Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “An educator is someone who plants seeds in a constantly developing soul”

President of Üsküdar University and psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan participated in the third edition of the Yalova Education Readings, organized by the Yalova Provincial Directorate of National Education. Within the scope of the Türkiye Century Maarif Model, Tarhan met with educators in Yalova and shared his evaluations on “Communication and Management Skills.” Emphasizing that values should be seen as a compass, Tarhan underlined that technology provides speed, while values provide direction. Speaking at the program, which was also attended by Yalova Governor Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Usta, Tarhan highlighted that an educator is someone who plants seeds in a soul that is constantly evolving.

The program, held at the Yalova Public Education Center Conference Hall, was attended by Yalova Governor Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Usta, Provincial Director of National Education Aytekin Yılmaz, provincial and district education administrators, school and institution administrators, and many educators.

Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Usta: “If we do not communicate well, we cannot speak their language”

Stating that this was his first program since being appointed to Yalova, Governor Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Usta drew attention to the importance of communication. Usta said, “Administration is not just a duty, it is a position. You need to establish healthy communication with your students. Secondly, communication with parents is extremely valuable and must also be strong. Today, our children are very intelligent and can access information very easily. For this reason, we must communicate with them very well. Otherwise, we cannot speak their language.”

Aytekin Yılmaz: “Communication is one of the most important pillars of our two focus areas”

Yalova Provincial Director of National Education Aytekin Yılmaz stated in his speech, “Educators must make a continuous intellectual effort throughout their professional lives and constantly improve themselves. This ensures that the process we define as education progresses in a healthy way. We have been trying to implement the Türkiye Century Maarif Model since last year. For nearly two years, one of the main issues we have focused on has been monitoring and improving the processes related to the implementation of this model. Our second focus area is the Family Year initiatives we started this year. Therefore, we prioritize these two headings in all our activities. One of the most important pillars of both focus areas is communication. In an environment where communication does not exist, it is not possible to establish or sustain a school climate or classroom climate. For this reason, we chose communication as our main theme.”

Following the opening speeches, the talk titled “Communication and Management Skills” was held under the moderation of journalist Şaban Özdemir.

Prof. Nevzat Tarhan: “Education should be oriented toward serotonin in the brain”

Speaking about how knowledge becomes permanent, psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said, “The brain does not work only with a reward and punishment system. Motivation is not driven solely by reward and punishment. The reward and punishment system is associated with dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is short term, fast acting, and pleasure oriented. However, another important path of motivation is meaning production, the process of making sense and creating meaning. When the brain makes sense of a subject, this process is associated with serotonin. Serotonin is released slowly and later, but it creates a lasting effect. Therefore, we need to adopt a serotonin oriented educational approach for the brain, in other words, meaning focused learning. Experiential learning is essential for this. When learning is enjoyable yet disciplined, knowledge becomes permanent.”

“In the old approach, leadership was power oriented”

Stating that project based education models are developing worldwide, Tarhan said, “Project based education has begun. The Türkiye Century Maarif Model is actually a delayed example of this. Today, implementing this model has increased the workload of our teachers. Their job has become more challenging, but at the same time, an opportunity has emerged to develop young people who keep up with the times. In classroom leadership, the old approach was power oriented leadership, and classrooms were managed through authority. Now, there is a trust oriented leadership approach rather than a power oriented one. Classroom management or any leadership area is not a place to say ‘Let me show my power.’ It is about saying ‘This has been entrusted to me. There is a responsibility here, and I must manage it accordingly.’ This perspective views humans not as Homo Economicus, but as Homo Psychologicus.”

“The human brain is in search of four fundamental things”

Stating that short term thinking leads to mistakes, Tarhan said, “The human brain is in search of four fundamental things. The first is the search for eternity, the human brain wants eternity. The second is the search for freedom. This exists in no other living being but humans. The desire for freedom makes human needs unlimited, while human power is limited. The brain also seeks to overcome loneliness and desires relationships. At the same time, it seeks meaning. The human brain wants to make sense of everything. This need for meaning gave rise to studies on how the human brain works, and these studies formed the basis of artificial intelligence. In 2024, the awards in artificial intelligence went to a geneticist and a psychologist, specifically a cognitive psychologist. This surprised many people. What appeared to be a physics related field actually awarded artificial intelligence research. In reality, artificial neural networks have been studied for about 20 years. By persistently focusing on the idea, they demonstrated that the brain works algorithmically. The brain scans the past and produces predictions about the future. It predicts the future and makes decisions about the present. Those who can construct the best and most meaningful scenarios make the right decisions. Short term thinkers make mistakes, while those who think in the medium and long term make healthier decisions.”

“Thinking children are in harmony with the spirit of this age”

Stating that the law of the jungle does not apply in this era, Tarhan said, “In the law of the jungle, the strong prevail. In a society where people live together, the strong should not dominate. Issues should be resolved through communication. A culture of communication and consultation must be established. Instead of seeing every problem as a threat, we should see every problem as an opportunity for development. When a manager encounters a problem, they should not say ‘Oh no, another problem.’ When a student brings a problem, there is indeed a threatening aspect, but there is also an opportunity. What is that opportunity? Every problem solving process provides a development opportunity, almost like a project. A child falling and getting up is also a problem, but through that process, the child learns to walk. Similarly, instead of a culture that says ‘Do not ask, do not think, obey,’ we should adopt an understanding that says ‘Ask, think, understand, then obey.’ Children who ask questions and think are in harmony with the spirit of this age. A child who is completely submissive will create problems later in life and miss innovation. To be proactive, entrepreneurial, and innovative, an individual must be inquisitive.”

“Eighty percent of the human brain communicates through nonverbal cues”

Emphasizing that social media does not fully reflect real communication, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan stated: “Approximately 20 percent of the human brain is related to verbal communication, meaning spoken language and information transfer. The remaining 80 percent consists of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication includes tone of voice, subtle emphases, micro facial expressions, gestures, and body language. This 80 percent carries the main weight of communication. The actual information conveyed accounts for only about 20 percent. This is evidence based, neuroscience grounded knowledge in the field of communication. Communication in today’s virtual world does not fully reflect this reality. We call it social media, but in fact it is not truly social communication, it is mostly virtual communication. Technology certainly provides speed, but values provide direction. Just like traffic signs show where to turn and what to do while driving, values guide behavior. If a young person lacks values, they become a victim of technology. If they have values, they know where to direct the speed of technology and how to use it. When a person makes a decision, there is a mental jury in the brain. This jury constantly asks questions such as ‘Should I do it or not? Is it appropriate or not? Is it safe or unsafe? Is it beneficial or harmful? Should I act with compassion or selfishness?’ Above these questions, there is also a mental judge who makes the final decision, and then the person takes action.”

“The fundamental parameter of love is attention”

Explaining the importance of empathic listening, Tarhan said: “What establishes healthy communication is an educator’s use of a trust-based communication style rather than a fear based one. For a young person to love a subject, they must first love the teacher. When they love the teacher, they also love the lesson. So how does a student come to love a teacher? When the teacher loves the student. But love is not about saying ‘I love you.’ The fundamental parameter of love is attention. It is communicating with them, listening to them, being an active and empathic listener. Without empathic listening, listening without eye contact, without affirming what is said, and without reflecting it back is not truly empathic. Highly intelligent young people can easily sense this. When that happens, a breakdown in communication occurs. Communication can be brief, but it must be meaningful. If we can achieve this, we become role models for young people. This approach applies to parents as much as it does to educators.”

“Technology gives speed, but values give direction”

Stating that values should be seen as a compass, Tarhan said: “Currently, especially in the Far East, in countries such as China and Japan, there are significant studies focusing on the ages of four to six. Instead of loading children with information, education models that strongly instill values and moral virtues are implemented in this age range. For example, in Japan, two values are considered particularly important. One is the sense of shame, the other is compassion. These are social emotions, and education focuses on cultivating them. If a person has compassion and a sense of shame, they can say no to wrongdoing. If these are absent, if a person is merciless, insensitive, and shameless, they can do anything. That is why these two emotions are key. They are social emotions that form empathy and help set boundaries in human relationships. Children aged four to six are even taught that a fish in an aquarium can one day die. A child who encounters this reality of life early can later tolerate greater stresses. Therefore, values should be seen as a compass. Technology provides speed, but values provide direction. What is needed is not only value education, but value integrated education. Even mathematics and physics can incorporate values. Every subject should include examples, cases, or real life connections related to these values.”

“The goal is not to persuade, but to understand”

Drawing attention to the frequent confusion between empathy and sympathy, Prof. Nevzat Tarhan said: “What is sympathy? If someone is crying, sitting down and crying with them. That is not empathy. That means buying into their emotions. Empathy is not about taking on the other person’s emotions. In empathy, we understand the other person’s feelings while also being aware of our own. In other words, we become emotionally literate. We recognize the emotions of the other person, notice the social cues in events, and understand that ‘We are a separate person, and they are a separate person.’ Empathy is not putting yourself in their place, but being able to see from their perspective. When you put yourself in their place, you take on their burden. Empathy is not about taking that burden. Empathy is about being able to look at an issue not only from one side of the table but also from the other side, and then making a decision accordingly. This is only possible through empathic communication. It happens through listening and trying to understand. The classical approach usually focuses on persuasion. However, the goal here is not to persuade, but to understand. For this, an approach that can ask the question ‘why’ is necessary. As a motivational technique, the question ‘why’ is very important. In empathic communication, the question ‘why’ is more valuable than the question ‘how.’ ‘How should I communicate?’ is a technical question, but ‘Why do I need to communicate with this person?’ and ‘Why do I need to solve this problem?’ are the first steps of communication.”

“Every difficulty has been an opportunity for growth for us”

Also responding to questions from participants, Tarhan pointed out that burnout can pave the way for new discoveries and new perspectives, adding: “We are not a society that falls into despair. There has always been an outcome or a way out that keeps hope alive. Culturally, every difficulty has been an opportunity for growth for us. For this reason, even burnout can lead to new discoveries and new openings. We see that behind every hardship, a great ease and a great opportunity follows. What truly exhausts a person in burnout is hopelessness and pessimism. Therefore, without falling into despair or pessimism, our goals must be clear. If we believe in a profession worth striving for, getting tired for, and enduring hardship for, if we believe in our work, education is truly a sacred profession. Because when you touch a child, you plant seeds in their developing soul. An educator is someone who plants seeds in a constantly developing soul. This is not limited to the theoretical knowledge you teach. The communication you establish in the classroom and the experiences you share allow young people to build memories with you. Those accumulated memories later emerge as values and guiding elements in their lives. For this reason, being able to build beautiful experiences and meaningful memories with young people is extremely valuable for a dedicated educator.”

Following the talk, Yalova Governor Dr. Ahmet Hamdi Usta presented a gift to Prof. Nevzat Tarhan.

The program concluded with a group photo session.