A Magnanimity of Spirit: Resiliency and Inner Development for Progressive Educators
Date: Monday, March 3, 2025
Time: 8:30am–12:30pm
Location: Online Via Zoom
Cost: $75 (Registration scholarships available! Please inquire here)
Paulo Friere wrote that “The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” In order to support students in shaping themselves, it is critical that educators engage in inner development and reflection so they can be available to the relationship needed to support students in self-construction. In a time of teacher burnout and an attack on the profession by those who would seek to eliminate progressive education, it is more important than ever that educators care for their own wellness to be fully engaged with the relational work of progressive education. This session will explore approaches to inner development which aim to transform individuals and schools through collective reflective practice. Participants will be invited to engage in reflection, resilience building, and an examination of equity in their unique school contexts to continually transform themselves as progressive educators. The goal is to develop school communities which regularly examine their paradigms of teaching and learning to be able to better foster human flourishing and positive development for all involved: students, teachers, and families.
When educators focus on their wellbeing and personal development, they are able to bring their full selves to their work, engage their students through an equity lens, and better serve the students in their care. This session will be highly interactive and will invite participants to generate collective knowledge and partnerships with peers which will extend long beyond the workshop. We are not in search of easy answers. Rather, we are looking to uncover critical questions which empower us to deepen our practice in an engaged community of practitioners.
About the Facilitator:
Andrew Faulstich believes in the potential for education to be transformative for all students. He has worked across K-12 and higher education in the U.S. and China. He is the Co-Founder of the Enlightened Educator Project and the Curriculum and Pedagogy Coordinator and Humanities Guide at the Oneness-Family Montessori High School. He holds a Masters in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, a Bachelors in Anthropology from the University of Rochester, a Montessori Adolescent Certification from the Association Montessori Internationale, and a certificate from the Phillips Exeter Humanities Institute.