I have had a rare opportunity in life to be a teacher. The pinnacle was being a teacher at Stony Creek. I knew what it meant to be a teacher. I had several conversations today about what we share with each other. John Moffitt wrote this beautiful poem. I interpret part of the poem as being the need be present and share our stories. Teachers and hockey coaches can make a difference in children’s lives. I need to be vulnerable. Parker Palmer suggested teachers live at the most dangerous intersection of personal and private life. I will miss that aspect of the classroom. I got to be a teacher. I got to know what that meant, because I looked at it and lived it as fully. It brought peace to my life.
To look at any thing,
If you would know that thing,
You must look at it long:
To look at this green and say,
‘I have seen spring in these
Woods,’ will not do–you must
Be the thing you see:
You must be the dark snakes of
Stems and ferny plumes of leaves
You must enter in
To the small silences between
The leaves,
You must take your time
And touch the very peace
They issue from.
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
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 
Being a teacher would be both a privilege and a big responsibility. Privilege in the sense of knowing that how you teach could be the building blocks of the future of our community, but responsibility in the sense that these days, teachers almost have to be the student’s parent and care giver in the face of both parents working and relying on your care and guidance (a lot more than they did in the 1950s and 60s when one parent was usually home all day).
Being a teacher seems like very hard work these days – so much preparation work to be done.
It is interesting you say the different roles we play. I have a contrast in that manner. One group of students come from stable families where the parents are very active in their children’s lives and educations. The other group it is quite different and I play a different role in each environment.
The world is a better place BECAUSE of teachers like YOU!!
Thank you for the kind comment. It is greatly appreciated.
Reblogged this on The Arkside of Thought | Poetry, Philosophy, Politics & Life.
Thank you for the re-blog Sahm.
magnificent poem, sir, thank you for sharing, kind regardsm Baldy 🙂
Thank you for comment. I am glad to share with others. I look forward to following your blog Kieran.
Take care,
Ivon
Reblogged this on lost creek publishing.