Essential Learnings
I was looking through my computer files and found a list that was written years ago. It was a list that I wrote down during a session with a client. I don’t remember all the details of the session, how we got to this point, but there we were. She was a Kindergarten teacher, and had been for a long time.
I had a sense that she was doing a pretty spectacular job, and not totally aware that she was. What I asked her was:”What is it that you want your students to learn?” This was her list:
- That they are worthy of being seen and heard
- That they feel respected
- That they know they have gifts and the time and space to pursue and share
- To learn to focus on what they can do
- To have a feeling of self-improvement
- The ability to set their own goals
- The ability to self-evaluate (not rely on someone else)
- To be able to speak up, in a way that will be hear, when something doesn’t feel right
- To Know they all have something to contribute
- To know that it wouldn’t be the same w/out them (as good)
- To be curious about each other
I sat in awe for a couple of minutes, imagining what it must be like for a 5 or 6 year old to have their first experience in school with a teacher that was holding this list in her heart. After all, this was the year that for most children set the tone for the rest of their education. A child who learned all this in kindergarten would be starting their education with some powerful tools.
I asked her permission to share the list. When I shared it with others that were teaching, in a variety of venues, they were all quite impressed. All of us who teach want this list for our students, no matter what their age. It is what I want for all my students, although until I asked my client the question, I hadn’t thought to make a list, to set that intention.
I learn some of my most valuable lessons talking with clients. This was one of those moments. This list has stayed with me, in my mind and my heart ever since that session. It is what is most important to me in the creation of a learning environment. I teach NLP to adults, and this list helps me keep clear on what is most important.
This list is also a roadmap for all of us. Take a look at this list. Have you learned all of these things for yourself? Are you unsure about any of them? If so, these are the places in your life that are worth paying some attention. We are all capable of learning these things, and we all deserve to know them. Now, take another look at the list. Do you affirm this in your interactions with others? Can you see and know this about anyone you interact with? I wonder, what our lives, what the world would be like if we did.