As I teach, I project the condition of my soul onto my students, my subject, and our way of being together.
Interpretation
A teacher's inner state influences the learning environment and the students.
This quote emphasizes the profound impact that a teacher's emotional and spiritual state has on their students and the educational experience. It suggests that teaching is not just conveying information, but also involves a deep connection and shared journey between the teacher and students, shaped by the teacher's own condition and mindset.
In practice
In a teacher training workshop to emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence.
The academic bias against subjectivity not only forces our students to write poorly ("It is believed...," instead of, "I believe..."), it deforms their thinking about themselves and their world. In a single stroke, we delude our students into believing that bad prose turns opinions into facts and we alienate them from their own inner lives.
Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.
Self-care is never a selfish act - it is only good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.
We need a coat with two pockets. In one pocket there is dust, and in the other pocket there is gold. We need a coat with two pockets to remind us who we are.
The kind of teaching that transforms people does not happen if the student’s inward teacher is ignored… we can speak to the teacher within our students only when we are on speaking terms with the teacher within ourselves.
Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks--we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.
My dream is to see every girl educated, in every country.
It scares me to think that one day I'm not going to be in school anymore.
Education with inert ideas is not only useless; it is above all things harmful.
The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant.
At night, I read. I read for two hours. I just finished a marvelous book by Louise Erdrich, 'The Round House.' But mostly I read 20th-century history and biography. I lived then. I was either a child or at school or at work.
I was not a good student. I did not spend much time at college; I was too busy enjoying myself.
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