Name : JANA FOUAD BOU RESLAN
Age : 29
Country : Lebanon
I used to
see my own teachers as heroes of their time; full of information and
transmitters of the preciously valuable: Knowledge. My perception of learning
as a 10 and 11 years old pre-adolescent was that teachers “always” know better
and they’d rather decide what and how to teach me. “Curriculum
was fixed. And so was discipline. And it’s the job of the student to learn and
grasp accordingly; without any modifications.” I’d tell myself. In class
discussions for instance, I fully accepted and embraced that there are certain things
I should learn to discuss. But what about those things that “matter a lot” to
me, and still nobody would want to talk about? What about emotions, friendship,
group dating, bodily changes, human development and puberty?
This
rigidity of thought was reflected in several expectations I set for myself as a
child too. I would see my own childhood as the time where I was supposed to
widen my memory by practicing (especially through History, Geography, and
Civics) and absorption of culture, discipline and knowledge was a standard and
a value so internalized that I would function in school and at home
accordingly. Receiving my report card at the end of each month was essentially
a time of competition, pride, and of course habitual state of fear. I would
wait for announcing I was among top 3 students with a lot of eagerness; with
the special Congratulations card clipped to my report card as well. That was
when pride and a sense of achievement would arise. My rank mattered a lot at
the end of each month! It was put highlights and definitions to how I see
myself for the coming next month. Such competitiveness was accepted and
embraced by all my classmates too. But what about the rich internal lives my
friends and I had? Who would want to delve into that and put off the fire of
our fears, questions, and dilemmas? Who can blow away our confusion about sex
and sexuality, norms, and abnormalities, hygiene and health? Why can’t those
teachers, whom we used to see as great people, open issues that constantly dwell
our minds?
What’s funny
is that when I came to see myself as Jana, the teacher now rather than the student,
a total shift in paradigm and perspective changed. I noticed that different
patterns and parts of my brain were hard-wired now to give colorful images of
teaching as I majored in education. Here, my students suddenly became the
heroes and heroines instead! I started thinking of myself as a facilitator and
a moderator of different learning experiences such as discussions, concepts,
principles, and creativity would rule instead of the rigid word of knowledge.
Suddenly, the hierarchy flattened, and Jana- the student- who once saw her
teacher on top the pyramid transmitting culture and knowledge to us as students-
became the teacher who’s a friend of her student; someone who would listen to
students in times of conflict resolution and would ask to see a student after
class in an attempt to allow room for self-expressions, where emotions would be
released. Even family problems would take form and get channeled outside of the
student’s mind (creating awareness of their emotional state, mental health,
balance, awareness of problem-solving techniques …The list becomes endless,
especially after topics that “really matter to students’ well-being were
addressed”.
Nothing was
more gratifying than the looks these kids gave me... the looks that told me
stories of themselves and that they saw in me more than a teacher, but a person
that would appeal for their need. I felt I changed something deep inside. And I
even became more certain when they verbalized their feelings years later. Rami
once said, “It’s also more than your efforts. It is who you are. Just by the
mere fact of your presence made a totally different impact for us and for the
school... by being you".
Obviously,
the students were my focal point and reference of attention, and his/her
social, emotional, physical, and psychological well-being suddenly mattered and
a lot. Notions such as “making a difference” and “Teachers touch
tomorrow” emerged into a surface of professional development at AMS (the school I studies and taught in
later) and choosing a career whose essence is “service of humanity”. Let’s
reconsider this shift in perception from a student enrolled in a highly
Academic Scholar curriculum to the teacher who majored in Education out of love
of teaching and who actually cares to creates fun experiences for students while
learning in an attempt to stretch their competencies; challenging their skills
to maximize their potentials into becoming fully active members in society and
catalysts of change.
By the
virtue of skilful, open, and reflective teachers at Al-manar Modern School (AMS) in Ras el Matn, for whom I’ve been setting
organized Continuous Professional development sessions and workshops, I now
envision AMS students with “adults who know how to handle their questions, joys,
concerns, and fears in a much better way than just “having the knowledge”. It’s
what you do with that knowledge that creates meaning for kids. So being
knowledgeable is not the mere end by itself. Facilitating real-life experiences
for learners is way more important. It is so rewarding on a personal level to
see the school I went to now being so highly-developed to meet the challenges
of the 21st century in all dimensions- most importantly where the
child’s needs are at the center of the curriculum.
Teachers
touch tomorrow? No. They, touch children’s hearts and minds…in one magical way
that shapes their “tomorrows”! What other profession is nobler than that of
adults whose main concern is to learn better ways to promote relief and ease,
growth, and well-being for the “whole individual” that the student is, while
optimizing the potentials of those learners?
Now that I had the platform other than my medical
experience to bring about positive change
in regards to the fight against HIV, the next challenge was to see how this
could be done. So with the help of a team of highly capable youths I began to
actively advocate for religious leaders to take part in the fight against Aids.
We began organizing workshops were dialogue and exchange between religious
leaders and youths could take place. The main subject of discussions in these
workshops included comprehensive sexuality education. And this mainly due to
the fact that main health, social and economic challenge facing the world is a
result of untimely deaths from AiDS whose main transmission risk is unprotected
sex. And we also felt that getting religious leaders to talk openly about AIDS
would greatly remove the taboo tag and shame associated to it by society and
would as a result help fight the ignorance surrounding AIDS risk transmission
and prevention. And what’s more everyone began getting involved.
