On Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 Deepak Ramola, wisdom historian, educator & poet took to our Instagram to share the work he has done with his organisation Project Fuel on documenting, designing & passing on human wisdom from all across the world. Check out the key insights from this inspiring takeover.
Through his organisation Project FUEL, selected for the HundrED 2020 & 2021 Global Collection, Deepak and his team document, design and pass on human wisdom globally. In other words, they collect life lessons & stories of people from common corridors of life. They do this work using the tools of:
- Education
- Art
- Digital Media
- Digital humanities
Deepak started teaching life lessons and designing them into curriculums at the young age of 17. Below are 5 key takeaways that being an educator has taught him.
5 Life lessons being an educator taught me
1. Treat students as your collaborators, not mere beneficiaries: Children can no longer be considered empty vessels to be filled with information. Treating them as an active voice in their own well-being and growth will help us craft communities full of discoveries and not differences. Respect their wisdom. Celebrate their curiosity. Encourage an exchange of knowledge.
2. Own your story & Be Vulnerable: Opening up to your students about your mistakes, failures/success and flaws helps them see you as someone real and human. Vulnerability is a great tool to help your students feel comfortable in your presence. If you don't let them step into your story, you can't expect them to let you step into theirs.
3. Be enthusiastic; there is no substitute for that: Anyone can help finish the syllabus, take a test, and correct the answer sheets but your position as a teacher is significant because whether you know it or not, you become a role model for your students. The great American author, Toni Morrison, put it well when she asked, "Does your face light up when you see your children? Because that is what they are looking for."
4. Help them make life more than a living: Teaching is never really about giving students some marks; it is always about providing them with moments that will help them discover their own magic. Learning how to handle heartbreak, the failure of a billion-dollar dream and the overwhelming power of success, and learning how to simply enjoy one's solitude are subjects as important as studying about World War II and cross-pollination.
5. Make the whole world their classroom: We need our children to learn how to show emotions, how to feel, and how to embrace all that is different. If we can teach our students the importance of holding space for each other; all this pressure of making something out of them will ease out. The education system instead of handing out knowledge as medication in order to stay normal will evolve into the art of brewing changemakers who are young and wise.
The life lesson of this 6-year-old boy, Abdul from Belgium is,
"Before you learn how to ride a bike, learn where the brakes are."
Very recently, Project FUEL launched one of their most special projects: The World Wisdom Map, a breathing repository of life lessons from 195 countries.
Using their award-winning methodology, they have designed an exclusive module based on life lessons from across the globe. It has been crafted to empower facilitators, artists, educators both in formal and informal settings.
The module mounts itself on insights harvested by their data scientist discovered through her detailed study. Additionally, their brain and cognitive science scholar has provided an incredible scientific understanding to illustrate each wisdom nugget.
Download this free-to-use module here.
For the full story including a Q & A, check out our Instagram Highlights!
