I’ve had two conversations with a higher education educator based in Paris who’s inspired me with her open heart and inspired action.
We spoke about Love for students, enabling meaningful peer connection, sharing one’s philosophy as an educator so students know you care about them and their LIFE and not just their grades. I shared this by Nipun Mehta, ServiceSpace founder: “We are not merely what we do, but who we become by what we do.”
Stellina reminds me of the power of ONE educator who cares deeply about her students and nurtures her own “becoming”.
As we face global challenges including youth mental health issues, transforming the curriculum so it enables young people to live into wholeness, depth and meaning where they feel a connection to themselves, others and life and are inspired to take care of all of life is important. And I believe aligned educator transformation and wellbeing is just as or even more important.
Excerpts from Stellina’s moving notes:
“I was a little lost in teaching young adults…I didn’t know how to enhance their empathy and teamwork. I’ve been teaching teamwork, communication and emotional intelligence for more than 15 years….Vadivu helped to transform my lessons and invite more sincerity, more emotions, more humanity.
🔆 I changed my icebreakers. I used to ask them to say: I love…I can…I know…. The results were quite poor and created superficial links between them. Thanks to Vadivu, I discovered the power of asking questions that draw out more personal information and feelings. They shared aspects of their lives they never did before. I heard things that moved me a lot. They were “heart to heart conversations” for the first time.
🔆 I dared to tell stories. I chose “The Island of Feelings” about love, sadness, wisdom and Time. It was among my documents from 2003 and I never used it. I can’t believe I shared it. Later, I asked them to give peer feedback for an exercise. One of them told me that she received much love. This word never appeared in trainings. Maybe the story allowed her to use that extraordinary word!
🔆 I took my students out. Vadivu and I shared how nature experiences fulfilled our soul needs. The communication between them was extremely smooth, like water in a river. I felt I disappeared; they didn’t need me anymore. They felt safe together and everyone found their place. We were not in school any more. We were just a group of human beings reflecting together. That’s what I call working! (You can notice that natural experience in the picture).
Thanks to Vadivu’s support, I allowed myself to experiment new ways to meet my students. I have a long way because I have so many fears and my work conditions don’t always give me freedom. But I feel I have a responsibility towards people in front of me. And maybe one of them is to help them to discover their inner wealth.”
We work within systems, which sometimes box us in and I have met inspiring people whose vibrant, caring heart grows out of crevices of such systems. They create quiet, powerful miracles. And give me hope.
Power of One Educator: Stellina’s Story
