Energy Medicine by Donna Eden examines the energy systems of the body. Everything that happens in your body is either a chemical or electrical interaction. In the early 1900s, the American Medical Association decided to focus on the chemical (pharmaceutical) and surgical aspects of medicine. The Chinese have always kept the energy system. I am fascinated by the ability of the body to heal itself and the ability of an individual to participate in the healing of their own body. Eden has absolutely fabulous tools for doing this.
A friend of mine recommended that I read Restoring Sanctuary by Sandra Bloom and Brian Farragher and wanted to know what I thought was the possibility of using it in public schools. I was fascinated by the approach in this book—the concept of injury and the structural changes they recommend. This is an approach in a residential facility for students with difficult behavioral challenges.
One of the organizational issues that I have thought about a great deal is how organizational structure addresses organizational purpose. One of the reasons—in my opinion—that the federal policy on education will never be very successful is that the purpose of schooling was initially to create an educated populace so that a representative democracy could survive. It was about creating an institution in which everyone could participate in a given geographic area. And it has become increasingly inclusive over time (first males, then females, then race, then special education, then bilingual, etc.). Initially the thought was that everyone would be able to read the Bible. (One of the most interesting aspects of economies is that they have to have some basis of trust to operate—i.e., a moral, legal, or religious code.)
The purpose of a behavioral residential facility is to improve behavior. But the purpose of schooling is to educate. The biggest issue is time. What is the priority of the time in the institution? Can an institution use the same structure with a different purpose? I would love to hear thoughts on this idea.
