Blog

I was just musing what happened with Deepak going to visit his family last week and coming back with the positive statement of asking his Dad to find him a wife that will be happy to stay where we work.

What if I’d said to Deepak that he couldn’t go? After all, he was a bit worried about his brother but it wasn’t anything serious (his brother is perfectly fine now, he was just feeling a bit out of sorts for a few days) and he was meant to be working. We might not have found the conversation with his father taking place. Yes, it might have taken place later, but it also might not have. Deepak being able to go wasn’t what enabled the conversation to take place but Deepak feeling valued. He feels valued because he is valued. He was concerned about his brother and we respected that concern by having no problem with his popping home for a few days. It’s a really important aspect of Educate for Life, the quality of relationship being a very strong part of how we work.

Standard conditioning works, rewarding and punishing people with bonuses and pay-cuts or reprimands like rats in a maze getting cheese or shocks, but it only works for the one maze. Change the route and the person must be reconditioned. People and communities change all the time, so we need a flexible management system that enables our staff to work in a self-determined whilst maintaining responsibility to the organisation’s guiding principles. When we observe the actions of staff, a natural feedback system develops where we are always changing how we approach people because they are always changing. Such use of feedback and non-judgmental learning-centered environment gives people the opportunity to act in ways that feel good to them and see that respected and incorporated by the management. The person’s own principles can, in this way, become a part of the organisation’s, so the person ceases to work for the management and starts working for themselves, the management becoming mentors rather than dictators. It brings out the best in a person and creates the space for them to express themselves. As managers, we discover abilities and skills in people we’d never ordinarily have seen and everyone profits from it.

Things like getting Deepak to stay aren’t why we work in such a way (for things like that we just say so and discuss it directly, no hidden agendas), we do it because it is the right way to treat people and it makes a happier, better charity. If Deepak is able to stay, then so much the better.

We’ve just spent a week doing teacher training / planning at MGIS. It’s been tiring, but really great for my understanding, ideas, and getting to know the other teachers better.

During this time we also looked at who would be which year’s class teacher next year. The class teacher is the teacher which has the main contact with a particular group, taking the lead on their learning and project design. It is looking like I may be a primary year class teacher, which I’m really excited about. It’s one thing doing stuff with the older children, but I really want to work with the younger kids, specifically Standard 5 which will tie in so nicely with all our work at Hunar Ghar. Confirmation will come on Monday, but I’m hopeful. I think I possibly didn’t push the idea enough because I’m nervous of the idea as well, but I know that it will be fantastic for me, so here is hoping.

Other than that, I’m going to teaching Year 11 biology and be the CAS (Creativing, Action and Service) Coordinator, which will tie in really nicely with Hunar Ghar on a completely different level. This way I think that my experiences between MGIS and Hunar Ghar can be quite well coordinated and complimentary, so nice and efficient and it means great learning and productivity, I ‘ope!