Episode 11

full
Published on:

22nd Mar 2024

Leading Differently Together | "Teachers" With Amy-Jo Smith



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https://decadentcare.ca

Description

We welcome guest Amy-Jo Smith for a deep dive into the essence of teaching within the church and the broader community. Amy-Jo emphasizes the transformative role of a teacher as a nurturing guide who fosters a safe, inclusive environment where all voices, especially the quieter ones, are heard and valued. Amy-Jo illustrates the power of embodied learning and compassionate care for children with special needs. We delve into the importance of co-learning, observation, and creating a conducive space for growth, aligning with Jesus' own methods of teaching. This conversation is not only a tribute to the gift of teaching but also an insightful resource for those who aspire to serve others through education and understanding in their communities.

Time Stamps

[04:15] Teacher, mentor, and moments of care.

[07:30] Reflecting on teaching, creating a learning environment.

[11:36] Observation and listening in early childhood education.

[15:58] Prepared to guide, open to surprises, share.

[18:22] Churches should consider accommodating diverse needs.

[23:41] New educator teaches breathing techniques to challenging kids.

[24:43] Educator helps troubled child through love and care.

[30:34] Jonny and Friends organization serving families with special needs.

Links

Reach out to us! https://journeywithcare.ca/podcast

Email: podcast@careimpact.ca

Listen To Journey With Prayer - A prayer journey corresponding to this episode: https://journeywithprayer.captivate.fm/listen

or get both podcasts on the same RSS feed! https://feeds.captivate.fm/n/careimpact-podcast

CareImpact: careimpact.ca

About the CarePortal: careimpact.ca/careportal

DONATE! Help connect and equip more churches across Canada to effectively journey well in community with children and families: careimpact.ca/donate

Editing and production by Johan Heinrichs: arkpodcasts.ca

Mentioned in this episode:

Decadent Care

Join us for our Decadent Care 10 year celebration weekend! We would love to see you there!! https://decadentcare.ca

Transcript
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The environment is a third teacher. I'm not the only one in

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the room that is bringing the learning. So

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how we set up the environment really matters, and how can we create an environment

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that really draws out the learning of the students.

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What does loving your neighbor actually look like?

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This is Journey with Care, where curious Canadians get inspired

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to love others well through real life stories and honest

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conversations.

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Hey, curious Sojourner. We're continuing along in our series Leading

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Differently Together, and I'm so glad you're on this journey with me as we're meeting

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up with some pretty fascinating people across Canada. They're living in their

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sweet spots and really making an impact. Ephesians 411 to

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12 says, God gives some to be apostles,

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prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip the

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saints for the work of ministry and for building up the body of

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Christ. But I wonder what does that actually look like in Canada?

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Well, you're gonna have to listen to find out because today, we're gonna get curious

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about teaching. I'm your host, Wendi Park, joined by producer,

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Johan Hinrichs. And in studio today, we have a very special guest who

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is a teacher to the core. She loves working with children and families

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with special needs and has done so around the world. Now coming to

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us from the unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territory, Ottawa,

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Ontario. Amy-Jo Smith, welcome to the podcast.

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Thank you, Wendi. It's so wonderful to be with you.

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Yes. I love working with you, Amy-Jo. It should be said

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that you are part of the CareImpact team all the way from

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Ottawa, but not everybody knows you. So I would love for you

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to tell us a little bit about yourself. Take us on a quick journey of

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your personal story. Well, you know

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me as one of the CareImpact trauma care trainers,

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and it is such a fun thing to be part of the team

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across Canada. But I have been in the early childhood

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education field for almost 20 years.

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And I have had the privilege I always say my greatest

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teachers and my professors have been the children that I have

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gotten to walk alongside and journey with. And

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that has been in classrooms in Ottawa where I

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currently live, where I started as an early childhood educator.

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It's also been in the homes of families as a nanny, in

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children's ministry classrooms, as a Sunday school teacher

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in Peru, in the Dominican, in Ecuador,

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and a few other places where I've gotten to journey with

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children and families through camps and different children's

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homes. And all of these opportunities and experiences have taught me

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so much about the way we learn from each other. I

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love that. Yes. You have a diverse background

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in teaching. And I'm just curious, can you trace that

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back to maybe when you were a child, or how far can you

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trace that back when you started to love teaching? How did you fall into

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that? Well, I love that you asked that because I've been

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reflecting on a quote, by mister Rogers. And

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I have a friend who Love mister Rogers. And

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she just wrote a book all about his life because it he's impacted her so

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much in her teaching. And there was a quote that he said she

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shared with me and it's just stuck with me. And it said he said, who

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loved you into being? And in the work that I

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do in caring for and teaching children

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and now seeking to equip and care for adults and the work

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that I do as a resource consultant, trying to build capacity to

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support educators and having spaces that they

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can invite children with special needs into. I know that there are so

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many people and so many experiences that I am who I

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am today in the work that I do. And so when I think about who

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loved me into being, the moments where

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I really learned in a moment of teaching, they were

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often the moments that were not necessarily in a classroom within 4

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walls. I think of my grandma. She comes to mind,

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first of all, as someone who walked with me, and she was also

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a teacher, both in her profession and and in

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her life, in her vocation as a as a grandma and as

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a mom. And a picture comes to mind where I was in her

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backyard and she always let us help her in the garden. And she

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taught me how to dig out the hole to put the potato in, and she

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always said, you need to give it a good soaking. And there were

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those moments in my life when I was taught,

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by teachers that were not necessarily within a classroom within 4 walls.

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Another moment I remember was when I had to have surgery when I

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was about 5 years old, and I was in the hospital for

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over a week and my Sunday school teacher signed a big

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card. She had all my, my classmates sign the

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card and decorated it and brought it to me. And that was a moment

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where I learned about love and care. Wow. I really love

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that. It's so it's not so much on the transaction of

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content is what I'm hearing from you. But the going

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alongside teaching and doing, demonstrating, coming alongside,

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really demonstrating what it was that you didn't even

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maybe know that potatoes needed to be soaked, that it was something to learn. But

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as you walked along your grandma in that garden, as

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you received that compassion from your teacher, she was teaching you

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far more than a phonograph Jesus on a on a board about

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compassion. And that's very Jesus y, isn't it? He he walked

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along, and and he was a good teacher. He or he is a good teacher

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and, demonstrated that in a very practical

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ways. Well, I was thinking of that, Wendi, in

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just thinking of the life of Jesus and how he taught as

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he walked. And he taught through physical

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things like water and bread and fish

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and trees, and he taught through his life as he

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walked. That's right. So I remember

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a conversation we had when I originally asked you, hey, Micho, I

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am doing this series, and I'd really love to interview

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you on your take on teaching regarding the the

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Ephesians 4 gifting. And I remember that conversation

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distinctly saying, well, do I qualify enough as a teacher? I'm not

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necessarily a pastoral teacher in the church or in in

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the typical way right now. I'm not teaching a Sunday school class. Do you

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remember that conversation? And just digging in together, what does it

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mean to be gifted in teaching?

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Do you recall that conversation? I do recall that

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conversation. And and I remember that

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unlike Amy-Jo, you have a gift of teaching. You

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you teach in our trauma care class. I'd love for you to tell us a

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little bit more about the master class that you're currently part of

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the team in teaching, But maybe we can dive

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into a little bit about the biblical foundation that you and I were

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exploring when we were thinking through the, verse

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in in Ephesians 4 11 and 12, what

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does it mean to have the gift of teaching? Do you have any

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reflections on that since we last had that conversation?

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I do. And I I I appreciated you asking that question because I

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I think it it got my thoughts going back to what is what is

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teaching. And the word, is to

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train and to teach, and the word, which is to draw out. And

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those are both the root words of education. And so I've been thinking a

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lot about that. And my brother, who is also part of our trauma care team,

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he was talking about that after our last session just on Tuesday,

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where we were talking about how do we create a learning environment where we're

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not just giving information even though that is part of we do

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have information we want to share and and facts and

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statistics and different things that we want the students to

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come away with. But so much of the learning that we're trying to create

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is an environment where the students are able to

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access some of what they already know or go on a journey of

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discovery on their own. And so I've been thinking a lot about

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how teaching is so much about that creating.

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And in my work as an early childhood educator,

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it's actually something that we talk about all the time is that we're

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co creating a learning environment. We're setting out invitations

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for the children, and then we're being surprised by what they do with

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the invitations. So we're learning alongside with them.

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And it's actually we we have a saying in early childhood

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education that the environment is a 3rd teacher. I'm

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not the only one in the room that is bringing the learning.

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So how we set up the environment really matters, and my brother Tim was

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just reminding us how how can we create an environment that

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really draws out the learning of the students? Right.

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So I'm not a natural gifted teacher, I would say. I may be a

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natural gifted student. I love to learn. I'm always curious.

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Can you walk me through that? What does it mean to be co

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learning? What does the child have to teach you? What does the environment

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have to teach you? And how are you navigating that? Can you

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walk me through an example? Yeah. Well, in

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early childhood education, it's a lot to do with materials and things that we

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put out. So for example, we had a class that

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was really interested in building marble runs. They were building

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ramps and testing how fast the marbles could go. So we thought, oh, we'll put

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out some cardboard and see if they wanna build their own marble runs and then

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they can use a different material. But we put out the cardboard

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and guess what they did? They didn't wanna build a marble run. They wanted to

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build instruments and they wanted to build journals. And it turned

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into this really beautiful creative activity for weeks weeks

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that they were very invested in. And we just had to

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kind of follow them along that journey and teach them how to

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different kinds of attachments for then for their instruments and

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put up materials where we could build on their their interest. And

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so that's the exciting part for me is just kind of

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teaching alongside, creating an environment, and then watching where

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the learning will go. Yeah. And I I love that because

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often we think education is maybe something for the

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learner, those that don't squirm in their seats, those that sit still and and

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just pay attention to whoever's at the at the pulpit,

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whoever's at the front of the classroom with authority. But what you're

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telling me is a much more humble approach bending down at their level

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and learning with them and being curious about how

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they're learning, and that is something we could take into the church. I'm curious

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to see from a early childhood educator's perspective as

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you are very committed to the church and and navigating

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that church life experience. Are there some things that we should be paying

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attention to, listening to, leaning into our educators

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in the pews in leadership that would make a co

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learning experience so that we could learn to grow closer to each

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other, learn to grow closer to God and to to

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community? Are there things that maybe that you see

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that we're bypassing in everyday church

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experiences? So one thing that I've

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found really interesting in my work as an early childhood educator is

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we have to do so many observations. So I'm not at the

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front of the room in a kindergarten class just giving information.

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Although there are times when I gather the children in a circle and, and I

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share information with them. But so much of the time I'm walking around and

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I'm recording, whether it's even just in my mind or whether it's on a piece

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of paper or with a video, I'm recording what's happening in the learning so

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that I can come back to it and I can look at where we should

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take the learning next, and I can pull out things that I'm seeing.

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And I think it's taught me so much about observation and

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listening. Because so much of the job is observing

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and looking a little deeper and saying, what could be going on

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here? And listening and listening even deeper

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for what the child might be already learning and already accessing so that I can

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add another layer. And I think in the church and in our

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communities, it makes me think, what if we listen longer?

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What if we observed more to know what other

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people are thinking? And maybe it's the the kids in the back row or the

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people in the back row that that aren't even getting a a place to have

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their voice heard. And I need to step closer to

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them and listen longer so that I can hear what they have to say.

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So it's a sense of letting the children come and don't

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hinder them. I I think Jesus had a strong word with those

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adults that were adulting doing serious church under the tree, I imagine.

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It may not be under a tree, but he's let the children come. And though

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those were teaching moments, they were colearning together in those

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times, weren't they? And, also, what I hear you telling me is that it's

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not just somebody with just good communication skills in,

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like, verbal oratory excellence, that they're

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just, like, downloading, like, a fire hose of information.

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There's something reciprocal that's happening when there's

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teaching going on. I learned from you, you learned from me,

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and together, it's like this dance back and forth and

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can arrive to new conclusions or arrive to deeper

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understanding, not only in the content, but what I'm hearing you say is

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in each other, understanding each other, which can often

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be overlooked as we are in pursuit of doctrine, as we're

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in pursuit of right thinking and godly principles and

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bible verses and a lot of good things, but we miss

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hearing each other colearning together in those moments.

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And and I think, yeah, Amy-Jo, you have a lot to teach us. I think

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that's beautiful. I'm being taught. Well, I I love that word you used,

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Wendi, reciprocity, because I think that describes so

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much of what, we're talking about in that learning. And

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and when I come in with a humble and an open heart and a and

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a one a wonder, so much of what we do in early

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childhood education is a wondering. And I actually had a

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wonder wall on my wall where we we put our questions,

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and I put my questions because there's things that I didn't know. And the

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children would ask questions and sometimes we didn't know the answer. So we'd put it

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up and we'd wonder together and we'd go deeper into the whether it was

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wondering where the puddles went in the spring. And one of the children said, I

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think they get sucked up into the sky. And, actually, that's pretty much

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what does happen. Yeah. So then we go and learn about evaporation,

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but there was just so much in that process that was a dance of

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listening and learning together. And I wonder with what

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you just told me now is that if there's people listening that

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have or are curious if they have the gift of teaching or they clearly

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do, I wonder if that eases the burden of

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having to be the know it all just because you're the teacher that you have

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to have all the answers. And sometimes we shoot ourselves in

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the foot by trying to pretend or or put the pressure

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on that we have to know everything rather than be curious together

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and to discover together. I do sense this new

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generation up and rising. They wanna ask questions. They want to wonder.

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Mhmm. They wanna be curious and and know. And rather than being

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threatened as a teacher, I hear you saying, hey. Let me wonder with you,

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and maybe be that guide on that pathway. Still further

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ahead, you do have knowledge. It's not like you're anything goes,

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but you're just a few steps ahead but wondering with them.

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I love that, and I think of it as a guide that's taking us on

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a trip. And, you know, we're we're going into the mountains, and so I come

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prepared with my map and with my idea of where we're going, and I have

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my backpack and I have my preparations for the things that

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could happen just in case, but I'm prepared to be surprised along the

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way and to maybe take a detour and find a

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beautiful scene that I didn't expect to see. But I do have a

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direction that I'm going. And I think, like you're saying, some

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people may not realize that they do have something that really

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is something that other people need and some dots

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that can help them connect. And so when we come in with

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that idea, I do have something that I wanna share. We don't

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have to have all the answers, but we can be a guide on the journey

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for others. In your current work in Ottawa as

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a consultant, with the education system there

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for families with special needs, you've also volunteered and

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done a lot of work with Joni and Friends. We haven't talked about that

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yet. But working with children with differences,

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can you tell me what that teaching experience has taught you

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through those experiences? Well, I was thinking about

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this and reflecting on your question of, you

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know, who are the people that have really taught me over the years

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and influenced me. And I remember my friend, Jill,

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invited me to my first family camp for families

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of children with special needs. And I learned so much from

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watching her and watching others journey alongside these

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families and children and laugh with them

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and swim with them and just celebrate their abilities. There's

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a talent show night. And every year, I

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think for about 10 years, I had the privilege of journeying with

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families at these camps. And every year, there's just so much ability and so

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much to celebrate. And I think watching

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others interact taught me so much about

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how we need all these parts of the body. We need all these parts

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of the body to be included. And when we make a

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little space and we push over, whether it's a physical

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space for a wheelchair to come in or whether it's, you

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know, some sensory supports for children that are struggling with noise and

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with sensory input. When we make space, we're so much richer as a

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community. And I've had some conversations in in some churches. Well,

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we don't really deal with those kind of things in in the greatest sense.

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But then I I have to wonder too, if we're not dealing with differences,

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are we excluding them without even knowing? Are we creating those

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wheelchair ramps? But not always even in the physical sense. Sometimes

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the invisible things when we have children or adults with neuro

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differences, are there sensory spaces? Are there quiet spaces? Are

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we mindful? And I think that's a lot of pressure

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possibly on on a church to get it all right, but it's

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really not that. From what I'm learning from you is just pay attention,

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to listen, to get to know the individual because each

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person comes with invisible or visible

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needs that could be accommodated if we would just simply

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let them teach us what it is they need to thrive and to

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flourish because everyone is designed for community, but

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how do we make that happen? I imagine that's a bit of your

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work in the school system with families as they're trying to navigate

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regular school with neuro differences and and special needs.

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Can you share some insights that might be helpful for

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churches who are also wanting to be accommodating and

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create some universal design so that everybody is welcome.

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Yeah. I love what you said about letting them teach

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you. And I think that is the phrase that stuck out to

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me because so much of the work that I do, and I work currently with

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early childhood educators, so preschool and helping the

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children transition into the school system and prepare them for

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kindergarten. And so much of what we do is we talk about,

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again, coming back to that observation and that questioning

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and wondering, and not just coming to an assumption that this behaviour is

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because they don't want to be a part of the group or they

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don't want to listen. So much of it is also in what we teach in

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our trauma care class, right, is that coming back to

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curiosity and wanting to stay connected

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in those moments of wondering what's going on, what what's a layer deeper? We talk

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about the iceberg in our trauma care classes so often about

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what we see is just the tip, and there's so much underneath.

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So what we see may be a behavior that

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we are curious about. We don't understand it or

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we're frustrated about if we're honest. But in the

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trauma care master class, you have been teaching people how,

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in the churches, how to look beyond the behavior. What is

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the need underlying that? Right? And what are some of those

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discoveries being found? You're you're currently teaching. Maybe you can go into a

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little bit about the master class, why we are teaching that

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in into churches and ministry leaders. What are some of the

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things that they're discovering as they get curious behind

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the behavior? Yeah. And and like you said, Wendi, those

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behaviors, they're not easy. And the classes and the

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participants that come together as we journey through our trauma

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care learning, we're very honest about the challenges

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that these things are not easy and they're not necessarily

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straightforward. And part of the gift we give these children

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and individuals that come into our communities is that gift

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of patience and curiosity and willingness to ask

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those deeper questions. And we're we're hearing things from the participants

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who say they wish they'd known this earlier. You know, it's a foster mom

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who has been fostering for 10 years. And she says,

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oh, this is just so good. I wish that I'd known this 10 years ago.

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But we always say in our course, when you know better, you can do better.

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That's right. And it's not going back, but we can go forward, and we can

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go forward with more compassion and curiosity. And and really the heart

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of all of this, which I get to talk about daily in my job and

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it just brings me joy. It's talking about connection.

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We're built for connection, and we're longing for

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connection. And so much of this is just how do we stay connected through

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the challenges and work to rebuild connection when it's broken.

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That's really beautiful. Because sometimes when we think let the children come and

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don't hinder them, it's like putting a do not enter sign on the church

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or in our our kids' program or ministry or whatnot

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or that person that's difficult has a difficult behavior we're not sure what to

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do with. We're thinking it's just a blatant like, you can't come

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in. But, actually, what you're telling me is is sometimes

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we we give messages. We send messages that you do not belong

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if you can't fit in these things. So so hindering can

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be not looking behind the behavior. Hindering can

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not being aware, but you're right. When we know better, we do better.

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And I I love the passion that you and and the other

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associates on our team bring into these settings as

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people are just like these light bulb moments saying, oh my goodness. I

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can't wait to get back into that setting or back with my child or

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back into the church and pursue those connections. Can you

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give me an example, sort of a before and after example,

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of when you were able to connect with a child or an adult

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and what that difference was in your relationship and even in

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your teaching ability with this the student?

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Well, one of the first thing that comes to mind is is an

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educator that I was just talking to this week. And she's fairly

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new to the profession, fairly new to her job, and she's been working with

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some really, really challenging kids. And

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she just soaks in everything that we

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talk about. And I come back a week later, we were talking about breathing techniques

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because some of our children are really struggling with regulating.

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And some of them come from really difficult home situations where they're

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not getting that practice. And so we talk about this also in our trauma

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care course, you know, about helping to regulate the

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vagus nerve in the brain that helps calm the body. And

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so I taught her the roller coaster breathing, where you go up and down the

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fingers. And I came back a couple of weeks later and she has

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the whole group of kids coming in from outside, sitting on the carpet,

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these kindergarten kids, and they're all practicing the

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breathing and coming up with their own on their own their own

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creative ideas. And so I watched this educator who's the other day,

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she said, Amy-Jo, I just learn so much from you every time you come.

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And really, it's her willingness to I send videos

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and links to some of the trauma care information, and she watches them and

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she takes ideas. And there's a little girl who is in

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her care who comes from a very difficult home situation.

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And she came in really through all of her behavior asking that

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question, am I wanted? Am I cared for? Am I

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loved? And, you know, we talk about the Karen Purvis quote.

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She was someone who worked with children from hard places

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and has done a lot of beautiful research on healing for children who have

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gone through trauma. And she talks about

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sometimes the children that need the most love ask for it in the most unloving

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ways. And so this little girl is having a lot of really

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challenging behavior. And those educators

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have told her over and over again, you're wanted here, you're loved,

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you're cared for by their presence

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and their words. Even though other programs, I think, would have

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told her, you're not welcome here. You can't come back because of her challenges, but

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they've been willing to stick with it. And she has

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beautiful moments now of connection. And even she's able to access

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some of her sadness, which is actually a really good thing. She's able to cry

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instead of just lash out. And so that's where I I saw a dance

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between an educator who's curious and willing to learn and a child

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who is being connected with, and it just brought me a lot of

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joy. Yeah. That's really beautiful. Earlier, I referring to

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Ephesians 411 to 12, where we we know the

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apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, and, obviously, we're

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focusing on the teachers, are there to equip the

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saints for the work of the ministry for building up the body of

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Christ. I'm just curious the intersection of somebody

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like yourself who has an innate God calling of teaching.

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You can't stop but reciprocate that with others and and

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co learn together. But what is it that we could learn as a body of

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Christ to do better together with the other callings and

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and leadership styles? What is it that we could do to

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work better together and to really make

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the most with those in the church who have the gift of

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teaching? Well, I think because I'm

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just always looking through that lens of time with my little people, I

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think of a circle time in kindergarten. And there are some

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voices who are really, really ready to just take over the whole

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circle, and they're very forefront and they need

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space. They do need space to talk. But I think of so much of it

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is a dance of trying to bring out the ones who are quiet and the

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ones who are maybe not as willing to share, but have really good things to

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say. And I think maybe some of

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this journey as a community, as a church community, is how do we

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make space for the voices that may be more in the back row

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or the ones that may not be as vocal? How

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do we really pause and make space for them? Because we have so much to

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learn from each other. And I would imagine

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someone with the gift of teaching like yourself who is maturing in their

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giftings and utilizing that as they grow, they're probably the

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ones that I would wanna lean into to really be

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able to be good observers of the environment in creating

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safe and conducive spaces for learning, not just in in the

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construction of of the 4 walls, but in the environment to health

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felt safety so that people can reciprocate so they feel,

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like, welcoming to to share their voice that their voice matters.

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I would tend to want to lean into their

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giftings to create that atmosphere. And I've

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learned so much from others too, Wendi. And just even this Tuesday in our

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teaching session we were debriefing after on, a lot of it is

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is how do we even as adults, we need safe places. And sometimes

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we have things that the students share, you know, we're talking about

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the children that we work with, but it brings up some of their own journey

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and their own story, and there needs to be space for that to be held.

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And as we're creating that space together, it's coming in with an

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intention for it to be a place where we can we can share and we

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can trust each other with our stories. Yeah. And

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so teaching isn't so much of a, I'm the teacher, so,

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therefore, I have authority in the room or in this dynamic of the

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relationship. It's almost like a earned secured

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authority of a voice that somebody would want to come to for

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learning together. I think of in the the

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Bible, in the New Testament, Lois and Eunice

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taught Timothy, and it wasn't like in a lording over it, but they were

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nurturing. They were creating space. This little young Timothy who

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had so much promise, they were just

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encouraging him along. I I think of Priscilla who taught

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Apollos and and Phoebe. She was a deacon in the church, all

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female teachers that we may think sometimes, well, the the

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teachers maybe have to be males in front of the church, and I'm not gonna

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get into that whole male female thing. But it it's so less of

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an authoritative thing as a a nurturing, a

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co learning, a helping other people to grow,

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which there's a lot of room at that table. Don't we all need

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teachers? Don't we all need Lois and Eunice's around us

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to see those gifts and abilities to co learn with us? And I'm

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just grateful that you're one of those in my life. I learned things from you

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when you're teaching trauma care or when we're interacting. You're

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not the one speaking up all the time. That would probably be me. I have

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to hold myself back. However, you help

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create that environment even in our team, which I'm really grateful for.

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Well, it makes me think, Wendi, as you're listing these

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people, and I I think of the verse that came to me when I was

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doing some Jonny and Friends work. And Jonny and Friends is a

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organization that serves families with special needs around the world, you mentioned earlier.

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And I was a part of mentoring some of the interns who

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were coming as college students, and, really, it was a very

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shaping time for them. And it was the verse in Thessalonians that

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talks about, we loved you so much that we shared not only the gospel,

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people because it was a very embodied experience. There

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was not a lot of time at the front of the room. We were walking

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alongside families, and Joni is

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herself a quadriplegic and experiences life

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in a wheelchair. And she talks so much about the embodied experience

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of working with people where we have to get on the floor with

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them. We have to incarnate into their worlds just as

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Jesus came into our world in a body. And the things that we learned

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through that experience in reciprocal, mutual

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benefit. That's beautiful. Now to wrap things up, I'm

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wondering, Amy-Jo, if you have any words of wisdom or

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maybe that next step, that baby step for us to grow as

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teachers if we have the gifting. And and those are we maybe don't, but we

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could still learn and grow into that. Are there any next steps that

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you might wanna encourage us to to try? Well, I

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think one thing that was sitting with me as I was reflecting

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was words from a Quaker,

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teacher. His name was Parker Palmer, and he talks so much about

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the teaching journey is really one of going within

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and getting to know ourselves better as we get to know our

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students. And so I would just say I would encourage

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some reflection time, Maybe even think on that question that

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we talked about. Who loved you into being? Who were some teachers in your

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life that were really impactful in those moments? Maybe not at 3 o'clock on

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a Wednesday afternoon in your grade 3 classroom when you

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were learning math, but what were some of those moments of teaching that have

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impacted you? And then what are some things that you really want to

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share with others? And how can you start listening to the ones

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that may really benefit from that information and from that knowledge

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and passion that you have. Well, I love that. And Johan

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Heinrichs, our producer, will be helping us all with that.

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On Mondays, we have a journey with prayer, which is a contemplative

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experience, a 5 minute contemplative experience based on the episodes

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of the Friday previous. So stay tuned this coming

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Monday for a contemplative experience where you can journey within

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and with God. And, Amy-Jo, I just wanna thank you so much for taking

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the time to share with us your story, and thank you for coming on

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the podcast. Thank you so much, Wendi. It's been a

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joy to be here with you. Thank you for

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joining another conversation on Journey with Care, where we

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inspire curious Canadians on their path of faith and living

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life with purpose in community. Journey with Care is an initiative of

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CareImpact, a Canadian charity dedicated to connecting and

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equipping the whole church to journey well in community. You can

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visit their website at careimpact.ca or visit

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journeywithcare.ca to get more information on weekly episodes,

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Journey with Prayer, and details about our upcoming events and meetups.

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You can also leave us a message, share your thoughts, and connect with like

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minded individuals who are on their own journeys of faith and

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purpose. Thank you for sharing this podcast and helping these stories

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reach the community. Together, we can explore ways to journey in a good

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way. And always remember to stay curious.

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About the Podcast

Journey With Care
Equipping communities and the Church to love neighbours well
The conversations that inspire curious Canadians on their journey of faith and living life on purpose in community. Join us for thought-provoking conversations that inspire you to live a life of purpose and connect with like-minded individuals. Discover actionable insights, practical tools, and inspiring stories from leaders who are shaping the future of faith, business, and community. Together, let's disrupt the status quo and create a world where faith and entrepreneurship intersect. Become part of a community that is passionate about making a difference.
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