Rediscovering & Transforming the Mentor Within
As the children move ahead for a relaxing summer break, it is a time of inner reflection for all
the members in the Shikshantar team. Coming together in a discussion spread out over several
days led by Seema Didi, the team explored their educational journeys through achieving a
clearer understanding of their inner self, and the role it plays in their work.
In an introspective experience, the Primary School team began with an interesting activity of
choosing an object among many and pondered on its qualities. It led them further to make
creative writeups personifying each object as a teacher with unique strengths that they could
emulate to enhance their work with the children. A torch became a “guiding light highlighting
strengths”, a book took the form of “a companion that nurtures imagination, curiosity and
relationships” etc.
A close reading of an excerpt from ‘The Courage to Teach’ by Parker Palmer spurred a discussion
exploring the role of ‘fear’ in classroom spaces and the impact of a strong sense of self. Taking
into account their personal experiences and how past mentors influenced them, facilitators
shared challenging moments that forced them to come to terms with their identity. While the
educator may hold potential for sparking a transformation in children’s lives, it is the children
who direct the interpersonal relationship.
Being secure in one’s selfhood allows the facilitator to be vulnerable and engage deeply with
students, who can in turn connect with the subject at a profound level. The importance of
integrity and acknowledging one’s identity in teaching was a theme that came up frequently,
with some team members sharing how a recognition of their strengths helped them solve
classroom conflicts in authentic and creative ways.
The discussion was accompanied by immersive experiences that enabled facilitators to
acknowledge one's fears in the classroom. In an activity of ‘Cross the Line’, team members
stepped forward and crossed a line based on different questions related to their fears, turning
the symbolic step of confronting their insecurities into a shared experience in a safe space
among trusted colleagues. Similarly, another activity had facilitators hold up masks to represent
their public persona while they revealed their inner anxieties. The comfort of having mentors,
learning and existing without our masks encourages children and facilitators to create a ‘space
that each one of us belongs to’.
Bringing the sessions to a close, team members together sang poems and songs in different
languages that reflected and summed up the experience of recognising one's identity, integrity
and fears that we often carry along. The team left with renewed purpose and a deeper
understanding of overcoming obstacles in unity. As a team member shared - “When I'm healed,
I'm not healed alone.”