Wednesdays, 1.30 pm
on April 5, 2009
in gv
What do we do every other Wednesday at 1.30 in GV?
We learn how to talk and listen. A group of teachers meets Jacek, a psychologist and psychotherapist, in order to spend together 1.5 hours sharing our professional experiences, opinions and comments on situations that happened to us while teaching.
Why do we do that?
To learn the demanding art of paying full attention to the other person, to listen and talk in a non-judgmental way.
Do we really need that?
Everybody needs that! I believe that most of the problems in this world are caused by our inability to communicate. Not listening, constant judging, approaching a situation in a schematic way, reacting and not responding can only lead to misunderstanding.
How is a session organized?
The Balint Group, a group method of training doctors and specialists which emphasizes the importance of the use of the emotions and personal understanding in the doctor’s work, serves us as a model. One person reports spontaneously a case from their professional experience that poses a problem. Then, members of the group help the presenter, by means of associations, questions, and interpretations, to elucidate the difficulties in the presenter’s relation with the patient. Of course we discuss our students and classroom situations.
Is it easy to talk like that?
Actually, it’s quite difficult. As teachers we are in the habit of doing things according to a certain set of rules, but here we have to stop all that and think differently. I heard that a teacher should be a controller, an organiser, an assessor, a prompter, a participant, a resource, a tutor, an observer, an explainer, an enabler, an involver, a helper … How about a teacher who is a human being, sometimes confused, disoriented, stuck? The language teacher teaches how to communicate. But what to do when communication fails?
What are the benefits?
Jacek encourages us to appreciate silence, to come up with more than one answer, to be slightly embarrassed. Let’s try and evaluate cautiously, avoid oversimplification, imagine ourselves in other person’s shoes. Let’s realise we are in a role, but we are not the role. Let’s not look for a quick fix. The effect can be uplifting, inspiring, even enlightening, but sometimes the answer can’t be found. However, we stay curious with more open, spacious mind and relaxed attitude, willing to know others (and ourselves) better.
(justyna_t)
