THE KEY FACTORS TO HOLISTIC EDUCATION

That brings me to my next important point. When you see someone eating an apple, do you really see only apple? How many of us can see the background stories behind – the bees collecting the nectar from the flowers of the apple tree, the beekeeper taking care of the beehives, the gardener who collects the apples, driver who drives it to the store, seller, cashier and then you, who can enjoy the tasty bits… Noticing at least some of these means your awareness is at a higher level.

Why do I even bring this up? Because based on my observations I found that awareness is the key factor of the learning that takes place in the classroom. Both on the side of a teacher as well as the students. If teachers lecture 60 minutes and do not ask a single question or asks and answer themselves, if they keep talking in spite of the majority of students sleeping, playing with their computer or looking out of the window obviously absent-minded, while a few students try to follow the teachers’ lecture, then surely this teacher is not providing the chance for the students’ mind to interact with the subject content, individually or as part of a group. In such a classroom either teachers are NOT aware of anything that goes on a bit further from them or they are aware but do nothing or are not supported enough to change it. This is the worst because it makes the teacher and the school ignorant. They ignore the fact that the time for students to learn is being shamefully wasted. 

Why are we doing something when holistically there are low results coming out of our endeavor? Is it not against the very nature of our beings – to leave something behind, to help others grow? One might say, that there are some students who are able to thrive even under the guidance of such teachers – but this is not thanks to the teaching style of such teacher, rather in spite of their teaching. Imagine, if instead of three or four students the whole class had a chance to reach their potential… And I am not talking only about A*; I am talking about the students’ feeling of overcoming the challenge, feeling of improving and getting better at something.

Do not simply look at the students as numbers – look deeper, look further. There is a story behind every single face, the same way as there is a story behind every single apple you hold in your palm. If you want your school to succeed on a deeper level of education and development of youngsters, you need to have teachers who are trained in being tuned to the present moment, who are observant of their own feelings, surroundings, students facial expressions, their thoughts, words, deeds, who simply are aware and stay connected with the students. These teachers do not only see apples in their classroom but are conscious about all what lies behind. They will be able to transform their classes to the space of mutual respect, trust, where curiosity is supported, questions fly in the air, where everyone feels included in the process with no fear of shame, of failure, where everyone understand that we are learning to find out more, to build upon our knowledge and to gain understanding of the world around. When this process is understood and implemented well, it will naturally lead to A* without that being our primary focus. The grade itself is not a priority; it is just an indicator and a natural outcome of our endeavor of which the ultimate goal is to become a better version of ourselves. These teachers are always able to create the environment where we have a chance to nurture our talents, where we are able to flourish not only in academia, but as mindful humans as well…

There are many students during a year, that at some point come and talk to me about variety of problems. In about quarter of the cases, the issue is that they do not really see the meaning of their major as chosen by their parents or of Life projected to them. They question the purpose, the meaning, the direction. Sometimes I also admit that even adults do feel lost at times and constantly need to reinvent the meaning and next step or direction, assuring them it is all right, as this is what being human means. Oftentimes they claim that they have never held such a conversation with anyone. They were not given the opportunity to be involved in such contemplation or reflection. “Not even with your parents?” I ask. And sadly, majority of them says: “No. Not even. They are too busy to make business growing…” 

This shows, that sometimes we are closing our eyes, minds and hearts being afraid to share with youngsters how we feel, how adults experience finding the directions. We often wear the masks of the authority even when we don’t need to. We do wear the ties on our necks, but we are leaving hearts in the shelves of our wardrobes. My question is a natural one: Why do we do that?

You don’t have to see this is important in educating others, you do not even have to agree with me. However, I speak from the experience and all I ask you for is to think about and reflect upon what has been said in the last paragraph. From both perspectives – of a parent as well as of a teacher… Because only when we become aware of things around us, we can act upon our observations, start looking for the reasons and improve our approaches to life for the benefits of everyone involved.

(RB, 5.11. 2019; Guangzhou, China)