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Leading Differently Together | "Teachers" With Amy-Jo Smith
Episode 1122nd March 2024 • Journey With Care • CareImpact
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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:

See the gift-giving catalogue!

https://careimpactchristmas.com

CareImpact Christmas

Transcripts

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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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