About Aitabé

Education and Training

Aitabé received her undergraduate degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan in 1996 and her Master's Degree in Science Education from the University of Massachusetts in 2000. Trained as an inquiry-based science teacher, she taught for 12 years in the New York City public schools. Her formative teaching years were at an innovative high school, The International High School at LaGuardia Community College. 

After leaving classroom teaching in 2012, she began training in Family and Systemic Constellations. Today, she is a well-respected Family Constellation facilitator who supports deep, transformative change in her clients.  Her training in constellation work led to the development of SenseThinking.

Heart + Mind

Her journey has always been about integrating heart and mind, right-brain knowing with left-brain thinking. While training in research science, she facilitated intergroup dialogue to bridge social and political divisions. As a science teacher, she integrated mindfulness practices into her teaching. SenseThinking is the culmination and continued unfolding of this practice, bringing together aspects of systems thinking with intuitive and empathic sensing. 

Unschooling

Aitabé is married with three children. She unschooled her two younger children, who are now teens.

"Unschooling has been an incredible vehicle for personal growth and healing, because the journey challenged me to face and examine a whole range of fears and assumptions. Assumptions about what children are "supposed" to learn, vs what is already present within them and needs care and a loving environment to blossom. Fears about doing things "wrong" and the constant inner refrain, "what if I'm ruining my children?"

"Though I had these concerns, there were three practices that got me through: 

1. getting closer, 

2. leaving them alone, and 

3. my SenseThinking secret. 

Get closer: this was advice I got from Pam Laricchia's podcast, Exploring Unschooling. Whenever I looked at what my children were doing and worried about it, I used it as an opportunity to get closer and discover more about what was engaging them.

Leave them alone: honestly, this came from listening to Abraham Hicks on YouTube. I would pay attention to the talks about parenting and education, and one message came repeatedly: when you're upset and triggered, leave the kids alone. Take a personal time out. Do something to ground, to reconnect with love and presence. This was so helpful. Usually, in parenting, being upset and triggered creates a sense of urgency to fix the kids. Instead, I let that upset be my personal reminder to not "should" all over my kids."

And the SenseThinking secret? 

"Yes, there is a secret that I usually don't share until a person has more exposure to the work. I prefer people discover this for themselves rather than believing my words. But, this secret meant I never worried that my kids would fall behind in their education because I knew that once you understand how to activate your own sensethinking capacity, all information is accessible directly through your own knowing. So even though I had my own fears to work through, I NEVER feared that my children could fall behind in their education. It's simply not possible!"

"With unschooling, and my own trust in who they are, my children have indeed blossomed into incredible young people who have clarity around their inner guidance, and who understand that the world is not rigid, but dynamic and changeable. They are in touch with their own power to influence their environment."

Today, Aitabé is focused on teaching visionary parents and educators SenseThinking practices and empowering young people to ask questions that change the world.

If you are interested in SenseThinking facilitator training, join her email list here.