Deep Listening

When you speak to a child on a personal basis, or when you deal with an issue, how well are you really listening to them? Do you already have a personal agenda before you begin? Deep listening helps you to let go of all your preconceptions and judgments, and you simply listen to what is said without planning your next words or actions. When you deeply listen you are less likely to make a rash decision which will serve neither the child or yourself. Until you deeply listen you cannot really hear what someone else is saying, and you cannot possibly know how to act skillfully.

Deep Seeing

When you look at your kids what do you see? Is your view clouded by your preconceptions and judgments? Is your vision veiled by your idea of what you believe they should be? Or are you able to see beyond all of that and truly see the person inside for what they are, not anything else? When you can answer yes to only the last question, then you are on the road to truly seeing your children and only then will you be able to enjoy something wonderful together.

Truth

Since the title of this blog is Teaching The Truth, let me simply enter a couple of quotes about such.

"If you cling to something as an absolute truth and are caught in it, when the truth comes knocking at your door, you will refuse to let it in."

Buddha

"Truth is not that which can be demonstrated. It is that which simplifies."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Wind, Sand and Stars.

Letting Go Of The Need To Control

All children need to learn to respect boundaries and live within the rules set down by the school. However, no child should ever be made to feel that they are helpless in the face of an adult who bullies and tries to dominate and intimidate them. Many teachers need to let of their petty need to control their students and replace it with firm but compassionate guidance so that children always feel that they are heard, valued and respected as fellow humans.

Lighten Up

We all have deadlines, expectations and people down our back. Sometimes in the crush of all this we forget to notice the smiles in the kids faces. We fail to see the humour in the everyday activity of school. Life is not such a serious business as we make it out to be. Take some time to have fun. Look around you at all the opportunities you have to laugh. For crying out loud stop taking yourself so seriously. This whole school gig can be a lot of fun if you step down from your pedestal of self importance and lighten up a bit.

Being Us

Perhaps we need to talk less about what kids can or should be, or what they want to be. Maybe we can spend more time helping them to understand that they already are everything they need to be. The only thing missing is this realization. We can guide them on the path of discovering what they really are before we burden them down with all the illusions associated with creating who they are.

Are You A Petty Tyrant?

Don't get me wrong, kids like some kind of order. If you watch a class with little control the students are not happy. So this is not about letting kids run wild. What it is about is stepping back and taking a look at your routines and rules. How many of them are necessary? How many are simply the result of your own need to have order and control in your life? When you come from a place of compassion and caring, when you truly have your student's best interests at heart and when they know this, then many of the dictates you perceive to be necessary simply fall away. You may be the captain, but remember your crew know a lot more than you think about keeping the ship in order and they will be happier and better learners when you give them credit for this.