Education is collective.

by Vina Theodorakopoulou (Dr)

It’s been a while since my last fully-fledged teaching endeavours. Some 20years ago, lecturing Economics and Business at Kingston University… energetic (still the case) and fresh-faced (less so), I made a couple valid -only in hindsight- observations following my own experiences as a student: 

- to inspire and encourage stand the testament of time as core responsibilities of an educator. Socrates’ “education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel” outlines the gist of the said function: spark thoughts and emotions, visualise applications, connect with each other. Feed the creativity and curiosity of youth (our society has no room for ephebiphobia; let alone herd mentality). And warns of the disservice of merely lecturing. One-way streaming is by definition disempowering. 

I left Greece straight after sitting exams for medical school. Not mobilised to persevere in the face of my home country’s medical specialisation system at the time, and, very much against the arbitrary social bestowment of worth once a medical degree is achieved, I decided to move to Cool Britannia. During my undergraduate degree, Economics with German, I  battled to divert my neurodivergent -unbeknown to me at the time- brain from physics and chemistry to …inflation! What’s ‘inflation’? 

What I needed, and not doing, was to dare to unpack notions, align with real-life observations and offer my views. Process the new terms and theories through my own prism and stop hitting my thought brakes every time I’d face an unfamiliar term. Eventually I gave up. No more trying to read ahead chapters of unfamiliar economic theory -throw in some physics, please!-. I admitted defeat by and to my own self. I could change course, work full-time (wait! that I was doing already; throughout my studies), drop out of university altogether…  

On an ensuing ‘I’ve dropped the white towel [not told anyone yet]’ day, my microeconomics lecturer, Dr. Rima Horton, in conversation with the class, suddenly picked on me. ‘Vina, I want to hear your ideas about this’, she said firmly. Individual decision-making in real life with behavioral parameters; I had nothing to lose, so I assertively articulated my viewpoint, although I am sure my voice was shaky. All of a sudden, I made sense to myself and -most importantly - to her. Rima openly praised my thinking, adding that I am developing a commendable appreciation for microeconomics. I was astounded. The feedback was special as it linked to my thinking style -rather than my lacking knowledge- and that was empowering. My academic drive was ignited. 

 There are educators, who -like Rima- look beyond the application of narrow academic competences. Not entirely restricted by the syllabus, they (we) educate from the perspective of difference -rather than normalcy or sameness-. Acknowledging the wide spread of abilities and needs; seeing individual potential. I often wonder whether the increasing rate of persistent absence of primary and secondary school children, as showcased by the Guardian [‘Children are holding a mirror up to us’: why are England’s kids refusing to go to school? | Schools | The Guardian, ‘More to be done’ to bring down school absences, says education secretary | School attendance and absence | The Guardian], could be tackled by empowering our educational system to foster creativity, tenacity and critical thinking.  

- education with values that nurtures personal achievement creates pathways into cultural and social participation. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all”, according to Aristotle. Humanity, empathy, acceptance, accountability, counter inner silos, eradicate stigmas; ultimately, enable personal development.  Whether this is then transferred into entrepreneurial quests, an academic career, Square Mile leadership or good citizenship, we all stand to benefit.  

I drew so much inspiration from reading the Ofsted report on Quest School a few months ago. Quest School is an independent specialist school for pupils across the autistic spectrum within the age range 5-19 years.  In a world saturated with images and news of violence and crime, how fulfilling it is for a school to offer a safe environment. ‘Bullying never an issue', highlighted Ofsted in November (2022), also appraising the School for helping develop well-rounded individuals.  The epitome of 'paideia'. 

Paideia, holistic development, requires trust, time and effort. Like in the example of Quest School, the transformative recognition of 20 years of hard work of all involved -teachers, board of trustees, parents and pupils- and the faith that they have put into each other throughout this (ongoing) journey. I have tried to keep this in mind whilst teaching Business, Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Oxford for the Oxford Royale Academy. And although I acknowledge that privately funded courses/summer schools present significant accessibility challenges particularly in times of living cost crisis, I feel that the work produced by educators who themselves represent difference -socioeconomic, academic, cognitive, entrepreneurial- is purposeful enough to inspire upcoming generations towards ethical governance, AI decision-making, and sustainable innovations. 

by Dr Vina [Stavroula] Theodorakopoulou FRSA , GAIN's Individual Member Lead,

With a doctorate in behavioural economics and 25 years' experience across the wider financial services, Vina is a passionate advocate for diversity of thought in the workplace. 

A polyglot who has led multi-disciplinary deal teams with focus on aligning deliverables with corporate values, she leads GAIN’s individual member stream. 

Vina aspires to an inclusive insurance and financial services industry that utilises talent, embraces neurodiversity and celebrates human potential.  

To start a dialogue, you may email her at vina@gaintogether.org or contact her on LinkedIn