Thursday, April 15, 2010

“Educating as a Bodhisattva: Aware of the Self, Engaged as a Leader”
Presented by Deborah Schussler, Ed.D.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
6:30 - 8 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.)
McGuire Hall East
Light refreshments will be served

Register for this event

You're also invited to:
Lunch and Conversation with Dr. Deborah Schussler
Thursday, April 15
College Center Room 113
1 - 2:30 p.m.

Lecture abstract:
Clearly, teaching requires a high degree of skill, but it is much more than just a technical activity. Although one may teach in a secular context, the “bodhisattva educator” recognizes the sacredness and moral implications inherent in the role. A “bodhisattva” is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened person motivated by great compassion who wishes to serve others. Using the bodhisattva as a metaphor, Schussler argues that the most effective educators cultivate both their own self-awareness as well as their understanding of the contexts within which they educate. Essentially, the bodhisattva educator exists at the intersection between self and community.

Spiritual undercurrents are central to the intersection between self and community. Schussler draws from scholars exploring concepts from a diverse set of philosophical and spiritual traditions, including Thich Nhat Hanh’s “engaged Buddhism,” Quaker principles of the “inner light” and the implications for social justice, and Martin Buber’s “I-Thou” relationship. Schussler also presents current research in the area of dispositions and mindfulness to illustrate how teachers possess their own unique filter. This filter affects how teachers view and respond to teaching situations. Developing greater understanding of their filter helps teachers gain awareness of themselves so that they can most effectively influence their school communities as engaged leaders.

About the Speaker:
Deborah Schussler’s research focuses on how to create an engaging and positive learning environment for all students. This broad goal includes two specific strands. The first strand explores how schools function as organizations to meet the cognitive and affective needs of learners. Specifically, this includes what it means for schools to function as learning communities and exploring empirically and theoretically the role of care in educational contexts. The second strand explores how prospective teachers acquire the necessary dispositions to meet the cognitive and affective needs of learners. Specifically, this includes the epistemological nature of dispositions and how teacher education fosters awareness of dispositions to enhance prospective teachers' knowledge, skills, and moral sensibilities.

Recognizing that the intersection between awareness of self and fostering of community is firmly rooted in spiritual practice, Schussler most recently has begun exploring research on mindfulness and contemplative pedagogy. Schussler attended her first mindfulness retreat with the venerable Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, in August 2009. She also attended the Mind Life Institute conference, “Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century,” with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, in October 2009. Schussler has visited Buddhist monasteries in India, practiced yoga for four years, and is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian church (PCUSA).

Some of Schussler's articles include Schools as Learning Communities: Unpacking the Concept (PDF), Defining Dispositions: Wading through Murky Waters (PDF), An Empirical Exploration of the Who, What, and How of School Care (PDF), and The Fabric of Teacher Candidate Dispositions: What Case Studies Reveal about Teacher Thinking (PDF).