Thinking differently

One of my students came to talk to me in my office last week and told me he enjoyed my "methodology," which here means teaching style, comportment, mannerisms, etc. This student is a gifted poet and recently earned a full scholorship to the univereity for his remaining 3 years. When he talks to me he speaks slowly and his words come out one by one as if he has chosen them for the exact purpose, timing, and situation. In plain english, the kid is deep. I enjoy talking to him as I am reminded of how promising university students are. They are so new, so different, so fresh. i say this also because I still consider myself to be a young student. I get excited by the most common things and the smallest baby step might be a triumph. But I digress, so this kid came to see me and told me, "you know, teacher, the students in your class (Tourism 2) are starting to think differently." He made sure I understood that it wasn't just about my subject, English, they were changing their minds about life, ideals, vision. How powerful is that??!! Am I here to change people's minds? No. I am here to just open them to new things to bring awareness and knowledge of things previously ignored and get them to see how poweerful they are themselves. I do think it is funny how students are thanking me for simply listening to their problems or concerns (about personal lives, or even their concerns about the future). I guess they are not accustomed to being listened to. At The School for International Training, my graduate school, one of its goals is to bring peac to the world. One of the ways the teaching program showed us how to begin that complex process was getting us to practice active listening. Now I see why this is so important. By mirroring people's feelings-just giving them back what they give us--we can help them find themsleves. The answer it with them already. It is such a joy to see this process in action. My students use me as a phycologist but I am just helping them solve their own challenges. This is what it is all about in the end, isn't it? Empowering others to do what they plan to do.