Coaching, Listening, and the Human Core of Education

Reflections from an EdTALK Coffee Conversation with Mohammad Chatila

In a time where education is overwhelmed with tools, frameworks, and rapid technological change, one essential element is often overlooked: the human conversation.

In this EdTALK Coffee session, I sat down with Mohammad Chatila for a deeply honest, reflective discussion about education, coaching, emotional intelligence, and what schools truly need in order to thrive today.

This was not a conversation about trends.It was a conversation about people.

1. An Unplanned Journey That Shaped a Purpose

Mohammad’s story does not follow a carefully designed career roadmap — and that is precisely what makes it powerful.

From early experiences of bullying at school, including moments where expected sources of protection failed him, Mohammad developed an early awareness of the emotional dimensions of learning. His introduction to emotional intelligence as a student was not academic — it was survival-driven.

Like many educators in our region, his entry into teaching was not a childhood plan. Studying Biology at the Lebanese University, navigating limited choices, and adapting to circumstances, he found himself in classrooms first in Beirut, then later in Riyadh.

What stands out is not the transitions themselves, but the readiness to step through doors when they appeared, even when fear and uncertainty were present.

This unplanned journey later became the foundation for his leadership in student life, training, and coaching.

2. From Teaching to Student Life Leadership

Mohammad’s move from classroom teaching to becoming a Student Life Coordinator marked a critical shift.

This role expanded his influence beyond subject delivery into:

• Student wellbeing

• Leadership development

• Communication and relationships

• School culture

  
  

For nearly eight years, he worked closely with students, teachers, and parents — building ecosystems of support rather than isolated interventions.

This period reinforced a powerful realization:

Learning does not happen in isolation from emotions, identity, or belonging.

3. Coaching vs Training: A Critical Distinction Schools Must Understand

One of the most important discussions in this session centered on the difference between training and coaching — two terms often used interchangeably, but fundamentally different.

Training:

• Transfers knowledge

• Provides frameworks, strategies, and content

• Often answers “What should be done?”

  
  

Coaching:

• Raises awareness

• Asks powerful questions

• Helps individuals discover their own solutions

• Focuses on mindset, readiness, and clarity

Mohammad emphasized that real coaching is not advice-giving, motivation speeches, or social-media soundbites. True coaching follows ethical standards, active listening, confidentiality, and deep respect for the individual’s context.

In schools, this distinction matters more than ever.

4. Why Coaching Is Still Rare in Schools — and Why It Matters

Despite its impact, coaching is still poorly implemented in most schools.

Why?

• Time pressure

• Curriculum overload

• Misconceptions about roles (“We have counselors for that”)

• Fear of adding more responsibilities to teachers

  
  

Yet, Mohammad shared a critical insight:

If schools invest early in teacher development and coaching, they prevent far greater costs later — burnout, disengagement, and reactive interventions.

Coaching is not an add-on.It is a preventive system.

5. The Aquarium Metaphor: Seeing Schools as Living Ecosystems

One of the most powerful moments in the session was Mohammad’s metaphor of the school as an aquarium:

• The decorations represent technology and AI

• The plants represent emotional intelligence and wellbeing

• The water quality represents relationships, communication, and trust

  
  

You can add the latest tools to an aquarium — but without balance, oxygen, and care, nothing thrives.

This metaphor perfectly captures a mistake many schools make:

Investing heavily in tools while neglecting the human systems that make those tools meaningful.

6. Active Listening: The Skill That Changes Everything

When asked to describe the core of his work in one or two words, Mohammad’s answer was clear:

Active listening.

Not listening to respond.Not listening to fix.But listening to understand.

In education, listening becomes:

• Data collection

• Emotional awareness

• Relationship building

• Trust creation

  
  

This skill transforms:

• Teachers into facilitators

• Leaders into enablers

• Schools into safe spaces for growth

  
  

7. Emotional Intelligence: From Theory to Classroom Practice

A recurring frustration in education is that emotional intelligence often remains a title, not a practice.

Mohammad addressed this directly by sharing classroom examples:

• Recognizing emotional patterns in students

• Creating psychologically safe environments

• Supporting “challenging” students without labeling them

• Leading with presence, not authority

  
  

One powerful story involved a Grade 4 classroom that achieved exceptional academic outcomes — not through pressure, but through connection, listening, and emotional awareness.

The message was clear:

Emotional intelligence does not reduce academic rigor — it enables it.

8. Teacher Workload, Burnout, and a Difficult Truth

A necessary and honest part of the conversation addressed teacher resistance:

• “I already have too much to do.”

• “This isn’t my role.”

• “We have counselors for wellbeing.”

  
  

These concerns are valid.

However, Mohammad reframed the issue:

Teachers are no longer just content deliverers. Information is everywhere.The irreplaceable role of the teacher is human presence.

Without support, teachers burn out.Without listening, students disengage.Without systems, schools rely on a few “champion teachers” — until they burn out too.

9. Leadership, Policy, and the Need for System Thinking

One of the most important takeaways was the danger of inconsistency.

When only a few teachers practice connection, listening, and care:

• Students compare

• Teachers feel undervalued

• Culture becomes fragmented

  
  

Mohammad emphasized group coaching and team coaching as solutions — allowing leaders to:

• Hear all voices

• Reduce resistance

• Build shared ownership

• Avoid hero-dependency

  
  

Leadership, in this context, is not about control — it’s about creating conditions where people can grow.

10. AI, Technology, and the Human Anchor

The session closed with a crucial reminder:

AI will not replace teachers.But teachers who understand and use AI well may replace those who don’t.

Yet technology alone is not the answer.

AI adoption fails when:

• Teachers aren’t heard

• Leaders don’t understand readiness

• Change is imposed, not co-created

  
  

Coaching becomes the bridge between technology and humanity.

11. A Closing Reflection: One Question That Changes Lives

The final question of the session was simple and profound:

If you met the younger version of yourself — the student who was bullied — what would you say?

Mohammad’s answer captured the essence of the entire conversation:

• “Tell me what’s happening.”

• “I’m here to listen.”

• “You’re not alone.”

  
  

Sometimes, transformation begins with one honest question.

Final Thought

This EdTALK Coffee session was not about solutions to download or frameworks to adopt.

It was a reminder that:

• Education is human work

• Listening is leadership

• Coaching is readiness

• And connection is not optional

  
  

More EdTALK Coffee conversations are coming — each one opening new doors for reflection, practice, and growth.