WEBVTT

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(soft uplifting music)

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- Can anyone tell me, rather quickly,

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when we did the rounds, just now,

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what were we really doing,

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besides bringing in the
values in our experiences?

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What else were we doing in this space?

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- Making connections.

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- Understanding why you're worthy.

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- I think it builds
feelings of positivity too,

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around the whole group,

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It's positive to hear
everybody's proudest things.

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- I think we were sharing,
actually, parts of ourselves.

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- Building community.

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- I think it helps us to
identify with each other.

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- If we said this as an adult,

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everybody here got to tell a story.

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So, everybody's voice is
in this circle, everybody.

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There isn't anybody that was left out.

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In a circle with students, or anyone else,

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there is a time, if the person
is not emotionally ready

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to tell anything or can't tell anything,

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and sometimes students don't have a word

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to articulate what their feeling.

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Even though they're high school students,

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sometimes they cannot articulate

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what it is they want to say.

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And as a circle keeper,
I can't prompt them.

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Notice I didn't prompt anyone.

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You didn't have to be
prompted because you're adult.

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But what if a student
said, well, it's like,

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well, I'm thinking it's kind of like,

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now one of the other community people

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can help her or him, but I can't,

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because I'm not there to put
words in anybody's mouth.

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And so, if you did this,
you can't do it either.

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And as the circle keeper, you notice,

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I was leaned over looking
at every single one of you.

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You had my undivided attention.

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And that's what you have to
give everybody in that circle.

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That much respect.

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Because their voices are coming
to the circle to be heard.

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And you must hear them.

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Now that said,

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this is not a process that can
be used just with students.

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I do it at Texas Southern
university with Dr. Bailey.

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She has substituted for me several times,

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which sometimes she said, Dr. Lang,

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these circles are something.

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I say, I know they are (laughing)

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I said, but it takes work to
develop those relationships.

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It's not easy.

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If it was easy, anybody could do it.

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It takes passion and
heart to do this work.

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Otherwise it's not for you,
because it's not a program.

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It's not something we
can take off the shelf,

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read the book and we're done.

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This is a process that
you must experience.

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You can't read it in a
book and make it happen.

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You are the happening, you're it.

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And you give yourself,
when you do circles.

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And that's why they're so powerful,

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because we just gave some
of ourselves in this circle,

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right here.

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So, for those of you who
do not work with children

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in any form or fashion,

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but you work with adults
somehow in what you do,

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I'm going to pass the
talking piece this time

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and ask you how you perceive
yourself using this tool.

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Because this is a tool.

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If you have a tool belt,

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this is just another
tool that you could use.

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How would you use this
in your line of work?

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(soft uplifting music)
(group speaking faintly)

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I'm glad you all found
other ways to use it.

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This is not just for bad kids, by the way.

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This is for anybody.

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As you can tell, you're not bad kids,

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but you're sitting in here and
you're getting information.

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We do it with students that
have discipline problems first,

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because that takes up the
most time in a school.

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But if I wanted to, I can
do a celebration circle.

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For instance, what's your name again?

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- Barbara.
- Barbara.

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You were one of my students,

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and all of us are in
the same class together.

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And you finally, for a whole
six weeks, came to school.

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We would get in a circle and
tell you how great it was

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having you back in this circle.

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It's a celebration.

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So, the circle can be
used in a lot of ways.

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It can be used to discuss issues at home.

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Like I tell you, I had
Thanksgiving with my family.

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That was my beginning circle
and circles do go wrong

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when you first start, just as an FYI.

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And so, we didn't have a
great circle that time,

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and several of us left angry.

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(laughing)

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So, that was my first circle.

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I said, oh, boy, I didn't do good.

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So, at Christmas I brought them back

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and I did a little bit
better, okay, just saying.

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It takes about 30 of these
circles to become proficient.

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30.

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You have just experienced one.

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Every circle you do will
get better, and better,

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and better, and better.

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And you're more comfortable with it.

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This is my circle guideline sheet.

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It's step-by-step of what I just did.

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And then that way, if you
want to do it yourself,

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you could, okay.

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Also, if you don't do that,

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Texas education agency will
have these sample lesson plans

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on their website and you
don't even have to do that.

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So, nevermind that, I just
remember, we're gonna have it.

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So, we'll have this circle
and the template for doing it.

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(soft uplifting music)