Clemsy Gets his Dream Class

Introducing people of all ages to mythology... in pre-college educational curricula, youth orgs, the media, etc. Share your knowledge, stories, unit and lesson plans, techniques, and more.

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JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Clemsy I just spotted this article and thought it might be something that you would enjoy. The story is not only inspiring but interesting in the way both Murray and Miller channel and transform experiences into a powerful resource for change and by helping others to find their own narrative to do the same. 8)

http://gma.yahoo.com/homeless-harvard-c ... .html?vp=1
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

I heard a take on New Mexico and Albuquerque Public education. Although it is possible to offer jobs in education that allow students to be the center and focus of the system, our system sacrifices the needs of students in order to achieve job security for those who please a few people in local administrative positions. This is seen as an unfortunate result of forces beyond the control of those who make the decisions that result in horrible inequities and awful experiences for most public school students, teachers and parents.

Burns my hide to hear it, and I tend to believe it is most probably the case. Teachers get awful principals, because the effective administrators are a threat to those in power. Parents have to fight to be heard. Students are at the mercy of what amounts to a petty, parochial coffee klatch. Calling it a "system" is not an accurate description. It is a social club, and students are just the statistics used to fund it.

One example was a state legislative allocation specifically earmarked for across-the-board teacher salary raises. The money was spent on other items. The legislature had no authority to impose consequences for the decision to divert the funds.

My questions for Michael are the following. Do teachers feel left out of administrative decisions? Are those decisions made to advance the interests of a social club or the interests of students or something else?

~
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Clemsy said:
What I try to do is show my seniors that the hero journey isn't just a formula for an exciting story, and that myths are more than they appear to be. Campbell said that the remaining mythic terrain is the individual human heart and that's what has to be activated.

What does the hero do?

The hero never gives up.
The hero is a willing sacrifice.
The purpose of the hero's journey is to bring the boon back for the benefit of the community.

That boon is your bliss. You are here to do something that will fulfill you and vitalize those around you. Recognize it. Go get it.

My students learn about Jung's archetypes. I show them the oroboros and relate it to the womb, to their comfort zone, to the high school years they are about to leave. They learn that the dragon they have to face is their own fear. The fear of failure, the fear of graduating, the fear of the unknown. They learn they have to break out of the oroboros, just like the symbol at the top of this page, and dive into their adventure.

They learn that every human being who has ever lived has had to go through the same thing. That's what the myths tell us.

Gregory, I have my students write constantly about themselves. They explore their inner landscape. They analyze myths, with special attention to the part where the father archetype dies and the hero becomes the father.

Atonement with the father. Taking control of the forces that direct your life.

I said:
I am not suggesting here that a teacher or any mentor should mold a model of any sort; but more important as Clemsy has pointed out; to help them develop their own navigational skills at this critical time in their life so that they may become the rich and full potential adults they were meant to be in their own right, for their own destiny, for their own time.
And:


Clemsy said:
The point I try to make is that these are individual human beings and we have to gight the dehumanizing forces that are trying to mold them into cogs in the global economy.

And you are correct, James. It is my goal for these young people to see themselves as the heroes in their own stories, and that they are fast approaching the most powerful threshold of their young lives: high school graduation.

Many of them haven't been told that their goal is to find what fulfills them, and that everything will fall into place along the way, life willing.

Some of them are visibly relieved to hear this message.
_____________________________________________________


Along with Carmela's political questions concerning the current educational dilemma; the issue that most keeps returning to me in this thread is: " What is the ( main address ) that students and young people most need and will be most served by as they struggle to understand what is going on inside them? " I think here is where the rubber meets the road so to speak; as the roles and stages of the life process play out.

Indeed others must feel this as well as noted in the " Badass Teachers " response Clemsy just shared. ( To me a truly great utilization of what Joseph Campbell's work was pointing towards. )

What I keep coming back to is this understanding that the modern crisis these young people face that is most critical is the ability to recognize certain timeless themes and symbols while learning to navigate this internal landscape within their own individual and personal biography.

Clemsy's approach I think utilizes this idea in a very unique way. By putting the student in a psychological position of creating a personalized understanding of their own individual narrative and writing about it; this helps to nurture an individual sense of ownership and personal power instead of just reacting or responding to a societal mechanism. At the same time there is the understanding of the requirements of adulthood and that they are connecting with these themes and principles thereby participating within the landscape and context of a larger timeless story. But more importantly they are coming to realize it is they themselves who are holding the pen of their own authorship.

By writing and exploring symbols and themes like that of the ( Oroboros ); " Odysseus "; " Percival " or in a modern sense " Luke Skywalker " and of course others; and comparing these as correlations to their own stories; the true understanding of myth becomes alive once more and assumes it's proper role as life instructor.
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Andreas
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Post by Andreas »

Thanks James, I need to remember this. :)
“To live is enough.” ― Shunryu Suzuki

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

By putting the student in a psychological position of creating a personalized understanding of their own individual narrative and writing about it; this helps to nurture an individual sense of ownership and personal power instead of just reacting or responding to a societal mechanism. At the same time there is the understanding of the requirements of adulthood and that they are connecting with these themes and principles thereby participating within the landscape and context of a larger timeless story. But more importantly they are coming to realize it is they themselves who are holding the pen of their own authorship.
James, that is very. very well said. In fact, I'm sure you won't mind me quoting you in a paper I'm working on for Pacifica's Jung journal. :-)
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

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Post by JamesN. »

Andeas and Clemsy; Thank you for your kind thoughts. ( Clemsy you are certainly welcome to use anything that would be helpful. ) :)

What realization has become truly " humbling " to me about this thread and indeed these forums in general has been the understanding that the journey is always continuing. ( Also how much my fellow friends here constantly enlighten me. ) Childhood is only the start of a very long path; although one could even say a learning curve. The concepts and concerns raised here are IMO very important and I think some of Joseph Campbell's most relevant. There is a knowledge of the mythical landscape and it's vital connection to human beings that in many ways has all but been lost; and Campbell's profound sense of connection re-establishes this understanding. There is an inaccurate societal notion promoted that as adults we somehow have achieved an elevated and insulated position concerning wisdom. And indeed Joe mentions this in a conversation he had with a woman where the issue of " modern insight " somehow trumps ancient mythological wisdom to which he replys: ( " All you have missed is life ". )

The question and concerns of childhood education that Clemsy has confronted and reinterpreted with Joseph Campbell's themes is really in another sense that of an adulthood dilemma as well: " How do we live; and what do we live for? " For when Joseph Campbell talks about Carl Jung's question of one's " Personal Myth "; finding it, knowing it, living it; he is really addressing what history informs us as the echos of the timeless mythical internal landscape and all the possibilities contained therein that human beings must engage with competently throughout a life course. A child's preparation is just that; only the beginning. The dysfunctions of various social situations that children and young adults will navigate through are only part of the hurdles of tasks they will encounter on their individual journey's. And it is through this process of these series of life stages that assimilation towards self-knowledge in becoming fully realized human beings is achieved. For along with all the rapture and sense of possibilities that life suggests; indeed must come the understanding of some it's horrors and moments of deep sadness that can be included within it's experience; and that only by living can it's depth and knowledge truly reveal itself. And it is by addressing towards this end that we not only engage with the present but the future as well. For as Joseph said: " If you really want to help this world you must show how to live in it. "

Namaste
Last edited by JamesN. on Sun Nov 23, 2014 2:32 pm, edited 2 times in total.
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

8)
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Hey everyone.

For those who are not aware of this notification from the foundation's " Mythblast " email flyer; here is an upcoming initiative that I think is a " CrackerJack " idea Clemsy is involved with.

MythBlast
October 15, 2013


The Mythic Classroom

The Joseph Campbell Foundation is preparing to launch its new education initiative: The Mythic Classroom.

Part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s (JCF) mission is to promote the study of mythology and comparative religion, to implement and/or support diverse mythological education programs, and to utilize the Foundation's website (www.jcf.org) as a forum for relevant cross-cultural dialogue. To these ends, the JCF is inviting educators, at all levels and disciplines, who have incorporated myth into their curricula to share their work in a searchable database designed to be used as a resource for teachers and researchers.

Although the use of Joseph Campbell’s work is not a pre-requisite for inclusion in this project, we are looking for those whose work with myth:
•provides young students with a rich narrative experience
•incorporates the study of metaphor and symbolism
•encourages students to construct personal meaning
•views myth as a product of the human psychological landscape which connects us across cultures

Right now we are collecting a limited number of "exemplars" on an Excel spreadsheet. If you are interested, please email the project's curator, Michael Lambert, at michael.lambert@jcf.org. Include subject area, level(s) and topics.

JCF appreciates the many teachers toiling tirelessly in the field (forgive the alliteration!) who use myth to teach and re-teach key concepts.



One of the reasons for the mention of this notice on this particular thread has to do with a question I have I feel may have some relevance to the subject matter being covered here concerning ( teaching and the connection with the individual's personal experience and discovery of their own myth ) whether student ( or teacher ). And how does the ( teacher themselves ) understand " their own experience " and what is indeed happening as this portal is opened and it's knowledge transferred. I think the teacher's unique insight to what is happening to themselves also while involved with this mythical connection may be very valuable to explore as in Clemsy's earlier insight's he so kindly shared. Of course this may indeed be part of the major focus intended; but I think on this thread it might also be of value for further examination since we have already been discussing at least part of this connection. ( Clemsy; I hope I have not made any error of judgement in the placement of this query if it does not apply here. ) :)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

CarmelaBear
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Post by CarmelaBear »

Michael, the way you put heart and soul into such projects makes us all proud. We know you enjoy the field of education, and you deserve applause for your work.

Bravo!

:)
Once in a while a door opens, and let's in the future. --- Graham Greene

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

This fits her quite nicely, James. Indeed, the quote from the mythblast is a blend of the JCF's mission statement and my own definition of the Mythic Classroom project. (Stephen added the last sentence. lol!)

I'm quite honored that Bob Walter and Stephen have considered me to spearhead this initiative and I'm really looking forward to getting it off the ground. (I've had a pretty decent response so far, so I'm already busy.)

There is quite a strong connection between this project, of course, and what I do in the classroom. However, as it says, we're gathering whatever educators are doing myth wise as long as it fits the given guidelines.

Your question, if I understand it, is a good one: How does the teacher relate to the concepts being taught? As we delve into the hero journey in my senior classes, I make sure my students see graduation as the threshold they must cross, their fears the dragon guarding the threshold, their bliss or passion as the goal of the hero.

But here I am also approaching of my teaching career. I make a point of telling them I'm very much in the same situation they are, just at the other end of time, as it were.

That's important for them to know, surely.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Clemsy:
But here I am also approaching of my teaching career. I make a point of telling them I'm very much in the same situation they are, just at the other end of time, as it were.

That's important for them to know, surely.
Thanks for sharing this Clemsy.

If I'm understanding the way the processes and interrelationships that you have been describing are integrated within this conceptual idea of " Life Journey " correctly; ( and I believe that I am ); these distinctions you are making confirm; ( at least to my way of thinking ).; that the student understands and realizes that they are crossing through a portal or threshold into the realm of a lifetime adventure. And even more important as you point out in the above statement; that you as teacher are also participating within this same context over a timeless geography in the very same mysterious journey as they are and that this continuing process ( never ends ). For the " womb to the tomb " and from birth to death; we all travel this same ground; and this sense of: as Joe put it; " riding on a mystery ". And the preparation they have been making is for it's beginning and as you point out; that you also are traveling in the same boat with them and that they should realize the significance of this understanding as they make ready to cross
. ( A wonderful approach Clemsy. 8) )


Cheers :)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

Precisely, James. That's the lens I encourage them to look at both stories and at their own lives through.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Clemsy wrote:Precisely, James. That's the lens I encourage them to look at both stories and at their own lives through.
" That's such a great approach Clemsy! " 8)

By the way; you need to check this out:


http://www.jcf.org/new/forum/viewtopic. ... 9326#89326
Last edited by JamesN. on Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

I know AmethystRose. We presented together at Pacifica's Symposium last year and she already has two units uploaded to the Mythic Classroom. :-)
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

I should have guessed this. :wink: :lol:
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

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