This quiet, noisy, hometown, backyard, fire-cracking, parading weekend
we
Americans are celebrating self-evident truths to which we hold, which define us
as a
people, and which make us quite unique--and great. These truths, as George
Will recently
wrote, are what we choose to believe, how we dream to live, how we strive to
make those
ideals become reality, and thereby making them self-validating. In that
spirit, I'm going
to do something the same and something different. I'm going to talk about one
of my
self-evident truths which I choose to believe, how I dream to live, how I
strive to make
it and other self-evident truths my reality.
Now, this Random Thought and the few to follow aren't spontaneous as
are almost
all my Random Thoughts--kinda. The truth is that a while back I spontaneously
wrote an
introduction to the probably never to be published fourth volume of collected
Random
Thoughts. It was to be subtitled "Teaching With Passion." Passionate is how a
new-found
friend described me. I won't argue with him. It is one of the essences of who
I am.
Especially having survived cancer four years ago and a massive cerebral
hemorrahage
without any crippling effects last year, I am passionate about fervently living
a
meaningful and purposeful life in all of its personal and professional
manifestations.
In education particularly, there's something so deadening that sucks
the life out
of teaching and learning, something so depressing that reduces focus to
information
transmission and gathering rather than on people, something so bland that is
devoid of
emotional intensity, something so stagnating that doesn't stir the creative and
imaginative juices. That something is really an absence of something:
passion. Now, I'm
not talking about being passionate about or dedicated to one's discipline; I'm
talking
about being passionate about teaching and being dedicated to each student's
learning. So,
I thought why let this reflection go to waste. And, before I go any further,
Im going to
give you a warning. I am not going to be purely clinical and intellectual.
Instead, I am
going to be emotional. I am going to get passionate about teaching with
passion by
reaffirming my second principle of teaching, the Law of Juice: if theres no
juice in the
battery, youre dead in the parking lot and youre not going anywhere. Coaches
know it.
Theatrical directors know it. Orchestral conductors know it. Choreographers
know it.
Artists, dancers, musicians, athletes, and actors know it. Both educators and
students
have yet fully to learn it, much less appreciate it. So, here is my take on the
importance
of passion in education, what I call "Hokey Pokey Teaching," presented seven
parts of bits
and pieces. Part I:
You put your whole self in;
you put your whole self out;
you put your whole self in;
and you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
Now that is passion! If youve ever danced the Hokey Pokey you know
what I mean.
Its really an exciting experience. You start with putting your right foot in
and out,
and then, with your hands held high, you turn all about. Next, you put your
left foot in
and out, then your right hand, then your left hand, then your right side, then
your left
side, then your nose, then your backside, then your head, and finally your
whole self.
Ive seen people get into it, kick off their shoes, kick up their heels, let
their hair
down, not worry about what they looked like, not be concerned with what anyone
said, and
just go for it. Ive never seen anyone do the Hokey Pokey who didnt move,
laugh, and
giggle like a child. In fact, I think to fully enjoy the Hokey Pokey, you have
to both
figuratively and literally jump in and turn yourself around; you have to find
the inner
child. The Hokey-Pokey is so great that it lightens the spirit and takes years
off the
soul--while being just plain fun.
Thats what its all about.
With that being said, let me say unhesitatingly and unabashedly that
teaching with
passion, then, is juiced-up Hokey Pokey teaching! Its all about teaching all
of each
student with all of me. Its about taking the risk to put my whole self in.
Its about
not worrying about how I may look to others. Its about every pore in my body
saying an
unconditional "yes" to whatever and whomever comes along. Its about being a
heart
specialist and having a complicated love affair with the beauty within each
student. It
is about being fully alive. It is about having a defiant optimism. Its about
having a
committed commitment. It is about a flirtation and courting with each student
that
signify that nothing in the classroom goes along as usual, but holds the
possibility of
always being better than usual and certainly unusual. It is about having a
heightened
gratitude for life. It is about what stirs my soul, inspires me, motivates me,
makes me
feel like Im in totally in harmony with why I showed up on campus. Its about
just
picking up a few bottles of champagne and popping them every time I walk on
campus. Its
about de-icing with the warmth of my own heart. Its about knowing that every
moment is a
golden gateway to new possibilities. Its about getting off the treadmill.
Its about
going on a field trip as an adventurer, an explorer, a learner, and a pilgrim
rather than
as a disengaged and distant tourist. Its about going into a classroom being
filled with
an exclaiming, "God, it feels great to be here.
And what am I passionate about? It's simple, but challenging and
demanding. I
want to be a life-lifter. I want to be a character chiropractor and align a
student's
belief in him-/herself with his/her potential. I want to be a "making the
difference"
opportunist. I want to be a growth hormone. I want to be a self-discovery
catalyst. I
want to be a TLC agent. It says in the Talmud that every blade of grass has an
angel who
bends over and whispers, "Grow. Grow." I want to be one of those angels who
whispers in
the ear of each student, Grow. Become who you are capable of becoming. Grow.
I remember once reading--it escapes me who wrote this--that the noblest
joy of the
senses, the holiest piece of the heart, the most resplendent luster of all good
works
derives from putting your heart and soul and mind wholly into what you do.
Hokey Pokey teaching! That's what it's all about.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier
http://therandomthoughts.edublogs.org/
Department of
History http://www.newforums.com/Auth_L_Schmier.asp
Valdosta State University www. halcyon.com/arborhts/louis.html
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
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