Once I was teaching in Idaho, and the class was full of freshmen. I noticed two older men at the back of the room, struggling with every move they made. I did my best despite their lack of promise, and I treated them kindly.<\/p>\n
That evening, I learned that one of the men was the chairman of the board of directors of one of the largest corporations in the world. He appreciated my kindness and effort, and later arranged for me to give lectures to his executives, managers, and employees about sanity, integrity, and the workplace. As educators, we are always around people who struggle to do what we can do with relative ease. Our superior skills can lure us into ego traps and we begin to become less respectful of others.<\/p>\n
To counter this trend, I constantly remind myself that my classes are full of professional chefs, concert pianists, ballet dancers, marathon runners, expert swimmers, moms of five, CEOs, doctors, massage therapists… Yes, I can do yoga well, I can teach yoga well, and yet every single one of them possesses qualities and skills that I will never have. Considering that every student is so much more than the crumpled body we see before us, our ego will be humbled, and our innate kindness will flourish. Kindness is respect and respect is kindness.<\/p>\n
This does not mean that we pamper the student or do what the student wants. Kindness means helping the student to progress quickly with the least possible harm. Maximum progress, minimum time and brutality.<\/p>\n
Adel Belkhivala 2008<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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