More from "Occupy Spirituality" and others

The insights from Occupy Spirituality just keep coming.  I plan to redact my earlier assignment and first week of class questions to be consistent with those from Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in without Going Crazy (which I also think could be added to the KCELT book group list in addition to Agenda for a New Economy).  Specifically, I would like students to explore the following question for each social problem:

• 1) What would they like to see happen?, 2) How do they see this coming about?  What are the steps needed for the larger vision to come to fruition?, and 3) What is their (my) role in helping the vision come about?  I think this could be explored as groups or individuals within groups.  I also think I should be reflecting on these issues in my own life in class at the same time they are!
• I would also like to use the practices from the same text related to "honoring the pain in the world" (e.g., "When I think about the condition of the world, I would say things are getting..., Some concerns I have include...; Some feelings that come up when I think about these are..., What I do with these feelings is..., and One of my worst fears about the future is..."), the "gratitude practice" (i.e., "Some things I love about being alive on Earth are..., A place that was magical to me as a child was..., My favorite activities include..., Someone who helped me believe in myself is or was..., Some things I appreciate about myself are..., A positive thing that happened the past 24 hours and it pleases me was..."), and questions 'for maintaining energy in the struggle" (i.e., "Things that drain, demoralize, or exhaust me include..., what nourishes and energizes me is..., and The times I am most enthusiastic are when...").  I will complete these questions with students as well.  I need to regain congruence in my life between actions and words and this will help ensure that I am on the same path (and a realistic path) with my students.
• Lastly, I would like to add to my assignments, the Adam Bucko recommendation of having the students contact the author or 'doer' of anything they find inspirational.  They will tell the author/doer why they find their actions impressive and tell the author/doer about their own personal story/dream and why they were influenced by his/her work.  Bucko relates that this results in student empowerment and increases student ability to be connected to others who can recognize their goals and dreams.  [I will do the same by writing to Adam Bucko myself after finishing this blog entry!]
• We will have assignments or in-class activities that allow students to reflect on whether (pg. 174 observation in Occupy Spirituality) they are "creating the type of community they wish to see" in 9 out of 10 ways in their lives and working toward "creating true alternatives" to the things they wish to change.  I will participate in these activities with students regarding my own life as well.

In terms of changes to the syllabi and first week/rest of the semester activities, Occupy Spirituality has compelled me to implement the following to create greater horizontal/communal orientation in each class:

• I would like to have the following informal titles for classes to empower: Social Solutions instead of Social Problems, The Rest of Your Life instead of Introduction to Sociology, A Global Work in Progress instead of LGBT Studies, and You are a Part of Nature instead of just Sociology of the Environment.
• I will go by "B." with my full name in parentheses and I will ask students to wear name tags until everyone knows all names (or the end of the semester...whichever comes first!).