SUMEDHA OUTREACH – SHIMLA

Dr. Jose Parappully, Director of Sumedha Centre, was invited to do a Staff Updating programme at Loreto Convent School, Tara Hall, Shimla. It was held on August 23, 2018.

Dr. Parappully dealt with the themes of Educating with the Heart.

The programme began with a simple meditation that the teachers could practice daily to reduce stress and increase well-being.

Dr. Parappully then emphasized the importance of Self-Awareness and provided some experimental exercised to become more self-aware.

This was followed by sessions on enhancing empathic listening and relating.

The workshop inputs were enhanced by video presentations, music and opportunities to share experiences and reflections in small and big groups.

The participants expressed great appreciation for both the content and the process followed.

A common sentiment expressed was that this “was a different kind of workshop. It really helped us to get in touch with ourselves, and relate to our students more as sensitive human beings.”

EDUCATING WITH THE HEART!

Director of Sumedha Centre, Dr. Jose Parappully, facilitated a two-day workshop for teachers of Holy Cross Convent School and Junior College at Kalyan, Maharashtra on September 20-21, 2016.

The first day’s workshop was for the teachers of the High School and the Junior College. There were 63 participants.

The second day’s workshop was for the teachers of the primary and the pre-primary schools. There were 32 participants.

The title of the workshop was “Educating with the Heart.”

Parappully, former Vice Principal at Don Bosco School, Calcutta, and a  Clinical Psychologist, used insights from Self-Determination and Self-Psychology theories to emphasize the importance of creating in the school and the classrooms an environment which fosters the fulfilment of basic emotional needs such as for relatedness, competence and recognition and for teachers to be mirroring and idealizable selfobject figures in the lives of students, displaying and modelling character and competence, and capable of healing narcissistic wounding through empathic responsiveness.

Parappully used short films and songs to illustrate the insights from the psychological theories and provided the participants opportunities to reflect on their experiences as teachers and share insights with one another in small and large groups.

Participants of both days reported great satisfaction with the workshop. They found it enriching and inspiring. They were able to introspect on the ways they were relating to their students, recognize their failure to be sensitive to their emotional needs, and inspired to pay greater attention to and respond with greater sensitivity to the needs of the students.

Participants felt that the insights gained through the Workshop will help them not just to teach better but to “educate with the heart” through greater emotional sensitivity and empathic responsiveness.

EDUCATING WITH THE HEART

The Director of Sumedha Centre, Dr. Jose Parappully, was invited to do three Workshops for the teachers in schools run by Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in Mumbai.

The first Workshop, on September 10, 2015, was for the teachers of St. Antony’s Girls’ High School, close to Mumbai Central station, in a comparatively poor and socially backward area of Mumbai. There were 36 teachers participating.

The topic of the Workshop was “Educating with the Heart.”

Beginning with the inspirational movie “Making a Difference” which refers to the importance of being sensitive to the emotional situations of the students, Dr. Parappully focused on what it means to be an Emotionally Sensitive Teacher.

Sighting relevant psychological theory and research, he  emphasized the importance of creating an environment in which students’ basic emotional needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy are met. He highlighted the crucial role of empathetic understanding and communication.

The second and third workshops were held for the teachers of Villa Theresa School, located at Cumballa Hill, an economically and socially upscale area of Mumbai.

These workshops here were focused on “Enhancing Educational Excellence.”

The first of these workshops, on September 11, was for 36 teachers and non-teaching staff of the secondary section of the school. The second, on September 12, was for 34 teachers of the pre-primary and primary sections.

Using data from Organizational Psychological research, Dr. Parappully highlighted the ingredients that contribute to institutional excellence, and how these can be cultivated at Villa Theresa School.

Short films, songs, experiential exercises, and group discussions were used to explore current realities and future possibilities, and arrive at practical decisions and commitments.

Teachers found all three workshops very relevant and useful. The insights gained and the decisions they have arrived at, they observed, will certainly help them to be more emotionally sensitive and to be more effective both as teachers as well as an institution.