Angela commented on Group 1 and 2
Program
Investigation
Angela
Henry
Gigi
Brown
EDAC
634
Ball
State University
Angela:
- Title Page, Introduction
- Research Program #1 and write it up for our Program Investigation
- Include main features and Program #1 in our table along with including features that will be applied to our program.
- Include Application to our program
- Revise and Edit
Gigi:
- Research Program #2 and write it up for our Program Investigation
- Include Program #2 in our table and features we will apply including features that will be applied to our program.
- Include Application to our program
- Revise and Edit
Introduction
This
paper explores the learning theories from two different facilities. One is in
Lawrence Township and the other is the Spiritual learner behind bars. The
school that we looked at was Lawrence North, and the other facility that was
observed was a prison. Both programs are designed to enhance a person’s life. The
Lawrence township educator teaches students in the classroom that are high
school students. They both bring different perspectives to this paper. The
paper will focus on their individual’s main programs and the main features of
their programs. Both programs are offering students opportunities to go to
college and college students to further their career, with spiritual base, but
some of the students that they work with are not exactly students who want to
further their career, it is very unique how they work with them and connect to
their spiritual learning through their goals in the classroom.
The spiritual learner is someone who
realizes there is something beyond ourselves that influences and accounts for
life events—an intangible that cannot completely be explained. For many this is
the work of God; for others it is the work of the “Universe;” and for others it
is simply an undefined spiritual experience. A spiritual learner is a person
who takes in information from diverse sources, and in terms of religion, he or
she is a person who realizes and accepts that all the major religions have made
worthwhile contributions. A spiritual learner is an open-minded person who
expects to continue to gain wisdom about the human condition throughout life.
He or she expects to revise theories and change perspective as new learning
takes place. He or she is not wedded to one way of thinking, one psychology or
one religious orientation. This is important to living a balanced, healthy,
high-achieving life because we are constantly faced with new situations that
require that we adapt and change.
First Program
Investigation
The
first program observed was through Lawrence Township schools in Indianapolis,
Indiana. The program is offered at Lawrence North High School and
Lawrence Central High School, however this program is a nationwide program that
can found in several states all over the country. The program is called AVID.
The program is designed to increase the number of
students who enroll in four-year colleges, Advancement Via Individual
Determination (AVID) is a national college-readiness system serving over 700
students in Lawrence Township. The AVID program successfully prepares high
school students who are “in the middle” for post-secondary education. The
program has a 98% high school graduation rate and 95% of AVID graduates pursue
post-secondary education.
AVID has a diverse staff dedicated to
serving districts, schools, colleges and universities in their efforts to
ensure all students are college and career ready. AVID’s leadership is made up
of individuals with long careers in education encompassing both classroom
and administration, along with community leaders and educational activists
Simply, AVID trains educators to use
proven practices in order to prepare students for success in high school,
college, and a career, especially students traditionally
underrepresented in higher education.
My sorority sister is one of the
facilitators for AVID in Lawrence Township. I was able to interview her and get
some great information for this paper. She has a very strong spiritual side to
her and I knew that somehow she incorporates this into her AVID program that
she facilitates. Of course I was right. If you remember in the Spiritual
Learner definition it talks about how important it is for living a balanced,
healthy, high-achieving life because we are constantly faced with new
situations that require that we adapt and change. She uses this theory to get
students into the program and successful succeed. She is not allowed to use God
in her classroom, but she is allowed to talk about living healthy, being a high
achiever and adapting to new change. She uses power quotes but takes the author
out of them so that it is anonymous.
The main features I identified in
this program are getting the students to understand that they are held to the
highest standards, and that the program will provide academic and social
support that mirrors a spiritual learner. How do you do this without some type
of spiritual connection? She is not forcing anyone to be a spiritual person but
to be a higher achiever and prepare them for a new change. Again, she does that
by providing guidance and being open minded to gain wisdom. The key points do
not differ from what I was thinking, it relates very strongly to being a
spiritual educator. She also carries herself in a loving way in front of the
students by letting them know that they are loved and cherished. I was able to
observe a class to see how it truly relates and what I found was the participants were engaged and appeared
to be very in tune with Mrs. Avery, as she always opens up the class with a
quote. Each participant has specific goals that they needed to meet in
order to be successful in this program.
The second goal for Mrs. Avery was to make sure the student is a high
achiever. The nice thing about her class is that they all have positive
attitudes and enjoy her as a teacher. Once the student truly connects
with Mrs. Avery they begin to open up to hear and share their personal stories
of being a Christian or their connection to something spiritual. Once the
student relates to Mrs. Avery their experience in AVID becomes meaningful, the
student has the desire then to become a high achiever, they begin fulfill a
balanced lifestyle, they try and become healthy and make good choices. Although
Mrs. Avery does not say, I am a spiritual leader, she is taking the students
through a spiritual journey. Her journey for the students is life changing.
Second
Program Investigation
The
second program is the Spiritual Learning Beyond Bars. This program offers
seminars, workshops, classes and other programs for ex-offenders seeking
spiritual healing and cleansing. SLBBB
offer a safe space for the ex-offender to look deeply in to the old tapes,
beliefs systems or obstacles that landed them in prison.
The ex-offender is given
the opportunity to see where he/she got stuck or disconnected from their true
self. We return to that place and time, encouraging them to choose differently,
to choose your soul's truth. The
ex-offender receives tools for transforming old belief systems into
unconditional love and individual freedom, thereby aligning with their inner
wisdom. This awareness allows the
ex-offender to:
• Become in touch with how you are in your own way
• Love and accept yourself for who you truly are
• Trust and Respect yourself fully and completely
• Realize your true essence of unconditional love and
individual freedom
The purpose of Spiritual
Learning Beyond the Bars is to help the ex-offender to understand that there is
a certain level of spirituality necessary to cut down and/or stop the return
rate to prison, and restore yourself to your rightful place in your family and
community. This helps fulfill the goal of becoming a productive citizen.
Spiritual Learning Beyond
the Bars foster values and practices which are supportive of healthy and
positive lifestyles and relationships, especially with families. The program makes
every effort to provide opportunity for each inmate to practice spirituality of
his or her choice in a fair and equitable way.
Spiritual Learning Beyond
the Bars is committed to ensuring that the spiritual needs of ex-offenders are
appropriately met, consistent with necessary confidentiality and safety requirements.
Spiritual Learning Beyond the Bars helps the
participant develop effective leadership, self-sufficient and self- regulating skills
crucial for success outside the correctional facility. Offenders determine
their best methods for communication and learn to rebuild or build successful
relationships after prison.
The program is design to deepen
the participant’s spiritual connection and improve every part of their
life. The program gives participants the
opportunity to journey more deeply within through study, prayer with others,
and by practicing spiritual principles in their daily lives.
The program is designed for
ex-offenders seeking to truly transform their lives while having surprisingly
profound creative fun doing it. We provide a direct experience of unique self-healing
and spiritual awakening.
First, the participant
must decide that they want to increase their spirituality, the quality of love,
positivity, generosity, and gratitude (and many other auspicious qualities)
that they will experience and share with others. In the beginning the participant will have a
simple spiritual focus on the following four things.
·
The first week is gratitude
·
The second week is love
·
The third week is positivity
·
The fourth week is generosity
·
The fifth week will focus on all four of
these together.
There is more detail and
instruction on each spiritual focus. Throughout
the program, there are a few other simple things to practice.
The first session the
participant will make some time each day for some kind of spiritual practice,
such as prayer or meditation. It doesn't matter how long you spend doing this,
though at least ten minutes a day are recommended. To complete this program as
it is intended, the participant must choose to make this time for a daily
spiritual practice a true priority in their life. This regular, personal ritual
issues a continual invitation to the divine to enter into their life more
fully.
Another commitment that the
participant makes to themselves in this program is to eat and drink more
healthfully for the next five weeks. Cut down on refined sugars, caffeine,
fried foods, processed foods, and non-organically or unconsciously raised or
created foods--while eating more natural foods and drinking a good amount
purified or spring water.
Over the next few weeks
the participant must choose to read things that spiritually inspire and uplift them. Below are the four spiritual focuses of this
program. These are the spiritual skills that the participant will be mastering.
From time to time over the few weeks, it is recommended that the participant read
the ideas below.
Session One Spiritual
Focus: Gratitude
Abundance is literally an
inevitable byproduct of gratitude. As we feel genuine thankfulness for anything
in life, the universe truly responds by giving us more things to be grateful
for. This is an immutable spiritual law, as real and reliable as the law of
gravity. The reverse effect is true for things that we resent or complain
about.
For this session
spiritual focus, continually practice feeling the greatest gratitude that you
possibly can. Find entirely new things to be grateful for, things that you've
never even considered. Infuse your entire reality with a vibrant quality of
happiness and appreciation for everything around you. It might astound you to
discover how dramatically this will affect your life. Just watch the miracles
that will begin to unfold like magic. Simply amazing!
Week Two Spiritual Focus:
Love
Love is the very truth of
our being, and loving others is the fastest, easiest, and surest way to come
back home to our true selves. Our greatest shared life lesson and purpose is to
learn how to love.
This session spiritual
focus is to feel as much love in your heart as you possibly can for everyone
that you come across (including yourself!). Even while walking down the street
or riding in a car, hold a space of openness and love for everyone that crosses
your path. Practice smiling at everyone and thus uplifting everyone you meet in
some small way. Keep your heart open and sweet. This will return a flood of
warmth back to you from others, showing you a powerful new way of living
happily and with much less fear.
Week Three Spiritual
Focus: Positivity
Our thoughts create the
vibrational quality of our reality, as our outer reality is, more than anything
else, the reflection of our inner self. Our thinking acts like a magnet,
attracting to us the vibrations we dwell upon.
This session spiritual
focus is to monitor your thoughts and introduce new patterns of positive and
uplifting thinking. When you notice negative thoughts arise, note them without
any harsh judgment. Then deliberately and deeply feel at least two strong
positive ideas, so that the net effect of that negative thought becomes a
positive one. And throughout the day, create bold, new positive thoughts,
surprising yourself with the ideas you conjure up. This practice will create an
uplifting surge of energy, confidence, and a renewed appreciation for life.
Week Four Spiritual
Focus: Generosity
The more we share, the
more we have. This simple truth is magical, and it's ours to play with and
enjoy. It's important to be responsible by focusing on our own thoughts and
feelings, but the greatest application of our spirituality comes in how much we
care about others and go out of our way to uplift them.
This session spiritual
focus is to go out of your way to do unto others, as you would have others do
unto you. Think up creative ways to be there for other people. You might create
some gifts to share with others, send a letter to someone you appreciate, give
someone a massage, help someone in need, or pray for others. This will help you
to remember who you really are, and to create a wave of love and happiness that
will spread and multiply throughout the world, benefitting literally all of
creation.
Week Five Spiritual
Focus: All Together Now
For the participant’s graduation
week, it's time to practice all of the above four spiritual focuses
simultaneously. The goal is to feel gratitude and love, to maintain a strong
vibration of mental positivity, and to continue to be especially generous to
others.
Main Features of the programs
|
AVID
|
Spiritual Learning Beyond the Bars (SLBBB)
|
Features we will apply to our program
|
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Report back to the program
|
The Student will report back to the program
and provide their experience of the program.
|
SLBBB participants will summarize
what they’ve learned and create personal action plans for how they will use
their learnings when they reenter into the general public
|
By giving our participants examples of
how this can make their lives more valuable. They will be more
willing and eager to participate.
|
|||||
Expand to elementary and middle school
|
They will expand to the elementary and middle
school, to offer the benefits as the high school students
|
SLBBB will be provided mentors and
internships at non-profit organizations to enhance their work skills.
|
The participants must feel valued and
respected. Our program must recognize the participants are
choosing to attend.
|
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Giving Back
|
The students will give back to the programs;
they will volunteer, share their stories, and also provide funding by
donations so the program can continue to grow.
|
SLBBB will create a platform for offenders to gain the support, talents and preparedness they need to turn
their lives around..
|
The participants will have the
opportunity to share in purposeful discussions that will allow the
learners to be empowered. They must be able to relate to the
information being given.
|
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References
About Lawrence Township. (2013). Retrieved October 28, 2014, from Lawrence
Township Schools: https://msdltf.org/index.php/what_we_do/
About Avid. (2013) Retrieved October 28,
2014, from Avid
About spiritual learner. (2012) Retrieved
October 28, 2014, from spiritual learning:
UCLA Anderson School of Management.
(October 31, 2014).
Linda Ferguson. Energizing Your Work
through your Gifts, Passion and Purpose. (March 8, 2011) http://managementhelp.org
Merriam, S. (2008). Spirituality and Adult
Learning: Spirituality in Adult Learning. (3), .27-31.
Services. (2014).
http://www.exodusaftercareministries.com
If You Are Seeking Greater Peace and Spiritual
Fulfillment in Your Life. (2014). http://spiritual-growth-program.com
