I'm Teacherless but Learning

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Back home, I have been taught that to get an education means go to school, listen to the teacher speak, take notes on a lecture and regurgitate the information for a good grade. Wait, did you ever think to ask why our system is like that and what we actually learn from it?

Education here is different compared to our western understanding of education. Here we have "contemplative education."It's a holistic model of education that serves to educate not just the intellect but the mind, body and spirit too. Education is no longer limited to what you learn in the classroom. Instead it is shaped by everything around us.

I only realized two days ago that other than my Thai language instructors, I don't have teachers here. Whaaatt? Weird because I'm getting credit, right? By not having teachers, it is making me learn how to learn. Everyone becomes my teachers.

The Group Process:

How do you put into words what is do difficult to explain? We are 20 participants (19 girls and 1 boy). The group process is a tool in this education model. We create our program. We work together, challenging each other and growing from it. Imagine an environment that is truly democratic. We do not vote by majority but by 100% consensus and every persons voice is equally validated. So what the heck am I talking about???

Over a week ago we had to select people to be process facilitators who would be in charge of facilitating group dynamics essentially. For 4 spots, 9 people wanted it. We created a selection process that would be based on consensus. I sat there with others openly offering constructive criticism to my peers in the effort to decide who would be most suited. We stayed overtime and I was exhausted from my day that was over 12 hours long but we all left feeling extremely accomplished knowing that we all gained something from this grueling selection process.

(This is us doing group trust building exercise to build the group dynamic. One person had to lead the blindfolded partner across without touching the pebbles all over)

Ask yourself this: how do you learn best, where have your most transformative educational experiences come from and what do you want from your education. These are some of the questions I am faced with here.

Picture 3 concentric circles. At the inner most is comfort. The middle circle is discomfort and the outer most alarm. The idea is that we learn most in the circle of discomfort but not yet at the alarm stage. I can happily say, I'm in discomfort zone.

(Me and host family) (Me with a villager at a beautiful temple)