This is an interview conducted by Rachel Weinstock on me that was featured on her website Mentor Mondays: 1) What/who inspired you to be a teacher/educator? I will share a personal story here to illustrate how powerful and inspiring an educator can be: I had an inspirational high school teacher, Ms. P, who believed in me and saw something in me, at a time when I didn't believe in myself. I was going through a difficult time in high school: I was a recluse-one of those kids who had no friends; and, also had depression and anxiety, in addition to substance abuse. I recall one day that I finally had enough of my life and was going to end my life, but that I would go attend Ms. P's class one last time. As I walked into her classroom, I saw something on my desk (only on mine): a small hat and a card with a Mother Teresa image. I flipped over the card and it says: "I take my hat off to you. You are not afraid to shine your light into the darkness of the world. You believe in the power of one, so did Mother Teresa, and she changed the world" It was then and there that I recognize how powerful, inspiring and life-changing that a teacher can be in a student's life. I am still standing here today; and, I have made it my life's purpose and vision to bring compassionate teaching into the forefront of education because of my former teacher who has set an example for me. 2) Did you always dream of working in the field of education? No. I think more so that life experiences led me to teaching: It was through my experience with my former high school teacher (described above) that led me to want to become a teacher. It was also through some other life-altering episodes in my life that led me to one day accept an invite from a friend to volunteer in a classroom. I remember walking into the grade one classroom and thinking to myself "This feels like home. Now I know what I want to do-I want to become a teacher". 3) What would you say are the most important qualities an teacher/educator needs to have when working with students? Compassion, self-awareness, and the ability to be observant. You have to be astutely aware of your surroundings and what's going on inside and outside of yourself as you teach. This helps to foster self-awareness, and, with self-awareness comes understanding and compassion. 4) What challenges you the most as a teacher/educator? The demands of curriculum with standardized testing and testing/marks as the be-all-and-end-all. Teaching to me is more than academics; it is about the self-actualization of students: the process of inner consciousness to outer consciousness to create a more compassionate, inspired next generation. 5) If you could add or change three things about teaching what would it be and why? a) I would bring in the human dimension of teaching as the essence in teaching because I firmly believe that the relationships with the children come first above all else. b) The ethical and moral dimensions of teaching needs to be brought to awareness, this is because, as my doctoral supervisor, Elizabeth Campbell says, children are the vulnerable sector; and, the compulsory nature of schooling: children do not get to choose to go to school or not. They also do not get to choose their teacher. Also, as I recall from the book "The Moral Life of Schools": no other profession has the power of having groups of children together for long periods of time where when the adult uplifts a child, other children are there to witness; and, also the reverse: when the adult humiliates a child, a whole group of children gets to witness that as well. Even parents don't have that power. Teaching is inherently infused with the ethical and the moral; and, we owe it to our students that we pay attention to that as teachers. c) The hope that people pursue teaching because it is their calling; their passion. Teaching can have such a potential in shifting and transforming lives that I really do believe, teaching is a job of the soul. 6) What do you want people who are not a part of the education system to know? Teachers have a myriad of responsibilities and accountability on their plate, and on top of that, day in and day out they are with the most vulnerable, the most perceptive: our children. Hence, Teaching is not a job for the faint of heart. In fact, from my own experience, I believe teaching is a career that has the unique position of influencing, inspiring and determining what our next generation, essentially, our future will look like. The kind of world we would like to live in and we would like to envision---teaching has the power to be a part of that evolution and transformation. I would not suggest people go into teaching as a back up plan; teaching is a calling. 7) What is one of the most valuable lessons you have learned as a teacher/educator? Teaching is truly, in its essence, a conversation between hearts. Compassionate teaching and love in action is what teaching is all about. You can have a grasp of all the latest teaching techniques out there, and take numerous workshops and read books about educational trends and topics that pertain to what you are teaching. However, it is truly in the relationships that you built with students that can transform a classroom into one of learning that is ripe with inspiring moments; and, one that affirms, celebrates, and nurtures students' well-being and identity. 8) If you could teach just one lesson to students that they would remember for their rest of their lives what would you want to say? If I could teach one lesson to students that they would remember for the rest of their lives it would be...to never underestimate the power of one individual in making a difference; that each of us have the ability to impact one another like a domino effect. You never know where the inspiration can go, and the profound impact you can have. That ripple effect is what makes the world more compassionate, more loving, and more caring.
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