I interrupt my China diary this morning to talk about fluttering butterflies. My good friend, Ed Nuhfer is about to chuckle.
It was this past Saturday afternoon. Susan, I, and Yiming, the Fullbright Scholar from China, were leaving a local Labor Day arts and crafts fair. An elderly gentleman was standing at the exit checking to see if we needed our hands stamped in case we wanted to re-enter the fair grounds.
"Are you Dr. Schmier?" he blurted out with a smile quickly forming on his face.
"Yes," I answered with both a bit of surprise and curiosity in my voice. "How do you know who I am?"
"I was one of your students," he excitedly exclaimed.
"Don't tell me when," I laughed as if I didn't want to be reminded of the years gone by. "I don't want to know."
While he giggled, I didn't deter him. Martin joyfully introduced himself and proceeded to tell me that he had been a freshman in one class with me way back in 1969!! He then gave me a synopsis of his thirty year career as an educator: teacher, principal, superintendent, retired for a decade. Then, he hit me with it. Susan's jaw dropped. He ended his thumb nail sketch of his professional life by saying, "And you were always a very important part of all that."
"Always a very important part of all that?" One class. One of his first quarters on campus. Forty-one years ago. Another lifetime when I was another person with nothing like the intense awareness, otherness, vision, and sense of service that I have now. Who knows what I did or said. I don't remember, but after all these decades he still does. You never know. I guess I was, as Ed Nuhfer would say, one of chaos theory's unwitting fluttering butterflies.
What made this chance meeting especially significant was a question that had been hurled at me by another freshman a few days earlier. She is an education major. We've been in class together only a few weeks. She had e-mailed me with a challenge to help her with an assignment for another class. She was supposed to ask one of her professors to come up with one word--one word--that an education could be reduced to. So, the lot fell to me. She asked me what I thought was the ultimate essence of an education. One word!! We already had discussed in class after class as we did our "community building" and "getting to know ya" stuff for the first couple of weeks about love, support, encouragement, community, belief, creativity. But, she wanted a one word spring well, a genesis, a source of why I felt, thought, and did all that I expressed in word, feeling, and deed. One word! I had been wrestling with with myself for an answer. I could give her paragraphs and pages and a hoard of Random Thoughts to refer to. But, one word! Every time I thought of a word, I thought of a deeper one. Now I've got it. It was given to me by Martin. My word is "Martin!"
I was so excited that I called her yesterday. I couldn't wait until tomorrow.
"Dr. Schmier? Is that really you?" To say she was surprised to hear from me on a holiday would be an understatement.
After a chit chat, I exclaimed. "You had me going. Now, I've got it."
"Got what?" she asked, not thinking of anything much over this Labor Day weekend other than picnicking and partying.
"You wanted to know what the essence of teaching is? Your assignment? Now I've got it. Get yourself a piece of paper and something to write with. I've always had it because I always say what it is. It's 'Martin.'"
"What's a Martin?" she asked. "Sounds like you're enjoying the weekend too much." she added with a laugh.
Of course, she didn't have the foggiest idea what I was talking about. I knew she wouldn't. I had used that as a hook so what I had to say would be branded onto her soul. I told her of my chance meeting with Martin. I explained excitedly, "Take this down. The word you're looking for is 'People!!' That's what I meant by 'Martin.' People! Not job, not information, not grades, not diploma. People! Martin was 'a people.' You are 'a people!' Every student is 'a people.' Teachers are 'a people.' Education is a 'people business' in the service industry. Don't ever think people are things! Don't ever allow yourself to be treated or treat anyone as just a name or number. No one should be treated as an object! Not one warm, living body should be chilled them into a lifeless, cold statistic. You're going to have to fight to keep your eye on that prize and not be distracted by test scores, methodology, technology, or any other -ology. That why education is no more cut and dry or simple than are people. It is mysterious, magic, inexplicable, complicated. Teaching is about human beings relating to human beings, nothing else! You will see. That's what all the love, faith, hope, support, encouragement, purpose, meaning, commitment, dedication, perseverance, fulfillment, satisfaction, everything rest on. That's why we do what we do the way we do it in class. Never forget that the greatest and most lasting moments in and around the classroom, in fact, in every part of your and my life, are not when anyone gives that great lecture or does that fabulous project, or writes that paper or passes that test or when we get things like grades, diplomas, awards, and jobs. It is when two lives cross, touch, and influence each other. 'People!'"
We talked a bit more, wished each other to have a fun Labor Day. And, as I hung up I thought maybe, just maybe, I am being another fluttering butterfly, consciously this time.
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier http://www.the randomthoughts.edublogs.org
Department of History http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta State University
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