writes, Ms. Manjot from St. Mary’s School, New Delhi
Knowing oneself knowing others the sense of connectedness is very vital for the holistic development of any child. This sense of connectedness, the infectious excitement reminds me every day , why I entered this profession.
In my opinion a compassionate classroom awakens senses and creativity, foster relationships and community , values intuition , silence and spiritual diversity. Its about creating havens of peace and understanding that provides stillness and perspective outside the frenetic pace of modern life.
Teaching is an art of creating experiences leading people into greater awareness. So, in my opinion teaching from the heart is the foremost requirement, by sharing anecdotes, personal experiences, secular and cultural philosophies. Teaching with heart and soul also involves plans for cultivating empathy , reverence , awareness in classroom. A teacher must know her students’ mood , chemistry of her class , he cognitive abilities as well as emotional intelligence of her class.
Teacher has to set an example by herself respecting the diversity in her class, be it religious, racial, gender based etc. She has to approach other belief system with respect, humility and the students will be more than willing to expand their own horizons, as also be accepting other traditions.
A teacher also has to establish safe emotionally secure environment for her students by being approachable , being unbiased . By emphasizing upon values of love, appreciation and respect transcending all cultures. A teacher has to form a relationship with her students , the more you know them, the more they are likely to open themselves to you in search of their answers.
For being a compassionate teacher , a teacher herself has to make time to cultivate , rejuvenate her own self. Only then can she be a compassionate person , and can create compassionate learning space.
Compassion involves sympathetic concern for someone, wish to see the relief of the sufferer and also responsiveness or readiness to bring relief to someone in need.
So what should a compassion based training include?… developing attention and stability of mind , cultivating self- compassion , developing appreciation and gratitude for others , developing affection and empathy for others.
Furthermore , activities such as participation in community based service, feeling valued as a member of community act as precursor to creating a compassionate being. Prominent compassion teacher and scholar Salzberg writes that …” Compassion is not at all weak. It is the strength that arises of seeing the true nature of suffering in the world. Compassion allows us to bear witness to that suffering. Whether it is in ourselves or others , without fear ; it allows us to name injustice without hesitation , to act strongly , with all our skills at disposal”.
By acknowledging suffering, children have opportunity to get in touch with what compassion feels like : e.g, komal is unwell , what if we all make a get well card and send her?
While compassion does not necessarily need to always include an altruistic behavior , engaging in concrete behaviors can be useful way of learning about the process of compassion , in as small a gesture as helping to take out copy from the bag of a child suffering from cerebral palsy, or helping a weak student to solve a mathematical problem.
A t
