2018-07-25Staff Report 2 There are various factors to be considered when one is contemplating the standard of education in our beloved motherland. However, if you concentrate long enough, then you will see that it all boils down to two pillars: the teacher and the student. Students do not know how to think about subject matter in such a way that they really understand it, and teachers lack the quality needed to attract the attention of the students. The previous article talked about peace. The exercise was to remember a time in your life when you were really at peace with yourself and the world. The idea was to fill yourself with that feeling before you enter the classroom. If you do this over a longer period (perhaps a month or longer), you will notice a slight atmospheric change in your lessons. In this article, I would like to go deeper into this thing called peace. If one is not aware, then “peace” will always remain nothing but a nice word. However, through awareness, the human being can transcend a word and reach a point where a word becomes real. Words like WISDOM, LOVE, PATIENCE, etc. point towards a reality. If something is real, then you cannot ignore it. What is the reality of peace and how does it affect your lesson? I remember when I was a teacher-student. I once sat in a class and observed my mentor conducting a lesson. I sat right at the back of the class and I made an astonishing discovery: the voice of my mentor literally calmed me and the class down. It took me many years to finally understand what had happened. My mentor himself was in a state of absolute peace and he was absolutely at one with the content of the lesson. The peace within him spilled over into his voice and his words. That had a great effect on me and his learners. Exercise Continue holding that feeling of peace from memory. Feel it while you are in front of your class. Now, imagine peace expanding from your heart affecting your words and your voice. Finally imagine your peace entering your students. This is real, but you have to go beyond mere words. *Shapumba ya Shapumba is the founder of Natural Learning Education consultancy. He teaches how to obtain a+ in any subject (students) and the secret to extraordinary teaching. For booking:shapumbashapumba@yahoo.com or 0812786925. 2018-07-25Staff Report 2
