What is Required to Become a Holistic Educator?
Hello, everyone! Today I will explain in detail what the requirements are to become a holistic educator. Any parent, teacher or home educator who wants to become more mindful and who cares about our childrens’ education as well as our future society can become a holistic educator. Being holistic means becoming aware of ourselves in order to recognize the child’s needs and nourish the child’s body, soul and mind. We truly need to take care of ourselves and our young generation, as well as our future generations. As Maria Montessori states in Absorbent mind, “The child is the builder of man. There is no man existing who has not been formed by the child he once was“.
The most important thing to being a holistic educator is embodying some fundamental human values. These values can inspire you during your daily life and give you some insight on how to raise responsible and confident children. You can find these values here. In this post, I will also explain other important paths for you to follow that I hope will inspire you ❤️.
Keep in mind one important thing: you don’t need to be perfect! Just work on improving yourself. We pass on all of our values and beliefs to our children by the way we live and by the person who we truly are. This vision is the foundation of a good holistic educator!
♦ Finding inner balance
Feel connected with our inner self, as well as our body and mind. This can be accomplished by getting regular exercise, establishing healthy eating habits, meditating, learning to appreciate silence, practising self-reflection and dedicating time to our hobbies such as art, reading, etc.. Feeling connected allows us to stay focused and positive while creating a relaxing and pleasant vibe in the house, as well as in the classroom.
♦ Being aware of ourselves and others
Be fully authentic in the here-and-now when engaging with children, who are naturally focused on the present. We have much to learn from this approach
♦ Observing our children
Observing our children’s’ behaviours, feelings and natural development (physical, emotional, and social) will help us discover their personalities and needs.
♦ Discovering our talents and finding our purpose in life
Taking the time to discover our own talents and purpose in life can help to see our children’s’ talents and help them to thrive in life by finding their own sense of self and purpose.
♦ Becoming knowledgeable about holistic educational topics and approaches
Reading books by holistic educators such as Montessori, Steiner, Pestalozzi etc. can give you inspiration to raise and educate your child to reach his or her natural potential
♦ Appreciating beauty, cleanliness and order
It may sound trivial but it is essential for a holistic educator to love order, cleanliness and beauty. Each of us has a reflection of our outside selves inside. Our external environment strongly affects the lives of our children and the perceptions that they have of us, as educators, and of the environment. A clean, orderly environment is essential for a holistic approach to work.
♦ Being creative
Nourishing our children’s’ mind, body and soul through creative activities such as arts, drama, ballet, playing freely in a natural environment, simple games that stimulate the imagination, etc. As parents, teachers and home educators, we must continue to encourage imagination and creative exploration throughout childhood. This is how we can help the full development of the child. In addition, creativity will help children to become risk takers, open minded individuals, problem solvers, and innovators who are able to embrace diversity and learn valuable lessons from other cultures.
♦ Establishing harmony with nature and the surrounding cosmos
It is important to feel at one with nature and the universe we live in. We all share the same ground here on our Mother Earth. We are surrounded by an immense universe that holds a deep mystery about where we come from. Thus, we are all part of a global community as we are all citizens of our planet Earth, regardless of our nationality, religion, social status, etc. Therefore all of us can make a contribution to maintain the naturalness and the well-being of our planet.
♦ Gaining and sharing information with people all over the world
Different educational systems from other countries can inspire us in how to raise our children in both a classroom setting and at home. In addition, the ability to exchange and share information can provide the opportunity to learn recipes from various countries, gain new child rearing skills, teach our children different games, encourage them to learn other languages that are part of the global community and so much more.
♦ Trusting yourself
Trusting ourselves is the most important mission of our lives!
Do you think it is possible to put these qualities into practice?
I hope I have inspired you at least a bit ;-)!
