Circles and Squares

Back in Toronto.

Circle

Square

Last night I gave a three hour talk at the Royal Botanical Garden.

It started with the awareness question of  “Notice all the squares in the room, anything that is a square or rectangle.”  Then another question: ” Notice all the circles in the room”.   Once asked, the shapes came into our awareness.  What else is like that ?

The next awareness: “Notice the shape that we are sitting in”.  Rows in a large square shape, all facing the one presenter.  “Feel what it feels like in your body, right now.  Now, everyone get up and rearrange themselves into one circle”.

Once settled, I asked, “So what does it feel like now ?”  People shared these things:

I feel vulnerable.

I’m participating.

I’m responsible.

This is like community.

I can’t hide.

If rows of chairs (squares) is like content (school) then a circle of chairs is like context.

Front row only education is a shift in the context of learning.  It’s a shift in culture.

Where else can we shift the context to create cultural change ?