Monthly Queries
Responses:
My favorite memories are the Woolman Semester graduations; I love hearing each student speak about his or her Woolman experience. The teacher introductions and the messages shared during Meeting are also wonderful. I'm looking forward to being at graduation this Saturday morning, December 18, and at baccalaureate the evening before.
The Peace Documentaries, the Sustainability Projects, the YAP Presentations, o my.
Recent Responses:
For Woolman: an educational community with a purpose and a heart!
I found your website tonight when searching for more info on the plight of the U'wa tribe in No. Columbia (after watching an unusual program: Phenomenon: the Lost Archives' "Keeping the Faith").
Katherine (Spring 2010) had written a piece on this tribe's struggle against OXY, a struggle that had escaped my notice until tonight.
What I learned was exciting. What I found on your school's website is exhilarating!!
Also enjoyed Marijke's piece in time for Halloween, "Make it Slavery Free." Keep up the good work, and the next time I'm nearby, I'll check in for a visit!
Chris in Seattle
I feel most grateful when I know the nature and details of the work at hand.
For the opportunity to live in a community where I can participate in a simple and sustainble lifestyle. I am so appreciative of all the work we do together to keep Woolman humming. Where else could I come home to a woodpile stacked on my porch, share in the bounty of a beautiful garden, and only have to do the dishes a three times a week?!?
I am grateful that Woolman is thriving, ever-evolving, and striving to be a kind, whole, and inclusive place on this earth! Thanks to all of you who dedicate your day-to-day to living the values of this place. I am filled with joy to know that it is a part of the world!
I'm grateful that Woolman is a community where people are welcomed, seen and appreciated. I am grateful for my wonderful son and husband and glad that we are part of the extended Woolman community. I love the fact that my 13 year-old-son Matthew is always enthusiastic about going up to Woolman- for family work camp, graduation, or for a weekend when I'm going for my board work. There is a Mosaic Project/Brett Dennen song about inclusion that Matthew and I like to sing, which says "we all need hope and care and love". I know that Matthew feels "the hope and care and love" at Woolman and knows he is accepted in this community. Thanks for being inclusive!
I wish the inclusive values of Woolman were more prevalent in the world. Recently, I have been made acutely aware of the hurt that comes from exclusion. My 20-year-old niece Eliza was recently excluded from her first college class at Southern Oregon University (SOU) after attending 13 of the 18 classes of Introduction to Ceramics. She was loving the class, actively engaged and working hard when she received a certified letter withdrawing her from the class, which she was auditing. I truly don't understand why she is being excluded; the University asserts that her presence was disruptive to the class and that her intellectual disabilities disqualify her, yet they do not provide evidence for either assertion. I wish my niece did not have to experience the pain that comes from being discriminated against for being different. Like my son Matthew, Eliza has Down Syndrome.
All the students in Eliza's Ceramics class and many other people have advocated for Eliza, asking the University to let her finish the class. I am grateful to these students, educators, friends, and famliy members who see the injustice and are speaking out. I am grateful for Eliza, her Mom Deb and her Dad Ron- they are wonderful people and they are blazing a path that will benefit many others, including Matthew. Please go to the website (www.elizaschaaf.com) to learn more and add your voice to the many voices that are supporting Eliza and her right to be included in this class. You can sign the petition in the upper right corner and check out the Call to Action letter and materials further down the right column. Thanks for considering how you can help adovate for Eliza and for inclusion in higher education.
Responses:
How about dream author/activist dinner party for eight? Alice Paul, Emma Goldman, Wangari Maathai, Vandana Shiva, Starhawk, Toni Morrison, and Dorothy Day.
I second Vandana Shiva and would love to add Naomi Klein and Subcomandante Marcos (Zapatistas). Although, any of my students past and present could have told you that!
Recent Responses:
Through knowing one's self, sharing power, and living well and cooperatively with others.
I'm wondering about how one define's "liberation"? Is it simply freedom?
The question makes me think of the Buddhist concept of non-attachment, which really recognizes ones inter-dependency with everything in the universe, something that is both freeing and contained.
whatever may happen
don't be afraid
come what may
since it won't stay
don't be afraid
savor the moment
and leave what is gone
and fear not
for what may come
-Rumi, Dancing in the Flame
By completely letting go of self-will and turning to Divine Spirit to guide the way.
By seeing 'to it that no institution, no political party, no social circle, no pet ambitions put such chains on you as would tempt you to sacrifice one iota of the moral freedom of your consciences or the intellectual freedom of your judgements.' - Isaac Sharpless
Responses:
Well I feel that trust is the number one thing that makes a community. If you don’t have a group of trust worthy people than its hard to have a community. Another thing I feel you need for a community is compassion. You need to be able to care for you environment. By that I mean the people around you and where you live. You also have to have a lot of compassion for what you do and the people you do it with. With that also comes along responsibility. You need a lot of that to make a( family) which is what a community is!
People with a common thread make a community. There are so many types of communities--some share a physical space and some do not. I think it takes all of those things Danise mentioned plus intentionality to create a healthy community. We need to be purposeful about what type of community we are and how we can best meet those goals together. The words "togetherness" and "support" come to mind (though I am not sure that togetherness is a word?!). :)
Wow, I love what Emily and Danise have already posted. I want to add that when I work with others to make something better, even something small, I feel a sense of community with them.
Recent Responses:
Exploring new territory in all aspects of life- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Life is an adventure when you approach challenges with courage- with an open heart and willingness to learn and work with others. The Woolman Semester and Sierra Friends Camp encourage this kind of adventurous way of living life!
Uncertainty.
Discovering what peace is.
Allowing yourself to be drawn to new places and experiences, then diving in.
Recent Responses:
When I see Woolman graduates, teachers, interns and staff letting their light shine!
Being a gracious member of a cohesive, supportive group who work together to do great things in the world!
Feeling embraced by a community of peers who care deeply about empowering individuals, mobilizing communities, and re-envisioning education.
My students are so very inspirational to me:
when I hear them speak about what they are passionate about,
when I walk into the kitchen and they are beat-boxing and free-styling to the old radio,
when I take them on field trips and feel so proud that I am associated with them,
when I see the sincere and compassionate ways that they support each other through hard times,
when I am able to witness their eyes become wider and their hearts become fuller through-out the semester...
Woolman students are fantastic people before they get here, but there is something about this place that lets them be truly themselves--100% non-watered down versions of their amazing selves and that inspires me to let my own light shine!
Recent Responses:
Being reminded that there are people working very hard to educate and open minds of my generation. Like people at Woolman.
Woolman graduation! Hearing students share about their experiences, projects, and ideas for positive change.
My favorite memory of the woolman semester is harvest bars and pine bark.