do well to cultivate dreams by your commitment to your students and your desire to inspire. Keep giving your best.
Thank you Tony. I will.
My kids tell me about their dreams all the time. Super hero dreams, flying, dreams. Today, my 14 year old told me about a dream where a person had a high heel shoe on and stepped on my sons hand. The person put all their weight on the spikey heel that was on his hand. Crazy. I love dreams. 🙂
I do to. What struck me in my conversation yesterday was the student did not seem to have a dream of who he could be or wanted to be. It set me to wondering how many children have lost that and it is nice to hear that your children still have it and share it.
Simply beautiful!
Langston Hughes had such powerful metaphors that spoke so clearly in so few lines.
so right. no hope without dreams
So true.
Beautiful!
Langston Hughes had such a powerful voice and used metaphors so richly that even a few lines echo.
Rotten virus’ {or whatever it is} I’ve got a nasty cough, cold or something making kleenex and tea with honey my best friend.
Like that poem, haven’t encountered it before. Your post reminded me of my earliest dream…it takes place at an old friends ..not sure why there…but the only thing that has stayed with me is at some point I remember Van Gogh and the ear he cut off. I remember I was really young when I dreamt it…7 , maybe 8 years old.
Tea and honey with lemon has worked for me this week. Thank you for stopping and commenting Paula.
This is so touching. For many people out there, dreams are all they have to hold onto. I’ve had many dreams throughout my lifetime… none of which I’ve ever really achieved in the sense of what I thought they’d be. But as I grow, I realize my dreams were not what my life needed to become. Only now, I’m realizing what a dream is meant to be. 🙂
I agree. There is a maturity that comes to our dreams. Sometimes we realize the life we live is what we dreamed for. But for some, dreams are all they have. They are escape from the harshness of life.
Reblogged this on abstramification and commented:
Everyone should take the time to read this and really soak it in.
Dreams are solace for the soul- the unfulfilled desires and wishes that we all aspire to achieve.This is such a wonderful verse that you have shared with your readers- very poignant thoughts.Dreams are the handle bars that we all like to cling to knowing very well that we may have to let them go when faced with the harshness of actuality.
Langston Hughes had such an incredible way of bringing abstracts to life with his metaphors. In another poem, Mother to Son, he talks about the harshness of reality and not letting go, but allowing the experiences of tough times shape character and motivate further. Thank you for a wonderful comment.
Dreams, goals, hopes all give us the motive to live, take those away we become nothing.
That is so true Alex. They give us something to hold on to.