Jane Vella: My Autumn Lady

“Boyet, I have heard so much about you and your work in the Philippines. There are many stories and we will have time to listen to many of them. They just got to be told”- these words came out of Jane during our first face to face encounter. Then a welcome hug – a fitting exchange of warmth, affection and respect that begun five years ago.

My first encounter with Jane is through the course - Learning to Listen Learning to Teach. Her thoughts on adult learning – providing safety for the learners, treating them as subjects of their own learning, etc – gave meaning and order to most of what I believe and do as a teacher. She strengthened my resolve to go against the strong tide of “content-based teaching” where learning often has been set aside. This was in December of 2001.

Then it was her book - Learning to Listen Learning to Teach - that further echoed the learning from the course – for she was not simply writing from ivory towers and passing on principles that sounded good. She is a teacher, who is doing her craft in the field, with so much experience from various nations and across cultures.

Then in 2004, I got a phone call from Peter Noteboom, the other Main Man in Jane’s Life, while I was in Davao leading a curriculum development workshop on Peace building. Peter suddenly just passed on the phone to Jane and we were talking. The Jane Vella on the other end of the line! I can’t remember what we talked about but remember vividly her voice – warm, friendly and very articulate.

Here are a few lines from Jane during the conference:

One of the ways we give respect is through the pace of our speech. If we talk fast, and some how make it difficult for others to catch up and understand what we are trying to say, the learners will feel unsafe. Likewise, if we are too slow in our pace, others may get bored and loose interest. The challenge is finding the middle ground.

Impact maybe something that we can’t see, but is happening. Like somebody is pregnant and we don’t know, but she is pregnant. And yet there is already impact. Impact may be happening NOW, but we can’t see.

My Time in Montpelier Vermont can’t be anything better. The trees are at its best as their colors add richness to the place. Truly autumn has come and I met a colorful person in the name of Jane Vella. Yes, I am her “Main man”; and she is my Autumn Lady!

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