Andy Smallman

5 April 2013 : The Fountain of Youth

Published on April 5, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

I think that seeing the world with childlike wonder is the actual fountain of youth. It keeps us young. We’ve all seen people who seem younger than they really are. Every time, when I see one of these people, they have a special twinkle in their eyes. It’s that childlike wonder sparkling through.

Take a minute to see if any part of this rings true for you. If not, visualize a classic picture of Santa Claus. There it is.

3 April 2013 : More Thoughts on Parenting

Published on April 3, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

At its depth, I think our role as parents is like that of a gardener who understands what is necessary for a flower to emerge. You can’t force a flower to grow before it is ready, nor can you make it into something it is not. All you can do is provide your best effort in seeing the right nutrients are present and removing those things that threaten it from fulfilling its potential.

More or less that means to stay out of the way.

1 April 2013 : Some Thoughts on Parenting

Published on April 1, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

As parents, we want our children to learn from our experiences so we provide them all kinds of advice. Some of us even get upset with them when they don’t take it.

Go figure.

Sometimes, though, we understand the importance of allowing our children the space and time to figure out things in their own ways. Deep down we know that while we may be more efficient at feeding a one year-old, for instance, we know it’s in her best interest to handle the spoon herself. We clean up the mess, knowing it’s all part of the development process.

Some things people just have to learn for themselves.

29 March 2013 : 360 Degrees

Published on March 29, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

In my teaching of adolescents I suggest that every situation has a 360 degree perception about it. If you are able to see a situation from all perspectives, all around it, you would be seeing it from 360 degrees and understand it wholly. But that’s impossible, of course, despite people often believing they know the absolute truth about something.

So I ask my students, “From how many degrees are you seeing this situation? What can you do to increase that number?”

27 March 2013 : Recycling

Published on March 27, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

Here’s another idea to consider as a metaphor. Do you recycle the garbage that comes your way?

In other words, are you ever able to take something messy and make it into something clean and useful? I tend to think of garbage as useless, a space-taker. It’s like the clutter of the planet, or of one’s thoughts. And I see recycling as transforming one thing into something else. It reuses rather than wastes. It’s a loving act in its purest form, like how the flame of one candle can light an infinite number of other candles.

Someone who can take garbage, the garbage of others no less, and make it into something useful has tapped into what it means to be human at one of our deepest levels.

25 March 2013 : Tree-Planting

Published on March 25, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

Consider this quote:

“Much of what we do is like planting trees under which we may never sit, but plant we must.” — Brother James Kimpton

Me, I think “planting trees” is a metaphor for my actions. How does my behavior create my reality, my opportunities, how others see me, and more? In each moment I am planting a tree. I may not ever sit directly under it to enjoy its shade, but someone else will.

What do I want to leave behind?

22 March 2013 : To Know By Heart

Published on March 22, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

What do you know by heart?

Commonly used, to “know something by heart” means to know it really well, to having memorized it. It’s an expression we use with children when trying to help them recall important information, like their home addresses and telephone numbers.

But I’ve come to see it as also meaning to know something from inside my heart. You know, when you just know something is true or right or pure? I think that’s also knowing something by heart.

I’m paying extra attention to notice what I know by heart. I believe the more attention I pay to things I know by heart, the more I engage in activities I know by heart, the more people I interact with who I know by heart, the more I’m aware of the nice things the world has to say to me.

20 March 2013 : The Laughter of Children

Published on March 20, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

The laughter of children has always been good medicine for anything that ails me, perhaps some form of meditation or prayer. It’s like a fresh breath of cool air on a warm spring day, or as pure as water formed from melting snow running down the mountainside.

To illustrate this, I offer you this short video. Go take a look and pay special attention to your reactions as you watch it.

See if it doesn’t tap into something else that is natural to being human.

18 March 2013 : My Educational Philosophy

Published on March 18, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

It turns education around to say that the first focus of schools should not be on academics, but that’s just what I say at Puget Sound Sound Community School, the school I direct and co-founded with Melinda in 1994. But if you really stop and think about it, it makes sense. Students who do not feel safe or supported at school are going to have a difficult time learning academics, anyway, try as we might to cram them in. So the first focus of schools should be to provide a nurturing environment.

Humans are natural learners. Tap into that and we learn naturally and eagerly. Provide the right kind of support, beginning with the environment, and things like academics take care of themselves.

15 March 2013 : What Makes Us Who We Are?

Published on March 15, 2013June 25, 2016 by Andy SmallmanLeave a comment

When I was a little boy I experienced significant night terrors for about two years.

My parents took me to a child psychiatrist who recommended family counseling so we tried that. A behavior modification program was created. Still, the terrors got so bad that I was hospitalized for a week when I was in 4th grade, studied by doctors and nurses to try to determine the root of the problem. One memorable experience in the hospital was when electrodes were attached to my head to study my brainwaves. Nothing significantly wrong was determined and I returned home. Ultimately, I seemed to grow out of the night terrors, but the experience cast a dark shadow on me for years.

For instance, I was horribly embarrassed by it, even into my young adulthood, and never talked about it. It was my deepest and darkest secret. But during college I started to make peace with it and even started to appreciate how the experience helped make me who I am. I believe the empathy and compassion I have for children is a direct result of my experience with night terrors, of undergoing counseling as a child, and from the experience of spending that week in the hospital.