When despair for the world grows in me...

The Prompt:
The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
And I wake in the night at the least sound
In fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake rests
In his beauty on the water,
And the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things
Who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
Waiting with their light.
For a time I rest in the grace of the world,
And am free.

Wendell Berry

Here is a poem to bring a little grounding into the world of abstract ideas. I'd like you to do a very specific exercise for this week's response. Take the first line of Wendell Berry's poem, then continue to write in your own words, a poem or narrative addressing the existential dilemma of despair. What nurtures you when you feel that despair for the things and ways of the world comes knocking at your door? If you have not experienced this sense of despair in your life, then write about that. So, just begin: "When despair for the world grows in me", then continue in your own words.

My response:
When despair for the world grows in me
And I grow frustrated with my daily life…and overwhelmed by my work
Worried for my worthiness and the difference I can make,
I sometimes think I should take advantage of my freedoms and just walk away.
But, I normally just curl up and sleep my way to sanity
Or power through to seek solace in my friendships and family.
Peace finds me through water and its dancing song in lakes, rivers and streams,
In the beauty of melodious music,
And the feeling of wind in my hair and sun on my face.
My life comes to me as it is meant to.

As a note, while singing with the Indianapolis Women’s Chorus we sang a beautifully arranged version of this poem from Wendell Berry. My favorite line is “I come into the peace of wild things”…what beautiful resolution. Here’s a link to a chorus performing the piece: http://www.sbmp.com/SBMP-MP3/Misc/SBMP%20561.mp3. Enjoy!

Practitions of Care

The Prompt:
"The practices of care require a kind of decision making appropriate to the human realm in which they operate. I have proposed that these practices need to rely on practitioner judgment informed by a reflective understanding of the changing situations in which they are performed. The ideas for reflective understanding were assembled from Aristotle's notion of phronesis as an alternative to deductive reasoning for deliberating about practice in the human realm, from Dewey's idea of learning in-situation from the effect of an action, from the understanding of the role of background in practice decision making, and from Gadamer's description of dialogic engagement. Reflective understanding draws on the full human capacities for interacting with other persons. It involves an integration of previous personal and cultural learning, of imagined scenarios of responses to an action, and of emotional reading of possible actions in the situation. In reflective understanding the practitioner is attuned to the salient features of a specific situation and responsive to the nuanced changes that are occurring during an interchange. It is a decision process that adapts to the particular complex situations in which practitioners of care serve. " (176)

Practice and the Human Sciences: The Case for a Judgment-based Practice of Care, Donald E. Polkinghorne, New York: State University of New York Press, 2004

Don Polkinghorne casts a broad net in defining practitions of care. Please consider his ideas here within your own context. How are you a "practitioner of care" in your own profession? Does your profession have standards for "caring" embedded in mission statements and policy documents? Can there be a healthy "self-care" beside the responsibility of caring for others?

My Response:
I spent this past Saturday morning with the AgriInstitute’s Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program class. This is a group of 30 professionals with a passion for agriculture from across the state. I had the morning to work with them on board leadership issues. Two years ago, I had this same opportunity--although the session was longer, the hotel room was quite sterile and by the end of the session, I was exhausted. Being exhausted is a sign to me that a session did not work—when they do, I am energized. In reviewing the facilitation agenda from the last time in preparation for this one, I instantly saw what had happened. I had come with content and information and wanted them to take it…without truly engaging in or experiencing it. So this past Saturday, I designed the day to be about them and their group learning. Participants started off doing appreciative interviews (http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/) to help pull out the themes of what made great board/volunteer experiences and determine what questions they had about board leadership issues. Then, they broke into small groups to discuss scenarios and came up with their recommendations to each. These scenarios were based on key issues most of them will face in their board service (see the scenarios at the bottom of this post). For each scenario, we had a discussion as a group and I was able to throw in my thoughts along with the rest of the class. The design of the session was flexible and open to the learners. The morning flew by, everyone’s questions were addressed and classmates learned from each other. Success! Quoting Polkinghorne, “It involved an integration of previous personal and cultural learning, of imagined scenarios of responses to an action, and of emotional reading of possible actions in the situation.”

In college, I took typical teacher education courses in classroom management, educational psychology, curriculum design and more. I excelled at lesson plans as I figured out the formula quite quickly…objectives, opening with a context setting experience, core content integrating visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities, and a closing that tied to future learning. Since student teaching, I have rarely used this knowledge in a high school classroom. My profession has evolved from one of using this formula for pure training…to one of flexing this formula and skills to facilitate learning.

As a facilitator, I see my role as creating and holding neutral space for the group to do their best work thinking and learning with and from one another. I may have some subject matter expertise but am able to put the group’s knowledge to work and simply weave my knowledge into the mix through the processes. In the past, I might have seen myself as having the answers and it being about the content and the participant walking away with the content. Now, it is much more about how the participant can tie the subject matter to their own experience and what they can learn from these experiences to build upon for the future. From this approach, I have found more sustainable solutions are reached and deeper relationships among the group are formed due to the mutual trust created from the sharing.

As a grantmaker and nonprofit professional, I find myself guided by practitions as well. These are tied to realizing our mission to do the most good possible, responsibly manage the resources, and engage constituents (in my case the family members and the community) in the process whenever possible. Interestingly, there has been a push to articulate these principles as a sector over the past few years, which I have eagerly embraced. Here are the ones from the Donor’s Forum of Illinois (http://www.donorsforum.org/publictrust/principles.html):
• Operate for the public good;
• Comply with the law, especially in executing fiduciary responsibilities;
• Uphold fundamental values including honesty, integrity, fairness, and trust;
• Observe articulated and rigorous ethical boundaries, including respect for all people's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and ability;
• Maintain complete and transparent financial accountability; and
• Make appropriate information available to the public.

Practitions of care are important guideposts regardless of profession as they set an intentionality and pathway for practitioners to follow. However, it ultimately comes down to the individual and the care they take to ensure they are offering their best in each situation. I could have easily presented the exact same presentation to the AgriInstitute this past weekend—but my conscious and my quest to facilitate a better board leadership discussion won out.

Photo from www.agriinstitute.org

Board Member Scenarios:
Scenario #1: You are in the middle of your board term and just not feeling engaged. You really do not want to quit the board. What are some steps you could try to enhance your engagement? Who could you reach out to? If nothing seems to work, how can you step off gracefully?

Scenario #2: The board you are serving on is considering a merger with a similar organization in the area. What kind of questions/due diligence should the group consider?

Scenario #3: The organization you are a board member of has never had a strategic plan and needs to think strategically about the next 1-3 years. As a board member how would you go about helping the organization get started? Who would you reach out to and what steps would you take?

Scenario #4: When you joined the board you did not know you would have to help fundraise for the organization. Now you are expected to raise $5,000 in the coming year for the organization. Come up with at least five ways to fundraise for the organization and how you could get started.

Scenario #5: You just sat through the THIRD two-hour plus board meeting in a row and are FED UP with not feeling like anything is getting done! What are some ways that you could help the organization’s meetings be more effective and what are some steps to implement these suggestions?

Scenario #6: You have just joined a board. After sitting through a few meetings, you still do not seem to understand the organization’s financials. You also fear that the Treasurer who is in charge of the financials might not have a great grasp on them either. What could you do to ensure you and other board members have the full picture of the finances? What makes nonprofits finances unique?

Week #4 Response- Professions

The Prompt:
"The crisis of confidence in the professions, and perhaps also the decline in professional self-image, seems to be rooted in a growing skepticism about professional effectiveness in the larger sense, a skeptical reassessment of the professions' actually contribution to society's well-being through the delivery of competent services based on special knowledge. Clearly, this skepticism is bound up with the questions of professional self-interest, bureaucratization, and subordination to the interests of business or government. But it also hinges centrally on the question of professional knowledge. Is professional knowledge adequate to fulfill the espoused purposes of the professions? Is it sufficient to meet the societal demands which the professions have helped to create?" (13)
The Reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action
Donald A. Schon
New York: Basic Books, 1983

Please respond to this posting through the perspective of what you consider to be your own "profession". Donald Schon wrote this in 1983 and started his own revolution, giving us the notion of reflective practitioner, which serves as one of the guiding principles in our own program. He asks several provocative questions at the end of the quote. You might also ask yourself how things have changed since this was written.

My Response:
This past weekend my best friend and I sat on the back of a boat on Lake Michigan viewing the Chicago skyline. We both agreed it is definitely one of the best views of the city as you can appreciate the architectural beauty but not have to be in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. It gives you the big perspective of the place versus all the smaller working pieces. As we took in the sights, we talked about how our professional lives had evolved since our time together in school. We both started out thinking our professions would be something completely different—hers a journalist and mine a doctor. Through quite random relationships with mentors and people recognizing our passions and skills, we have both become professionals in completely different fields—my best friend a high school agricultural education teacher—and me a nonprofit leadership and organizational development professional. Since we have both come to our respective fields of work from other places, we value and frequently engage in profession-specific learning opportunities. But we also feel we play a critical role as change agents in our fields and seek out opportunities to bring in new knowledge and expertise from outside the “profession.” I believe it has allowed both of us to be successful in our respective roles and able to meet the increasingly complex demands our society and world.

Schon’s questions are relevant as we are seeing shifts in society at such a fast pace that many of use find ourselves “building the plane while we are flying it.” It means that more than ever, we have to apply the experience AND knowledge we have to uncharted territory and see what happens. From the nonprofit perspective, leadership is essential to navigate the rapidly changing landscape that includes:
• Decreased support from government/foundation/corporate grants;
• Declining confidence in charitable organizations and negative perceptions about nonprofit effectiveness;
• Greater demand for accountability and transparency;
• Greater emphasis on identifying and implementing best practices;
• Rapidly changing technology;
• Pressure to use “business strategy” without business support;
• Pressure to reach “sustainability”; and
• Haziness of success factors...just to name a few.

Historically nonprofit executive directors have come from the programming ranks, which means they have an incredible knowledge of and passion for the mission of the organization but may not possess the organizational and leadership development knowledge and skills to sustain and grow the organization. Also, nonprofit professionals have been known to serve multiple roles in an organization. My guess is that this will only continue to intensify due to the factors listed above. Just having the “professional knowledge” that Schon refers to is not viable for nearly all the nonprofits I work with—they need more.

Much like my time viewing Chicago from Lake Michigan, I think we have to dig into the details of our profession but we also have to take time to reflect on the big picture of the skyline and identify and respond to the external impacts of uncharted territory.

Week #3 Response

The Prompt...
Please reflect on both --- art and music. Comment on how you think the arts might play a role in social change in the society. Also, how do artists themselves influence changes in our worlds? What is the price? Can artists be leaders through their art? What happens to artists who speak out to challenge the status quo? What is the purpose of the arts in your own life? And how do music, art, dance, and other art forms influence the way you feel, the choices you make, the motivations you have?

My Response...
This past Saturday was a landmark activity for the town of Mattoon (where I live)—a mural dedication. Over the past few years, a group of people from the community have come together to plan this first community mural. What I enjoyed most about the dedication was simply watching people interact with art. The mural has had its skeptics over the past year plus but you would never have known on this beautiful, cool late summer morning. The artist Dave Gordon (www.dsgordon.com) walked along the mural describing his inspiration for each section. All people in the mural are current or past Mattoon residents each with their own story to tell and unique beauty. Some stories moved people to tears, others to smile. My favorite story was that of a young local skateboarder captured perfectly on one of the columns. As in most towns, skateboarders and the cities’ properties do not necessarily get along here in Mattoon. The amount of pride in this young man and in his craft of skateboarding was incredible at the dedication. As the official dedication ended, people lingered taking photos of the local celebrities in the mural, touching the wall, telling stories about what it evoked for them, and just in awe of art.

As I viewed the slideshow of Van Gogh’s work put to music, I was keenly aware of the role arts and artists plays in bringing people together. In Mattoon, the mural might simply create social change in the way a few people view skateboarders. It might mean a greater pride or appreciation for Mattoon’s history as a railroad town. Or, perhaps it might mean a local resident inspired by the experience with Dave Gordon becomes an artist. Regardless of the impact, this one piece of art has shifted the conversation and opened opportunities for change in the community. I personally cannot wait to see how community involvement increases in the planning of the second mural set to begin next year.

Dave spent a significant amount of time getting to know the community before designing the mural. His outside perspective and view of our community allowed others to perhaps see the town in a new way. I think all artists in some way do this. There is a local photographer Nathaniel West (www.westphoto.biz) that I quietly follow. His photos continue to give me a new appreciation of the community—the ragged brick wall and entrances of a seemingly run-down building in town or a dock overlooking Lake Mattoon. Artists have such a unique place from which to lead change. They can show the reality of a place or situation in a way that shifts the perspective for others.

It has been fascinating to move from the city of Indianapolis where the arts are a priority of the community to a place where it is not. Because of this, the value of the arts is not at a premium. This is interesting because I find myself valuing arts even more in this void and seeking out opportunities with much more intentionality.

My artistic outlet has always been singing. I have been in choruses through high school, college, and while in Indianapolis. What I have always loved is the idea of bringing so many diverse people together and aligning the voices to create something beautiful. Upon moving here, I tried joining a local chorus without much passion. After writing this response, I think I need to reconsider my approach to satisfying my artistic outlet and joining in the power of the arts.



Kevin Kilhoffer/Staff Photographer -- The mural on the west wall of D to Z Sports on Broadway Avenue in Mattoon was dedicated in a Saturday ceremony.