I was still thinking again about Jane as I got involved in a Linkedin discussion group about teaching. I could hear echoes of Edgar Allan Poe: "Blame, blame, blame. The tintinnabulation of blame, blame, blame." All I can say is that when some academics, far too many academics, say "oh, those students," they get less a than subtle snarl on their face, or slump in self-pitying resignation, or annoyed grimace without a demonstration of one scintilla of empathy. Some, say the word "student" with such a cursedness that they should have their mouths washed with soap.
You know, our actions are actions are demonstrations of our values. We are steeped in our imagination. We are wrapped in our own mantra. Every step we take is muscled by our perception. Every breathe we take fills our lungs with assumption. Our opinion of students is not a description of any student. It's a reflection of ourselves. It's a window into our own character, not the students'.. I don't think pessimistic moaning and groaning changes anything or gets us anywhere except that they sap our strength, commitment, perseverance, and determination. Too often, the seeds we plant in our perception, assumption, and imagination that spring to life in the day-to-day reality of our classroom experience are choking weeds. And, thus we so narrow and degrade ourselves with each "ugh."
Too many profs have a myopic tendency to blame poor performing students on being among the "letting anyone in" or the "don't belongs" who are diluting academic rigor. Too many academics, when they see a student in need, their first impulse is to reproach rather than help, to resist, reject or condemn any help as coddling, to attack second chances as watering down, to reject hope as fluffy, to oppose faith as soft, to criticize love as touchy-feely and weak. Sometimes I wonder if resume, tenure, degrees act as eroding agents on compassion and empathy. Sometimes I wonder if the length of a resume lengthens the distance between them and students. Sometimes I wonder if the higher the degree the more blurred their vision from on high. Sometimes I wonder if the amount of scholarship academics write quickens their inclination to write off students.
What would happen, then, if we choked the choking weeds? What would happen if we felt a little of life's goodness in the classroom and let that goodness be magnified throughout our being. Do you know what would happen if we assumed the best instead of the worse, if we stopped assuming disappointment, gave the classroom a place in our lives? Well, let me tell you a little secret. The only things that matters in that classroom is how much you have chosen to matter in a student's life and that you become more meaningful to both yourself and each student by giving and serving.
And, therein lies the real secret of all those teachers who make a difference. They offer helping hands rather than pointing fingers. The name of their game is to be game, not to blame. They smile rather than sneer. They regard each student as a possible. They're opportunists in the best sense of the word. They stir up love, not judgment. They smile, not sneer. They wrap their love around each student, whatever happens, and make good things happen. Their imagination is anchored in belief, hope, faith, and love. They use each moment to express them. They are a force of goodness, and live that goodness each moment. They are beautiful in their own way, and that special beauty is a gift to each student. And, when they say, "Oh, those students," it is an ode to joy; it is uttered with a warm and embracing smile, not a cold and pushing away grimace. They wake up each morning with an inner light that is brighter than the light of the day. They walk enveloped in an aura of joy. They are out and out optimists. They're a source of light.
If we truly want to judge a teacher, judge him or her by his or her hope. If we truly want to measure a teacher, measure him or her by the size of his or her dream. To the teacher who dreams and hopes and believe, and acts on them, there is no such person as impossible, untouchable, and hopeless.
You see, most students are touched most by those teachers who dream and hope and believe the most of them.
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
203 E. Brookwood Pl http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta, Ga 31602
(C) 229-630-0821 /\ /\ /\ /\ /\
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