Fatema Rahemani
As a child, I was fascinated by human interaction and how a smile or a frown could translate across different cultures and languages. It was a book presenting the idea of love languages that introduced me to the notion that people have different preferences and the prospective benefits of understanding this to connect better with people, blew my teenage mind away. Working with children after my degree in Psychology and seeing first hand, the impact that coming from a place of understanding differences can have on a child’s ability to succeed, drove my decision to pursue a career in teaching and complete a Masters in Child Development and Learning.
My work in primary schools over the last 14 years has focused on the concept that true human flourishing can only happen when core values underpin the academic curriculum. I have worked with faith schools on developing policies, procedures and curricular to support Values based Education, which enables learners to develop self-awareness, interpersonal skills and the importance of effective communication. Having completed a Leadership in Education qualification, it was clear that this can only be achieved through building cohesive and effective teams. This led to my interest in understanding and developing positive relationships; an area recently introduced in mandatory education (Relationships Education) and I am currently working with faith communities to develop a relationships curriculum within a values framework.
Having delivered Teaching skills workshops and supplementary schools curriculum training programs aimed at Nurturing Piety in young people, I have supported and empowered educators both nationally and globally to ensure the best outcomes for children with an appreciation of difference, based, on my study of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). More recently, I have facilitated a number of online interactive Emotional Support Skills Workshops to a global audience promoting skills such as; empathy, listening to understand, effective questioning and stress management. As a trained mentor in using the Egan Skilled Helper Model, I work on the basis of empowering people to support and manage their own problems effectively and this is tied in to sessions through reflection circles that involve an element of mentoring.
My vision in life is to inspire change; to make the impossible, possible and to empower people to fulfill their human potential.
Mariam Hassam
Discovering differences in personality patterns and preferences changed my relationships forever. Fascinated by this, I trained as a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) facilitator and this was the beginning of an exciting journey for me. It gave me an insight into human motivation and potential. As a busy mother of four, I initially used this knowledge and understanding of personality types to develop more enriching relationships with and amongst my children and family.
As my experience of understanding temperaments and interaction style grew, I was able to use it in my role as head-teacher of a local supplementary school of 500 students and 100 volunteer teachers. In the first instance, together with my team, we created a vision, which centered on children feeling valued. We set about up-skilling our teachers to recognise personality differences amongst students and modify their teaching approach accordingly. With my team, I facilitated workshops for teachers that were aimed at engaging students and teaching to motivate, using personality differences as a basis. The impact of this innovative approach was significant, and I was asked to facilitate similar sessions at other supplementary schools across Europe.
For the past six years I have facilitated a number of Leadership Development Programmes. These included sessions focusing on an understanding of different temperaments and interaction styles in leadership roles. Much of the work involved skills development and for this, the process of reflection circles is essential as I strongly believe that values, skills and concepts require a space for implementation. This can be developed and challenged through coaching or mentoring one to one or in small groups.
I have also been trained in using the Egan Skilled Helper Model as a framework for supporting others to find their own solutions.
The value in understanding difference has also been profound in the workplace. A recent session at a medical surgery with a group of doctors outlined how important this awareness is to the internal team dynamic as well as the patients that use the practice.
I am a trained mediator with the College of Mediation on Alternative Dispute Resolution and have learnt an array of soft skills such as using questioning skills to get to the heart of the matter and exploring courageous conversations as steps that are important in moving forward. Getting to the root of the problem results in change and growth. As a mediator, I create an environment that enables parties to arrive at solutions that work for them.
Recently, I stepped into a new world of youth and mental health as a facilitator for Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) two-day youth program. This has given me an awareness and understanding of how mental health is as important as physical health and I am committed to raising awareness of how to support young people in distress.
My vision is to enable a society that understands and appreciates individuality, prizes difference as well as preserves and nurtures those differences.