Gentle Teaching
The Culture of Gentleness Is Embedded in Our Organizational Culture
All Genesis team members aim to create a gentle teaching environment for the betterment of the individuals we serve and for our inner-selves. It is an understanding that we use alternative approaches other than using force as a means to control the person or dictate their life from our perspective.
Gentle Teaching Is About a Spirit of Gentleness
- Establishing a “culture of gentleness” within our respective organizations
- Remembering to show calmness, personal care, tenderness, and compassion to those you serve by our actions, words, eyes, and tone
- Gentleness is more than just a personality trait; it must come from the heart
A Spirit of Gentleness Includes the Following:
- Our nonviolence
- Our sense of social justice
- Our expression of unconditional love
- Our warmth toward those who are cold
- Teaching others to feel safe, loved, loving, and engaged
- Teaching a feeling of companionship and community
- Our focus on human interdependence
Six Elements of Gentle Teaching
Safe
We focus on the person being served to feel emotionally safe in our presence. They learn that we will not hurt them. This is the first step to get the individual to begin bonding with others. For so many, nurturing relationships do not exist and if there is any relationship it is one of mistrust and pain, either physically or emotionally. After consistently feeling “safe” the individual will soon allow the barriers to their heart fall down.
Loved
Next, we will then begin showing and creating love, where the relationship is based off of unconditional valuing. Our focus is on the person and not their actions. They will feel loved no matter what actions they perform. This relationship cannot be based on conditions or it will fail. There is an understanding that behaviors exhibited are from the results of them feeling unsafe and unloved. The focus here is the building of meaningful relationships.
Positive Interactions
Empowering and uplifting interactions that are intentional will help the person feel valued and supported unconditionally. Such interactions will lower demands and thus, decreases anxiety in the person being served.
Demands
Demands are a necessary part of life. It is crucial to create more positive interactions than demands. This ratio should be around 10:1. With too many demands the person can become overwhelmed. Recognizing in each person what can be a demand and how to counteract it with intentional positive interactions is key to building strong interdependent relationships.
Structure
When the individual knows what to expect or what is coming next this will reduce their fears. Some ways we can create structure in one's lives is as follows: schedules, to-do-lists, calendars, etc. Each individual may need a different form of structure but our focus is ensuring that it reduces fears and allows the person to feel safe by knowing how their day is set up. Structure can also assist the team members with creating responsibilities and better able to plan out the day.
Transitions
Many changes throughout our day occur. For the folks we support, these transitions or changes in their day create an environment where they feel unsafe. Identifying these changes in the persons’ lives will allow us to reduce the demands and fear of the change. It is our duty to be uplifting and empowering during these moments. Creating a structure to help see them through any changes will help them feel safe.