Turning to a Southern orientation, we encounter the work of the community educator-leader who facilitates relationship-building and collective flourishing—involving children, caregivers, knowledge holders and elders, and a spectrum of diversity encompassing both the human and the more-than-human. Such work is founded on belief in the capacity of self-governing groups of individuals to take responsibility for their actions, participate in community building, and collectively resolve complex problems together. Belonging, inclusion, and shared purpose are vital dimensions of this work, which generally requires articulation of a shared vision, based on core values, and the cultivation of participants’ understanding of their own commitments, personal contributions, and shared responsibility.
As community educators, educational leaders can nurture the positive, supportive, mutually beneficial relationships that comprise the heart of every strong school (and NGO, community organization, etc.), and extend and open them to include the land and its myriad wise beings. Sheridan and Longboat (2006) aver that accepting the “coevolutionary nature” of “mind, spirit and land… guides imagination in its duty to integrate nature’s realities and ensure the perpetuation of those realities and so all of Life” (p. 369). This helps clarify the active, even activist, nature of this work for the eco-imaginative leader, who is working within structures where this kind of integration with the natural world has not only never been considered, but—as argued earlier—has been intentionally left out. Helpful, too, is Sheridan and Longboat’s emphasis on the importance of mythology—“what happens when imagination grows up” (p. 376). This is a reminder that communities need shared stories in order to thrive, and the stories of communities deeply rooted in place are needed to invoke the full range of wisdom that sits therein.
Examples of some pedagogical competencies, capacities, and capabilities of community educators:
- Relationship skills. On-going development of intrapersonal skills (emotional intelligence) and interpersonal skills (social intelligence) to strengthen connection among students/families/communities/place/All My Relations.
- Place/Nature/Land-based knowledges. Promotion of ecological consciousness, nature-based connectedness, and place-based awareness.
- Mindful attending. Ability to provide open/non-defensive, attuned, undivided, present attention. Utilizing relational tools such as empathy, curiosity, and active listening.
- Group facilitation. Supporting individual and collective well-being through co-creating vision, group process, school culture, ongoing group development, and community flourishing.
- Incorporation of adult learning principles. Recognition that this work goes beyond just the purview of teaching children. Important to work with adults as well, both as distinct learners but also as parents and caregivers of children.
- Prioritizing diversity and inclusion. Engaging in regular practices such as strengthening a sense of belonging, on-going team training, seeking safer/safe enough space, and group dialogue. Active, intentional deconstruction of colonial status quo and other forms of oppression. Offer allyship support for those who are ‘translating’ between the community and external world.
- Supporting sacred/spiritual/ceremonial spaces. Recognizing that community building reaches beyond simply mind and body. Possibly an external or specific care practitioner. Roles may include guiding community care, coping/healing, and celebration.
Reference
Sheridan, Joe, and Roronhiakewen “He Clears the Sky” D Longboat. “The Haudenosaunee Imagination and the Ecology of the Sacred.” Space and Culture 9, no. 4 (November 2006): 365–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331206292503.