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This weekend I was fortunate to attend a day long workshop in St. Paul, on "Non-violent communication." The title of the workshop comes from  Marshall Rosenberg,  author of a book by the same title. In a nutshell, his program  outlines a series of steps to help create a more compassionate and mindful mode of communication. The steps include, observing carefully; being aware of feelings that underlie our communications; being aware of needs and wants that are trying to find expression; and differentiating between demands and requests. Although this is very difficult work, it seems vital for anyone in education to do some reflection on their communication, and this book is a great place to start. For more on this book, check it out here: "Non-violent communication" by Marshall Rosenberg.

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