I suspect that vast amounts of professional teachers, unfortunately, are vainglorious – they think they are actually teaching a spiritually vapid and intellectually wanting audience and therefore hold the moral high ground: “We know everything and you know nothing,” the so-called negative teaching approach. (1) This is now rapidly changing, due to the advent of the cell phone and the Internet. In fact, over the centuries, we were exposed to the concept that “the only real teacher is the self,” though we didn’t believe it. After World War Two, this began to alter. The saying, “If you don’t have a job, you don’t want one,” was quite literally true. (2) Our present post-Millennial population has adopted these values, though the economic reality is now quite different.
Where I grew up in my little village, most adolescents didn’t even bother engaging their teachers. They simply quit school in grade ten or eleven and went to work in either the logging or fishing industries. For the pedagogues, times were good. In grade eight, our whole provincial school system moved from a strict British model to a liberal, laid-back American one. (3) This was the system’s attempt to stem the flow of high school “dropouts,” the label attached to young people who were not graduating from high school. We were allowed to call our teachers by their first names and the most rebellious of all: smoke. Yes, we were allowed to smoke at school. In fact, we had a smoking area just beside the gym, of all places. Forty-five years later that seems to be an extremely bizarre juxtaposition: inhaling poison and health.
The kids that had the hardest times were from the indigenous population. Having made it this far (high school), they faced the hardest challenge yet: graduation into a society that didn’t want them. (4) I remember one incident: our math teacher, an Englishman no less, Brandon Smythe: He tried to discipline the energies of this “enormous” native pupil, Steven Touchie (Now to be fair, I was thirteen years old, from a sheltered family and not very big, so my perception was skewed, to say the least). The older man tried to physically eject the boy from class. This was long before “political correctness.” (5) Needless to say, the child never did finish school. I often marvel at the fact that I graduated and eventually went on to many years of university. For the time, this was an aberration. What “saved me,” was the involvement of two people in my life: my French teacher, Dominique Morales, and my Drama teacher, Dr. Rodger Parks.
To not be a wage slave (DBAWageslave.com), we are told that we must find a mentor, an individual who can identify with your needs and assist you in their resolution. I had two without knowing it. The French teacher took us on a trip to Europe, thereby exposing my young, inquisitive eyes to a much wider and more dynamic world. The theater teacher, in turn, exposed “the arts” and the magnificent tapestry that they possess. For the modern student, where is this mentor: how does one find this individual? The first place to commence, obviously, is the classroom. Look for that magical teacher that truly inspires you. Teaching is not a profession; it is a calling, much like any great “metier.” Remember: you want a dentist who is in love with teeth, not with money. The second place to look is during any social activity: at a club, a temple, a church or a synagogue. One of the great gifts in life is discovering this person. One must be forewarned against dissolute mentors: the “bad boy” (6) image. The true mentor slowly helps you uncover your personal life mission. From Charles Dickens in Great Expectations (7): “He was always so zealous and honorable in fulfilling his compact with me, that he made me zealous and honorable in fulfilling mine with him. If he had shown indifference as a master, I have no doubt I should have returned the compliment as a pupil. He gave me no such excuse, and each of us did the other justice.” What one has to guard against is ennui. Our digital age, though convenient, has tricked us into the belief that time is limitless: it is not. Each ego will eventually be expunged. This is regardless of what your creed, faith or conviction is. We must covet our time: much easier to believe at sixty than at sixteen. The great survivor, philosopher and scientist, Steven Hawking (b. 1942), leaves us with a thought: I have so much that I want to do. I hate wasting time.
A closing thought: Socrates left us with the iconic phrase, said at his trial (to paraphrase): “I know that I know nothing.” What he meant by this, of course, was that I must constantly keep learning and growing. There is always more to uncover: for the good of the self and for the amelioration of our civilization.
To sum up: This week we spoke about mentoring. I described some personal experiences from my childhood. We finished with a quote by a man who has overcome the greatest of adversities to succeed as an iconic role model to every seeking person everywhere, regardless of what they are searching for in their life.
An amusing occurrence: I have a slight astigmatism. I cannot see the numbers hidden inside a group of dots on a visual test. This test is necessary to receive a driver’s license. Realizing that I would fail, I went with my friend. His task was “to sign” the correct number when I was asked by the doctor. He was also a bit of a wit, a jokester. In the examination room, I looked at the paper and then at my colleague. He gestured the number twenty-eight. “Could you tell me the number that you see?” “Yes, of course: it is twenty-eight.” “Twenty-eight: what are you talking about? You must be blind.” My friend suddenly indicated forty-two. “Oh excuse me, I meant forty-two.” “Yes, that is correct.” Later I queried my friend: “What was that all about?” “Nothing really,” was his cheeky reply. “I just wanted to see how you handled stress.” I was too dumbstruck to react.
This week, please recall the moment that you discovered your own mentor.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: When we find our guide, we will always hold this memory close to our heart.
Footnotes:
1) 5 Powerfully Positive Teaching Strategies
2) Post–World War II economic expansion
4) Aboriginal students twice as likely to drop out in Alberta
5) The term political correctness (adjectivally: politically correct; commonly abbreviated to PC), in modern usage, is used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended primarily not to offend or disadvantage any particular group of people in society. At its most extreme, this often has odd consequences. No Christmas tree in high schools, for example, because some individuals do not celebrate Christmas