Illustration by Cariné Müller
Our Education Begins With Us
The stories we impart to children are at the heart of their education. But in this difficult moment when narratives of care and compassion are often drowned out by fear and divisiveness, how can we bring young people into explorations about the deeper issues facing humanity while fostering inquiry, empathy, and resilience?
In a new series of essays that weave an ethic of education with an exploration of story, executive director Cleary Vaughan-Lee reflects on her experiences in and out of the classroom with learners of all ages, asking how and why stories change us.
This question has been at the heart of the work of the Global Oneness Project for more than fifteen years. Through ever-changing political, religious, and cultural landscapes, Global Oneness Project has brought diverse curricula grounded in storytelling into classrooms around the world, seeking to broaden perspectives and instill an ethic of sacred relationship to our planet. Drawing upon this work, Cleary’s essays consider how stories challenge, inspire, and summon our moral selves, as she revisits conversations with authors, educators, parents, poets, social scientists, and students, among others.
As we move through these turbulent times, we invite you to consider: What are the stories that can draw us closer to each other and to ourselves?
Read Essays
This essay explores the power of our imagination and how stories can act as thresholds to our childhood selves.
How might stories act as keys allowing us access to challenge, examine, uproot, and illumine our habits and fears?
This essay explores how memory and storytelling are tools to humanize learning, allowing students to connect to their inner lives.
