Sensitive Eye and Compassionate Listening
In talking about sensitive eye, I find myself compelled to delve deep into this concept and what it entails. If we are to determine and define the function of the eye, we would all agree on the function of seeing. But what does "to see" mean? Simply, it means to become aware of an object of vision. Naturally, the object of vision that we mean here are the students. So seeing your students no longer means making sure they are there, but it meansbeing aware of them and their needs, their likes and dislikes, and all that caracterizes them.
Developing a sensitive eye in my classroom requires that I learn about and tolerate or rather foster the differences my students would manifest.
Students come from different backgrounds and from all walks of life, so it lies with me to ‘sensitively’ find out about those backgrounds through discussions, portfolio projects and meetings with individual students and parents in order to make use of this diversity in a way that allows for a sustainable interaction based on mutual respect, tolerance and love.
As to compassionate listening, I would define it as the process of grasping and ‘valuing’ what students bring in the classroom. I know full well that our students vy for our attention to get us to listen to them and understand what they have to be and say.
Getting students to listen to their classmates’s speeches seems a hard task to even think about, but I do my best to persuade them of the importance of listening. I usually suggest rewards for those who listen carefully and give feedback. At times, I may immediatly turn a speaking activity into an unexpected whole class evaluation. That is, while one student is speaking, the others should answer questions related to his or her speech.
At other times, I try to generate the students’interest into what their classmates are about to say. This gives them a purpose for listening and appreciating what they listen to.
By El. Mohamed
