Yesterday I heard Bob Greenleaf speak at The Fire and the Rose, a conference on resiliency and learning in students that I organized for CAIS. I wish I had been able to go to all of the different sections of the presentation, but I was definitely overloaded, and missed out on more of the sessions than I got to attend. I also presented one piece on spirituality with a colleague, Tom Hungerford from Westover School in Middlebury, where the conference was held.
Bob Greenleaf talked about the power of ritual to transform people’s lives; that it just takes 21 repetitions of something non-negotiable and necessary before that element becomes integrated into a person’s life so deeply that it becomes missed if it is removed. He talked about the power of the family meeting to transform his family’s life. So I tried that last night. I bought a quart of ice cream and held an advisee meeting in my dorm. Only the kids from my floor were invited, and they all came. I waited until they were all there, and we had a meeting.
I used the same questions that Bob did at his first family meeting. What did you learn this week that you think will be useful for the rest of your lives? What are you most proud of this week? What are your issues, worries and concerns?
It was AWESOME.
21 huh? why that number?
i’m always suspicious of statements like that.