selena sermeno
[el salvador, Ridgway, Colorado, Santa Fe, NM and Central America.]
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Selena is one of idec 2013’s coffee talkers:
on what to share [via link in above idec graphic] – Selena has 4 things..
#3 is most intriguing – The role of human dignity in education, i.e. how to measure it, how to perpetuate it, etc.
the other 3 seem to fit into this.. esp #2
Selena’s response on what matters to you?
It matters to me that all youth feel visible.
Selena’s focus on human rights, trauma recovery, and cross cultural understanding has been inspired by her experience with civil war growing up in El Salvador and work across the world with survivors of traumatic events.
Selena is a psychologist, educator, and facilitator. Her doctoral dissertation, “The Impact of Political and Social Violence on the Moral Development, Potential for Antisocial Behavior, and Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder of Adolescents,” explores the suffering and post-traumatic ramifications of socio-political violence on Salvadoran youth.
Currently, Selena serves as the Ambassadorial Chair for the Bartos Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Conflict of the United World College-USA, where she serves as a mentor to adolescents from over 80 countries, guiding them on the fundamentals of compassionate dialogue, human rights, peace education, diplomacy and reconciliation processes.
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Bartos Institute:
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Selena’s writes about Sandy Hook:
click the graphic above to read the entire article. high recommend.
There is a risk, at times of mass tragedy, to injure each other further by our arrogance, bluntness, impatience, disconnection, lack of sensitivity, to go into a hierarchy of pain and loss.
At this moment, we are called to be horrified at the hurt humanity is capable of inflicting, but also to hold each other to express the best of what humanity is capable of healing. We are called to be patient, to be unashamed to cry, to be clumsy, if necessary, in offering sincere condolences and expressing true sorrow.
At this moment, we are called to pay better attention, to notice those who are near us who may seem isolated, disconnected, numb, or distressed.
Parker Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy, writes that we have two choices in dark nights of the soul: to break apart or to break open. One choice leads us down the path to bitterness and brittleness, to distance ourselves from people and their capacity for beauty and kindness. The other leads us down the path to vulnerability, gentleness, deep and lasting connection.
Stay out of your head, at least for a moment, and let your heart break open.
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connected/influenced by Courtney Martin, Parker Palmer, …
connect?
Carol Black – schooling the world
Teny Gross, Cevin Soling, Catherine Rohr – defy ventures, Ingrid Cruz, .. ?
Kazu Haga, Marlon Peterson, Jacques Verduin – insight out
and more..
be you. 