#sortingandsifting

July 2018. San Diego, CA

All of my things. Almost. Kind Of. Sort Of. For the most part. . . . . . . . This past school year — in addition to a personal sabbatical, and year of unexpected, not-always-so-comfortable & simultaneously very necessary & important growth — has been a year of purging, shedding, and letting go; Of all that’s no longer relevant, bringing me joy, necessary, or supportive. On both the tangible & intangible fronts, this process has been extraordinarily cleansing & restorative.

 After returning from walking the Camino, back in 2004, I think I gave away about 60% of my possessions. Walking helped me realize that I didn’t need very much of anything, at all. Subsequent Caminos led to more & more purging, and after a while I realized that I was entertaining the goal of having no possessions upon departure (yes, the big departure). 

Whether that’s actually feasible, in today’s world, I’m not sure. And I very much like the idea of it :) Letting go, and letting go, and letting go, until one is left as one arrived, with nothing — or no . things .

I think it’s one of the reasons dance, theatre, choreographing, working in studios, and being itinerant has been so appealing to me. This idea of no - thing, and instead pure creation, pure creativity - no props, no costumes, no sets - just body, time, space, energy, and maybe a little music...

It makes so much sense to me, on so many levels.

August 2018. San Diego, CA

Fascinating to go through all my old books, research, notes, and papers 📚📖📝—- Lisa Delpit was, and still is, one of my favorite education theorists & authors. In fact, a few years ago, while working with a coach, I realized that part of what I want for the field of education is to see more sociology & anthropology research utilized in credentialing programs, as well as in-house professional developments. I feel lucky to have been introduced to Delpit’s work early on in my own program, which I have to say, especially now in retrospect, was top notch. Reference above: 

“In her groundbreaking 1988 essay “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children,” the elementary school teacher cum theorist Lisa Delpit dismantled some of the pieties of progressive education. Deliberately unstructured teaching strategies like “whole language,” “open classrooms,” and “process, not product” were putting poor, non-white children at an even greater disadvantage in school and beyond...” - The Nation: An interview with Lisa Delpit on educating “Other People’s Children”

And more finds from my old books & notebooks..