The Vital Force Archive

Beverly Weil's open letter answering the concern voiced at the Conference over proposed changes to the Teacher Accreditation process, urging teachers to trust Prajna and the Chi rather than fear.

Stephanie Bass and Lorraine Lepine distill a two-hour drive home from the conference into a dialogue about whether Bass could commit to the higher expectations now placed on TCC teachers.

Athene Mantle's account of the 2002 San Antonio conference, where Ed Altman led a charged discussion on improving teacher training and Mantle argued the real question is who pays for time already spent.

KG recounts Justin Stone's reply that "Life is a big responsibility" and argues against the proposed two-tier teacher training, urging teachers to prepare their own candidates and hold workshops on teaching teachers.

Monique Beneteau, a month from her Edmonton accreditation week, traces her path from resenting corrections to welcoming them after a humbling Sedona retreat, second beginner's class and Edmonton preparation workshops.

Readers welcome the journal's new publishing schedule and Noel's move to Hawaii, while KG of Boston objects to the July cover's prominent cross and two Cincinnati teachers demand an apology for remarks about the teacher who accredited them.

Rhonda St. Martin calls the first conference Justin Stone did not attend an important milestone, marked by difficult community discussion of proposed accreditation changes, less movement time, and refinements she found right-on.

Four readers, including Neena Mitchell, Freddy Solomon, Elissa Maguire and nursing professional Ann Marie Wyrsch, write in support of a two-tiered teacher training process, with checklists, pre-certification screening and continuing education.

Donna McElhose writes to Justin Stone after the San Antonio conference, answering eight objections raised against two-phase accreditation, including cost, two-signature recommendations, unaccredited teaching, and the case for mandatory renewal training.

Teachers and first-time attendees, from David White to April Leffler and Connie Hyde, respond to the 2002 San Antonio conference: the accreditation debate, Justin Stone's absence and video message, and outdoor group practice.

Linda Riska Williams connects Justin Stone's absence from the conference with the death of her own father in September 2001, and asks how teacher accreditation can preserve the practice's purity.

Alice Holden, writing for the host team, accounts for the 116-teacher Conference at the University of the Incarnate Word, from dorm rooms and cost savings to Justin Stone's video call to gratitude and the passionate debate over two-tiered teacher training.

Barbara Lippert describes the lengthy, sometimes emotional conference debate over teacher training, and compares softening into tension in practice to letting the community's collective prajna reach its own decision.

Transcribed by Dan Pienciak, Justin Stone's video greeting to the summer conference calls teachers pioneers, then reads his written piece on gratitude, habit energies, circulating the chi, and the turiya state.

Justin Stone pledges that T'ai Chi Chih will stay free of bureaucracy, salaried positions and profit motives, proposing that the $100 in teacher-training honoraria go instead to a scholarship fund for needy candidates.

Margery Erickson's notes from the 2002 conference panel where teachers from Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis, New Jersey/New York, San Antonio and Albuquerque described their meetings, retreats, teacher prep days and community centers.

Ed Altman announces 2003 policy changes: two referral signatures, a six-month window, pass/fail courses with no more deferrals, new four-day Intensive courses, and the end of the referral stipend.

Justin Stone names two worries about the proposed two-tier teachers' training: a cost of up to $2000 might bar good candidates or push them to teach unaccredited, and suggests scholarships and two recommending teachers instead.

Sharon Sirkis and Sher Dano collect classroom slips and comebacks, from a student whose favorite move was "Rocking Horse" to a retirement center lady asking permission to complain about the cold room.

Amy Hackenberg's notes from four conference sessions where Ed Altman called the 12% deferral rate unacceptable, laid out four options including a two-phase course, and teachers answered with Justin Stone's letter in hand.

Eleven haiku by Becky B. Watkins tracing a morning practice from the first circling movements through Carry the Ball, Pulling in the Energy and Push Pull to a quiet mind.

Seven attendees, among them Toni Corrigan, Alice Holden, Tonya Setzke, Pam Towne and Bitsy LeBlanc, respond to the San Antonio conference, where discussion of the teacher preparation process left little time for moving.

Noel Altman reports that a last-minute room and board discount from the University of the Incarnate Word left the San Antonio Conference Committee with surplus funds, which the "San Antonio Six" donated to several TCC groups.

Sandy McAlister announces the first retreat devoted to teaching technique, conceived by Sr. Meg Costello after conference discussion, where teachers will examine their own movements and share classroom experience.