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<\/a>\u201cJohn Paul Lederach\u2019s elicitive approach to learning has stayed with me through the years,\u201d says Lina Maria Obando, who is Habitat for Humanity\u2019s organizational learning manager for Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\nThe \u201celicitive approach\u201d refers to a participatory educational process often used at CJP. It deviates from the traditional teacher-student role, whereby the teacher is viewed as the expert, filled with knowledge to be poured into the empty-vessel student. In an elicitive classroom, the teacher positions herself or himself as a facilitator, enabling everyone to tap into each other\u2019s experiences and knowledge. The students are active in shaping the lessons.<\/p>\n
Lina says she is \u201celicitive\u201d in the way she works with others, builds networks, determines needs, helps people to identify the resources they have, and conducts trainings.<\/p>\n
She also has never forgotten Howard Zehr\u2019s way of modeling what he taught about respecting people. \u201cYou can ask questions in a way that empowers people, as Howard does, or that dis-empowers them. I try to give people the opportunity to have a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October 2010, Lina coordinated a large Habitat for Humanity conference involving about 60 people from 14 Latin American countries, including the president of each national unit of Habitat.<\/p>\n
Lina has been able to work at her highly responsible job, involving much travel, because she and her husband Ruben have agreed to share child rearing. Sometimes Lina works from home, and other times Ruben does. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to sacrifice our [two] children to our jobs,\u201d says Lina. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy though. We had to review our traditional gender roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to explore the \u2018new masculinity\u2019 as a family: What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman too? We didn\u2019t get healthy help from the church. We had to find a special counselor who had lots of experience working in \u2018new masculinity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Lina wonders why the peacebuilding field doesn\u2019t pay more attention to the \u201cimportant topic of masculinity and peacebuilding\u201d and to \u201crestorative relationships\u201d within the family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"