In my previous post I had promised to keep you updated on the rest four sensitization principles in my sessions with teachers. So, I keep my word and in this post I am revealing them to you.
The first principle goes in line with John Dewey’s approach “learning-by-doing” and it involves self-initiated practical activities. Caregivers were asked at the end of each session to carry out a series of exercises/home tasks in the form of reflections, observations, self-evaluations and testing out new ways of interacting with children. In that way they took their time to look into their caring practice carefully, becoming conscious of their actions and the consequences these have. Therefore, a positive change in their caring skills is more possible when it comes “from within” rather than by just trying to put the theory in practice.
The next principle has been one of my favorite and it’s about sharing thoughts and experiences in groups. I really enjoyed “stepping aside” and letting the participants speak out freely. My role was limited in guiding the discussion mostly by reflection provoking questions. It was super interesting to listen to teachers’ sincere realizations and see their “naked exposure” in front of their colleagues.
I appreciated very much their honesty both when they reported back about home exercises and also during discussion of topics that popped up during the sessions. Many times I used examples from other teachers’ groups –obviously anonymously- to raise awareness. The purpose behind this was the special effect it had on them, as I could clearly see that they felt a kind of relief every time they heard that other participants have similar experiences as themselves.
I should also underline that their comments and insights were significant for me for two reasons. The first was the fact that I took them in consideration while I was preparing my next session with the specific group. So, according to what had been said, I tried to make the structure of my next session including their thoughts and “building upon them”. The second was that they helped me filling easily the logbook I wrote after each meeting. The logbook briefly is the facilitator’s “companion” and it contains information about each session’s flow based on observation and reflection.
But it was not only the caregivers who “shared their souls out”, but also me as teacher and as person. How would it be possible to encourage an empathic attitude towards children and talk about a living, human topic such as care if I kept “professional distance”? From the very beginning of the ICDP sessions I wanted to transmit to the teachers (indirectly with my behavior) that general explanations and cold, alien communication was not my style. Instead, I tried to replace that expected, usual pattern by a more equal relationship characterized by sharing of personal experiences.
More specifically, I used two communication methods while applying this third sensitization principle with the caregivers. The first was to give explanations through my personal examples, stories and demonstrations. Sharing my experiences with them through photos, videos, role-play, stories about my students, nephew in different settings etc. helped me to pass a concrete and strong message. It is worth mentioning that of course I used stories and images from other contexts and even though caregivers found them interesting, they were much more attracted by getting to know my personal repertoire of practical examples.
The second method was about indicating what the child experiences and how he/she feels in certain situations and reactivating teachers’ empathy by letting them think what they would experience in the same situation. Therefore, caregivers were encouraged to see the child as a person with feelings and intentions. In many contexts, this is something that people take for granted, but unfortunately this is not the case everywhere. So, reflection provoking questions like “how would you feel if…” and explanations such as “when you do this, the child feels…” constitute the interpretive ways of speaking trying to describe children’s experiences and emotions.
The last sensitization principle includes the use of the eight ICDP themes for positive interactions as a basis for consciousness-raising, self-awareness and exemplification. It is recommended that the facilitator provides the caregivers with booklets where the eight themes are illustrated. However, due to lack of resources and number of participants, I decided to offer to the teachers an alternative option.
In the last session I gave to each one of them and also left to each school a flipchart (which I created myself) in which the most important topics of our sessions were summarized. I suggested teachers to put it either in their class or at home, wherever they feel it will accompany them better reminding them our sessions. This is a way of both activation of personal exploration and self-monitoring.
In this ICDP circle there have been successfully certified 45 teachers from 4 primary schools in Mumias East area. The influence of the sessions in the interactions between caregivers-children seems to be really positive as it is seen through the anonymous feedback they filled during our last session. This feedback was my initiative and it contained three questions regarding to the sessions: their influence, possible difficulties and recommendations for change or/and improvement. It is surprising that no teacher mentioned other thing than positive impact on their interactions.
Some of their statements are the following: “My attitude towards caregiving has been totally changed, I feel more free and closer to children”, “I can now appreciate the importance of being empathetic and human”, “I can value the needs and emotions of the child”, “I’ ve been converted from a violent and non-sensitive person to a loving and understanding one”, “I changed my way of interacting with children from authoritarian to authoritative”, “I’ve become a better teacher and a better person, my interactions both in school and in society have been improved”, “I am able to set limits on a positive way without the need of corporal punishment”.
I should also reveal that the main requests for change were: 1) increased number of sessions (6 with each teachers' group were not enough!), time extension and 2) implementation of the ICDP on a country level covering a broad spectrum of the society including parents, guardians etc. I wish I could do miracles! But as Theodore Roosevelt had said “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are!”
However, I didn’t want to leave anyone disappointed. I created an ICDP trained teachers WhatsApp group which includes the majority of them (and me!) so that they continue to share their insights, experiences and questions. I have also started a conversation through email with the rest with the same aim.
Last but not least, as my deployment soon comes to an end, I am planning to come in contact with the next education volunteer providing him/her with some questions in a form of a rating scale to distribute to the teachers. This can be used as an observation form and as a way of monitoring.
I am happy and proud of this first ICDP experience coming successfully to an end. I feel grateful for everything I have experienced and learned through the sessions. It has been a way full of challenges and excitement at the same time. I am looking forward to my next ICDP adventure!
I leave you with this nice quote I saw somewhere recently: “Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested” African proverb.
Love and light :)
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