Today I was presented with the opportunity to engage in a moment of #MindfulLearning with a student of mine and I could not be more honored at the fact that she chose to be vulnerable with me in that moment when she absolutely did not have too. Each week I present my students with a question to answer at the beginning of class to implement how important it is to always introduce yourself whenever you are requested to speak and to also build connections with your classroom through these communication rapport strategies. As we approached the last student to answer the posed question, another student of mine pointed out how I missed someone. I have no idea how I missed her, but I did. I apologized and asked her to stand up to answer the question, but she declined. Although she had her mask on, I noticed her complexation to be flushed as if she were crying or holding back her tears, and it also looked like she could barely open her eyes because they were swollen most likely from crying.
I paused the class for moment because I could not divert my attention away from how sad I knew she was, so I asked her to step outside with me. Once we were outside, I asked her if she was feeling okay and right in that moment, she divulged a lot of personal, sensitive information about her mental state of mind while crying her eyes out. It broke my heart to hear that she is having such a tough time in her personal life and knowing how I desperately struggle with my own mental health, I needed to reassure her that she was not alone and that sometimes it is okay to not be okay. I told her that if she needed to, she could excuse herself from the remainder of the recitation because our class consists of a lot of group activities therefore it would require her to be socially present and that was probably the last thing she felt comfortable doing. The empath in me just wanted to hug and rock her, and try to take all of her problems away, but I also wanted to be #Mindful in the fact that she may not be comfortable with affection especially from someone she does not know that well. I did not want to overstep any boundaries with her as my student, but I did want to let her know that she has my heart and full support in this stage of life she is in and that we may very well all be in, so I made sure to check up on her via email after class to remind her that I am her to help.
Even though that vulnerable moment with my student made me sad, I did notice how vulnerable, understanding, and empathic my class as whole was being today and it made me feel amazing to be the one to bring these practices out of them unintentionally. The question I posed to my students was “What is something that someone could do today on national do something nice day, that would make you extremely happy?” Each of my students gave a range of answers but I had about a handful of students whose answers were very personal to how they may have been feeling today. Some of these answer included: If you could just smile at me, “if you could tell me I’m doing just fine” and one of my favorites “If I could get a hug, that would make me really happy.” Two of my students got up and gave her the most beautiful hugs I have ever witnessed. They truly embraced each other and exchanged good energy with one another. They literally hugged for over five seconds, and I wanted to shed a tear because the exchange was so pure and genuine.
I had to let my students know that they are truly amazing individuals to get to know, learn, and grow with. How could I have gotten so lucky to have such thoughtful students attending to the emotional needs of their peers in only seven weeks of interacting with each other? Then on top of that, how ironic is it that in this week’s pedagogy discussion highlighting The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer (1998/2007) he encourages us a teacher’s to be vulnerable with our students and I end up having an entire day reflecting his practices. To be vulnerable is to be #Mindful of not only our own thoughts and feelings but also the people around us, like my students. Palmer says and I quote “as we try to connect ourselves and our subjects with our students, we make ourselves, as well as our subjects, vulnerable to indifference, judgment, and ridicule” (pp. 18). Today I was the student, and my students were the teachers. I #Learned how emotionally intelligent and connected they are and how receptive they are to my authenticity and the “heart” I have for each of them, even my student that shows up thirty minutes late weekly. You would have thought that I have been teaching them #MindfulLearning this entire time when in all actuality they have been teaching me.
Source:
Palmer, P. J. (1998/2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: Wiley & Sons.
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