mεlite hosts once a month inspiring stories from friends and colleagues, who apart from being ultra-cool, they in their own way offer something special to Education. This month, Amalia Ghiban, a special friend, whom I met more than a year ago in Portugal, shares with us her views on what comes to another way of living and learning! Enjoy!
I consider myself a global citizen. Born and raised on the shores of the Danube in Romania and hosted by the power of the Atlantic in Portugal, for the last 5 years. I have tried most of the areas that my economic background recommended me for, like: banking, project management, marketing and finance, but my passion for people was not being expressed in any of them. Coaching came to give a name to what I was already doing but without knowing it, and it freed me from the system, where I was not fitting. Since I took this path, I am in constantly designing my life and myself along with it. I am expressing my passion for people and use it as a catalyser, and I am making this world a better place with each step I take.
Amalia, what is learning for you? Who do you think can teach and under what circumstances can someone learn?
First of all, for me, learning is a life long process. Learning is part of our growth as individuals, society and world community. I believe that learning can be anything from reading a book to playing, meditating, observing nature, talking with somebody, listening to ourselves and so on. I believe that learning should imply a kind of action that puts somehow in practice the acquired knowledge.
As I believe that learning can be anything, therefore anything can be a teacher. A flower, a cat, a small child, ourselves the sun and the moon, the water, the universe. But someone will learn only if he or she is open to the lesson. No matter if it´s an economy class, or photography, or yoga or whatever, if the observer is not open to it no learning will occur.
You work with people from around the world. What has been so far your biggest realization regarding the way that they think and behave?
That is right, as a life coach I have worked with people from more than 18 countries. What I notice is that there is this underlined need for love , received and offered, which is being expressed in fundamentally wrong ways like : if I get good grades and a job and a house my parents will love me, if I change my looks boys will notice me, if I keep the same level of conversation my friends will not reject me, If I can make him change I will love him more, and so on and so forth. And all of this because of the lack of self love.
So, based on this realization, let’s assume you were a teacher. How do you envision your role?
If I was a teacher, I would like to work with young kind and adolescents, anywhere on this Earth. I believe this is a crucial age when the core system of a person is formed, meaning behaviors, emotions, beliefs and values start to entangle. The program will have a determined time framed, will begin with creating the space for participants to feel safe and to get to know each other, will continue with practical lessons and exercises about body, emotions mind and spirit, and will end making sure that the participants will further use what they learned. I would not give grades, there will be evaluation based on conversations where behavior and awareness are being observed.
Final quick question: In your view, what is the one change that could take place in Education and that could truly transform our lives?
Introduce Personal Development and Meditation in schools curriculum. Alternate individual homework with collective ones. Give the same importance to science, arts, sports and all other subjects. And finally. Re-invent the evaluation system.
Thank you Amalia!
You can reach Amalia at Facebook and Twitter.
