About the Author: The Educational Center

WE TELL STORIES . . . AS HUMAN BEINGS, SPIRITUAL BEINGS, MEANING-MAKING BEINGS . . . WE TELL STORIES. Where do these stories come from? From the biblical narratives, of course. But also from books, videos, films, newspapers, magazines, YouTube, Twitter, sacred literature, short stories, plays, poetry, and talk across backyards, or in the grocery checkout lane. Stories occur in any medium that includes the issues or polarities alive in the classrooms of our lives. They have the power to reach down inside and crack open the tight places. Stories are the way, in, down, around, that let us see the patterns that are in all people. The Educational Center understands this. Our method of education recognizes that stories reflect our lives and awaken universal patterns that enliven and inform our choices. Whether they are historical or mythical, biblical or personal, fictional or biographical, stories invite the imagination and the symbolic. Issue-centered Maieutic Education is what we call it. It is a pedagogy that honors the inner pull between opposing needs or values. For example: “I want to let go and yet, at the same time, I want to hold on.” This simple statement captures a universal dynamic, one that all people will experience in their lives. Issue-centered education offers structure that embraces a “both/and” perspective rather than reducing the value and complexity of each alternative to an “either/or” posture. It leads one to the awareness of responsibility and possibility The bridge between the individual’s experience and the wisdom of stories is built with questions. In the teaching tradition of Socrates and Jesus, our goal is to assist the birth of knowing, to provide context and support, and pose questions that lead to ever-deepening explorations. Can you live with the questions? Can you hold aloft two (or more) realities at once? Do you appreciate the paradox and humor of being a seeker? If you’re okay with the deep knowing of not knowing the answers, our resources and method will excite you, support you on your journey, and reassure you that you’re not the only one out there scratching your head! We do not publish answers. We ask questions. Why? Again, because we are all storytellers and we all have a story to tell.