Happy Soul Food Friday!
(I hear some of you save this to start the week off on Monday 🙂 )
This week:
- A Letter Einstein Purportedly Wrote To His Daughter About The Universal Force of Love:
- Teaching Tolerance: Which Uses of Technology Support Young People’s Development Better Than Say Using a Pencil, and Which Are in Fact Worse?
- The Missing Flow in STEAM is R for Relationships!
- Teaching Kids Philosophy Makes them Smarter in Math and English
If you are local…
SD AMA Cause Conference May 19th 2016
Accelerate the Purpose Revolution.
MindFuelED on June 24-27: Leading EmpowerED Student-Centered Systems
A Letter Einstein Purportedly Wrote To His Daughter About The Universal Force of Love:
Note: Snopes disputes its authenticity but in the spirit of mythos v. logos, I choose mythos any day of the week!
Below is a letter that Albert Einstein wrote to his daughter about the universal force of love. The letter was released in the 1980’s along with over a thousand other letters that he wrote to different people.
“When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.
I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.
There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us. This universal force is LOVE.
When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force. Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it. Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others. Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals. For love we live and die. Love is God and God is Love.
This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.
To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.
After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…
If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.
Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.
However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.
When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.
I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it’s too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! “.
Your father,
Albert Einstein
Teaching Tolerance:
Which Uses of Technology Support Young People’s Development Better Than Say Using a Pencil, and Which Are in Fact Worse?
Smart Tech Use for Equity http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-52-spring-2016/feature/smart-tech-use-equity
The Missing Flow in STEAM is R for Relationships!
There is more and more attention these days on the need for better Social/Emotional Learning (SEL) in our schools. The research shows that when students have a higher EQ (Emotional Intelligence), they learn more, have less problems at school, and are happier. Yet we do very little in the classroom to facilitate SEL. Often the teacher’s excuse is “I don’t have enough time.” There is evidence though, that if a teacher makes the initial time investment for SEL, they actually end up with more academic learning time, as the class flows more smoothly in general because of it. Yes, first we realized we needed to re-emphasize STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in the classroom, then we realized the Arts were just as important, so we had STEAM. This article advocates that now what we really need is an emphasis on STREAM, adding the much needed R in for Relationships. Education Transformations (www.edtrans.org) offers the necessary tools for teachers to be able to bring SEL into their classrooms.
Link: http://edtrans.org/the-missing-flow-in-steam-is-r-for-relationships-we-need-stream/
The Missing Flow in STEAM is R
If you are local…
SD AMA Cause Conference May 19th 2016
Accelerate the Purpose Revolution. Register for the Cause Conference today.
MindFuelED on June 24-27: Leading EmpowerED Student-Centered Systems
“If you are interested in issues related to leadership and cutting edge approaches to the work of transforming education I want to make you aware of an exciting event that may be of interest to you and your ecosystem. The Department of Education Studies at UCSD is partnering with The Core Collaborative and Prism on an event called MindFuelED on June 24-27, with a commitment to expand student-centered systems while practicing mindfulness in an effort to empower all educational leaders to be more grounded, connected, focused and authentic.
In addition to learning the basics of neuroscience and mindfulness, teams will learn how to leverage social networks to expand student-centered systems. Teams and individuals will also be able to choose from a variety of learning opportunities that all weave core ideas of mindfulness and the role of relationships.
Topics include:
- Student-Centered Assessment
- Scaling up with Success Criteria: Leveraging Student Ownership
- The Power of Peer Assessment & Student Goal Setting
- Student Centered Instructional Coaching
- Student Centered Assessment for English Learners
- Student Centered Assessment in the Secondary Classroom
- Leading Powerful Student Centered Change in Systems
They are partnering with The Teaching Channel who does work with a video-enabled collaboration platform that enables teachers and instructional leaders within a state, district, or school to work together to improve effectiveness.
Work collaboratively to transform the teaching and leadership space in the region and beyond to be more mindful, collaborative, and networked.
Please note the cost covers all training, materials, and meals.
http://www.thecorecollaborative.com/#!blank/ynxiy
Thanks this week go to Larry H, Mica P, Susan Y, Alan D and the whole team at UC San Diego Ed Studies, Carla SG & Jackie H, Marlaine C, Volunteers at the SD AMA Cause Conference, and Mindful, Student-Centered Educators Everywhere!
Pay it Forward!
Love,
Neville
“Everybody is a genius.
But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
– Albert Einstein
Happy Soul Food Friday! 