OPENING HEARTS
Fourth International SEAL Conference in Argentina - February 15-16-17, 2002

Mercedes Pérez Berbain

Mercedes is a graduate of Joaquín V. González College of Education, where she majored in Methodology and is a lecturer of Methodology for E.G.B. and Teaching Practice.

She works as an educational consultant, teacher and teacher trainer. She is a SEAL-ARGENTINA committee member, co-director of WINGS Educational Consultancy, co-director of Whole English International and trainer of Wings-World-Wide (UK).

She is finishing her MA in Education in Oxford Brookes University (UK) by doing research in Facilitation skills.

Teaching Whole-Heartedly

We learn from experience. Yet, how often experiences go unlearnt. What does it take to indwell what is present? "Through feeling we become at one with the content of experience, and at the same time know our distinctness from it" (Heron, 1999). It takes presence, empathy, resonance and such-like. I call it opening our hearts.

In this short presentation we will reflect on what it means to open out hearts to learning and how we can help others to do so. Then we will explore briefly how to facilitate learning once our hearts are open. We will draw from the work of Rogers, Heron, Underhill and Blanchard.