Mentoring through Creativity

by Christina Lengyel

I truly came to understand the impact of the Merge approach while I was at an Arts in Recovery event put on by one of their clients, a peer support center.  I had been learning about and working with Merge for a few months, and I had built up a great deal of enthusiasm for [...]

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Who’s At Risk ?

by Christina Lengyel

Before reading Venturing Together, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.  I had familiarized myself with Merge and its mission, and I was eager to learn more.  The introductory chapters, however, described the state of our society and the dire level of need for community in our communities.  I was, of course, expecting this background, [...]

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Alternative Education

by Austen Goodman

I’m what is known as an alternative learner, and I struggled in school.  After 3rd grade it wasn’t about learning anymore and it seemed that it was only about the final product.  I never had the opportunity to process the information.  I would be rushed to finish my work, and I wouldn’t learn a thing.  [...]

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Creativity — a light at the end of the tunnel

by Christina Lengyel

It is my belief that we are most proud of the work we do when we express our humanity.  The process of expression is deeply cathartic, and outside appreciation for our art also serves as an affirmation of our humanness.  Merge seems to be linked intrinsically to the oppression that produced some of our greatest [...]

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Mentoring as a Shared Experience

by Christina Lengyel

It is very plain that Western culture suffers some serious wounds.  In my undergraduate studies, I became much more attuned to the specific nature of our societal dysfunction.  I studied African culture heavily in my anthropology program, and I began to see that on a psychological level the advantages of living in a collective society [...]

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What doesn’t kill us ... can make us creative

by Dawn Mehan

As the season is changing, one can notice how the shorter days and cooler temperatures affect behavior. Our clothing changes. We may go inside more often because we are sensitive to cold. Some of us prepare to leave for the winter for a sunnier and warmer place. Some may surrender to seasonal depression and find [...]

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Different Ways of Learning — First Takes

by Dawn Mehan

Bill’s approach has really helped me to see the different ways in which students learn. You may already know this to be true for the way you learn; you may need to understand a process mentally before diving in … you may need to walk through the experience physically before understanding it mentally … you may [...]

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Strengths-based Mentoring Works!

by Dawn Mehan

As I was saying in last week’s post, when I started teaching it quickly seemed that really enjoying teaching would at best be a far off destination and that I, too, would join the other martyrs to tiredly serve the deserving but uncooperative youth. But much has changed for me since then. When I started [...]

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