Teaching by Example: SEL & Human Values in Education

Dustin and Ghazali talk with Javier Payano, a Chicago-based educator and co-founder of the Human Values Collective, about integrating universal human values into education. Javier shares his journey from music education to advocating for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and character development. They explore how Love, Truth, Peace, Non-Violence, and Right Action can transform classrooms, helping both students and teachers cultivate emotional awareness and resilience. Javier also discusses the challenges of implementing SEL, strategies for overcoming resistance, and the importance of teacher well-being in fostering a values-driven learning environment. Javier Payano has taught music in Chicago for the last 15 years. After completing an Education in Human Values certificate program at the Sathya Sai School of Thailand, he started teaching Human Values. In 2018 he and his wife Andrea Benavides Chaves founded the Human Values Collective to train teachers in practicing universal human values like Love, Truth, Peace, Non-Violence, and Right Action with their students. Javier believes that teaching and learning Human Values is a fundamental human right for educators, students, and families and has the potential to revolutionize how we do education by centering humanity, freedom, and love. Learn more about the Human Values Collective: https://www.humanvaluescollective.org We are always looking for passionate educators to join us and share insights on supporting teachers! If you’d like to be a guest, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/C21egnAUCw25gmZTA