IDA Play Ideas
IDA Inner Democracy Applied - Ideas to play with in teaching and learning
These ideas are part of the research project "FRIDA - Friendly Internal Democratization And Mindfulness" in the research association "Educating Democratic Abilities". Link to the German Version. Our lectures and publications related to the project can be found here.
Which of the following ideas appeal to you and make you want to try them out in your teaching?
How would you like to play them out? What supports you?
Which impulses do you find unreasonable or inappropriate for democracy-promoting transformation work in universities and schools?
Would you like to add topics and experiments?
Thank you very much for your thoughts!
Fact?
When I find myself emphatically holding a different opinion than you, I take a long, deep breath. Then I ask myself if I really know and can know what is fact.
under the skin
When someone's statement or action gets under my skin, touches me emotionally, positively or negatively, I stop for a moment, feel my warm, alive body, and let go of breath and tight muscles. Am I really entitled to this? I take notice when I think I'm an exception and deserve special treatment. Maybe then a hand on my heart will do me good.
am i really better?
When I feel like I'm much better than the others, I stop and take a deep breath. where am i standing do i have to win When the spirit of competition gets the better of me, I wonder if I really need to beat the others.
scarce resources
When it comes to distributing, defending or acquiring seemingly scarce resources, I pause for a moment and feel the intensity in and around me. Where do I perceive abundance? Where maybe also attachment or even greed?
Do I have to be right?
When the righteous in me speaks up, I pause for a moment and consider the possibility of freeing myself (now) from wanting to be right.
Does that really bother me?
When I'm disturbed, I wonder if my complaint or attack might cause more discord or harm than a gesture of generosity. Clarify things, strengthen people
Clarify things, strengthen people
If I want to clarify something with someone, I try to proceed in such a way that we can both leave the conversation feeling stronger.
show generosity
I'm experimenting with being generous. There are many opportunities for this, e.g. an invitation for coffee or tea, bringing flowers or snacks in the team or not making a petty complaint ...
deciding together?
I would like to listen to the ideas and opinions of others in order to be able to make decisions that interest or affect everyone, if possible in the interests of everyone.
really listen
When someone is speaking and I have an impulse to contribute my ideas, I try to let that person finish and really listen to them without formulating my thoughts internally.
taking space
In discussions, I use the space and opportunity to bring my thoughts and ideas forward in such a way that they can be heard and understood by others.
Instead of complaining – co-create!
it If I don't like something, I experiment with not complaining, even if that is very tempting. Instead, I look for ways to help shape things.
First everyone, then me again
In a group discussion, I examine (just for me or explicitly for everyone) what happens if I only speak for the second time when everyone else who wants to has already spoken.
action instead of reaction
When I want to react on impulse, I wonder, what happens if I first pay attention to this impulse before I act it out, be it attacking, fleeing, or freezing. Can I now succeed in taking a deep breath and then consciously deciding whether and how I want to act?
body language
If something annoys, upsets or annoys me, I feel like trying out how the others react if, instead of attacking, I describe what is going on in my body.
In different shoes
In arguments, I like to imagine how the situation feels and represents for the other person(s). What supports me?
Right, too?
What happens when I try to pretend in arguments that the others are right too, just like me?
sensations instead of demands
I am interested in what happens when, in situations that I would like to have differently, instead of making demands or suggestions, I first put my body sensations into words and maybe also communicate them.
From attacking to making a wish
It's exciting to see what happens when, instead of attacking in a conflict, I first ask myself what I need and then ask the others for it in a friendly manner.
Really?
When I think I'm right in a discussion, I experiment with asking myself if I really know and can know for sure what I think I know.
The contrary
I like to experiment (quietly to myself) to try to formulate the opposite of my position in arguments. How does that feel?
Who are you?
I gather my courage and try (carefully!) to get to know people I have a hard time with. How can I make this easier for you and for me?
Really me or rather you?
I would like to experiment with imagining that complaints and criticism do not mean or want to affect me as a person, but are simply (perhaps clumsy?) self-disclosures of my counterpart.
self care
I am interested in how I master challenging situations when I have consciously taken good care of myself beforehand, e.g. with good sleep, delicious food, love, leisure, warmth, exercise...
connectedness
I am interested in how I feel and behave when I keep reminding myself in everyday life how inseparably connected I am to other people, to my family, to nature, to the air, to time and to the earth.
First close, then open again
When I step back in a conflict, withdraw from the conversation, close my protective visor and would prefer never to speak to the other person again, I notice when I have calmed down enough to be able to resume the conversation. I then share that with the other person.
I'm really sorry!
When I react passionately to arguments, I notice when I create fear or anger in someone, or even hurt others. If I and the others have calmed down a bit, I apologize for that.
Stay on the carpet
When I keep getting excited and "breaking china," I look for ways to regulate myself better. Can exercise, less sugar, deep breathing, conscious stress management or counseling help me?
Bla bla bla
How do I notice if I'm talking empty out of insecurity and/or the urge to show off, just to say something? I'll try to notice the impulse to do so at the next opportunity before I absolve.
Attack!
When I feel the impulse to attack someone, I stop, breathe, and ask myself, is this really in our (common?) cause now?
heart substance
I'm experimenting with passion and interest in what it's like to only speak when I really have something to say that's close to my heart.
Is this for everyone?
In my classes, I experiment (at times) with inviting learners to share when they have different needs and desires for the class than those of my lesson plan. Can we find a way together?
That fits very well!
In my classes, I experiment with inviting learners to share when their needs and desires for the class align with my lesson plan. How can this work?
co-creation
I'm experimenting with giving learners periods of self-creation in my classes. How can this succeed, with the content, methods, times, performance requirements, evaluation standards...?
Listen, listen!
When I teach, I also ask questions to my students that really interest me and that I have no answers for. What can I possibly learn from this?
shadow in the mirror
I'm interested in what it's like to perceive the voices or ego parts in me that I find unpleasant, inappropriate or unlovable at first glance. How do they feel? What do you say? What do they want and can they contribute to the whole?
Really, really important!
Do I ask myself from time to time what is really, really important to me? How much do I let these aspects determine my life and work?
From big to small
Sometimes I stop, raise my eyes to the sky, open my mind and my heart, breathe deeply and with pleasure and perceive the whole universe and infinite time within me.
CONSCIOUSNESS
Sometimes I wonder what this whole great living "creation" perceives alive through my consciousness right now, at this moment.
the inner dictator?
Especially when something seems urgently important, right or wrong to me, I ask myself who is speaking inside me.
cold or warm?
The next time I find myself cold or heartless, I feel like asking myself whether that serves the cause and the people and whether
I really want to be like that now.
Either ... or
When I can choose to act either authoritatively or co-creatively, I take the time to breathe, I feel my living body in the midst of the living world. Then I seek advice and make my decision.
common good
I feel like asking myself in decision-making situations how and with what I and the other participants can now contribute to the good of all and to the protection of the living earth.
From ego to eco
With curiosity and interest, I sometimes ask myself after a felt breath whether my goals primarily serve my personal interests or also the preservation of the big picture. What does that mean for me?
How to decide?
The next time I make a decision that also affects my colleagues and students, I ask myself whether I really asked, heard and considered them enough.
Include!
Before I make the next decision, which also affects my colleagues and students, I experiment with it, even if it takes longer and is difficult to hear them, so that the decision can serve our common cause.
Wait a moment!
If I have to implement decisions made by superiors that do not serve me, the others affected, or our common cause, I mobilize the desire and strength to pause. I then feel myself and the ground beneath my feet, breathe and calm down.
civil disobedience
I'm interested in what happens if I don't calmly implement and question one of the next bureaucratic or hierarchical decisions, which in my opinion is both undemocratic and not sensible.
How to grade?
As a teacher, when I have to assign grades, I find ways to involve the learners in such a way that they know and understand the assessment criteria before they take the exam, and ideally have a say in it in a way that serves their development.
Grade what?
As a teacher, when I grade or evaluate achievement, I try to ensure that my teaching contributes substantially to that achievement.
That must not be!
If a piece of technical equipment or the infrastructure doesn't work again and my lesson planning is ruined, I take three deep breaths and try to let go of the thought that this shouldn't be. Three more breaths and together with my students I think about a solution how we want to use the time together.
Regaining strength
If I notice that it's getting too loud and too much for me, I deliberately don't go to the staff room during the break, but stay alone in the classroom, open the window, feel the wind on my face and breathe.
Embrace mistakes
When I notice that I'm afraid of making a mistake or afraid because I've made a mistake, I become aware of it. I wonder what the worst that can happen is. Then I take a deep breath and feel to my heart. I observe how I am there with my fear, hug myself in my thoughts and say to myself: "I am here for you now".
I see you
I'm trying out how it feels when I start the lesson with an honest and interested question about how my students are doing and how they are here today. I perceive carefully and see each individual person.
I'm not waiting, I'm breathing
If I have to wait at the copier, in the secretariat, at the traffic light, in the supermarket at the checkout, wherever, I try to use the time and breathe consciously until it is my turn.
Outside in
When I feel (activist) indignation in me, I try to sense my heart and listen to what living nature now wants to express in me and through me.
...
Which experiment appeals to you the most and makes you want to try it out?
How would you like to implement it? What supports you?
Which game ideas do you find unreasonable or inappropriate for transformation work in universities and schools?
Would you like to add topics and experiments?
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with me by mail via ResearchGate!