Jon Kleiman, Health and Nutrition Teacher
Kanatapi is a weekly exercise we do with our students, and it the most magical part of Akilah. We arrange ourselves, the 25 students and 6 staff, in a big circle of chairs and for an hour, trying to grow as individuals and as a community. Kanatapi begins with “sharing”. During sharing, people are encouraged to use “I feel” statements to share thoughts and reflections with the rest of the group. After sharing, our Program Director leads us through an exercise – some sort of a prompt that everyone in the circle must respond to. Last week’s prompt was “What is one of your inner strengths.” Today’s prompt asked us to complete the following sentences, “I used to be ____. I am ____. I want to be____.” We close the Kanatapi meeting with business, which provides us an opportunity to make administrative announcements.
I am not a teary person except when I sit in Kanatapi. The sharing that takes place, the vulnerability people show, the growth individuals make and the growth that the community experiences move me deeply. There are many varieties of comments that move me, but as an educator, there is nothing more moving than hearing students acknowledge the growth that they recognize taking place in themselves.
I don’t feel comfortable sharing specific comments that have been made in Kantapai, because Kanatapi feels so private and so intimate. But I will share a theme that continues to emerge. At every Kanatapi we’ve had, someone has mentioned how the Akilah community, the staff and students together, feels like one giant family. And then I cry.
I am grateful to our Program Director, Monique Schmidt, for having the courage and insight to bring Kanatapi to Akilah.
