The light of a new day was grappling with the darkness of an old one.
You know,
I love both the darkness of the night and light of day. In the former, I see,
am awed,
and am humbled by the majestic stars and the expanse of the universe; in the
latter I see
the path. As the gray sky turned blue, I thought of our saying at Chapel Hill
that God is
a Tarheel who made the sky Carolina Blue. Well, Monday, I had proof God is a
Tarheel.
Our cable, which had been out for five days because of the flooding,
miraculously came
back on ten minutes--ten minutes!!!--before the NCAA Championship game to let
me watch my
beloved Tarheels wallop the Spartans. Back to less serious stuff.
Education should be awed by the stars and follow the path. It should
deal with
knowledge, critical thinking, and behavior, creating a web of who we are and
what we know
and what we feel and what we think with the purpose of what we do. They are
what I call
the "four 'yeses.'" Yes, we should offer them the essential knowledge in their
field of
endeavor; yes, we should certainly help students acquire what we call "critical
thinking
skills;" yes, we help student learn to apply the knowledge and thinking skills
in
resourceful ways; and, yes, we also should help students express themselves, be
in touch
with their emotions, deeply reflect on their values, articulate a vision,
acquire an
authenticity, develop self-discipline and self-control, nurture responsibility,
promote
empathy, build cooperation, speak honestly to themselves and to others,
maintain personal
integrity, respect others, stick by principles in all they do, and to smile
during the
heaviest of weather.
You see, contrary to what some have accused me of advocating, I'm not an
"either/or" guy; I'm an "and" guy. My courses are overflowing with what most
academics
would call "information and skill content," that is, the "know" and "think" of
the
classroom. My courses are replete with "inventive content," that is, student
ownership,
autonomy, creativity, and imagination. My courses are also overflowing with
what I call
"character content," the "who" and "who can become" of each student, as well as
the "why"
and "what should be done rightly done with" that professional, intellectual
stuff of
knowledge and skill. I would be the last to say that teaching students the
skills and
offering the information associated with their proposed profession should take
a back
seat. The intellectual, emotional, personal, and social aspects of an
education all
belong crowded in the old styled bench front seat like a bunch of Saturday
night cruising
teenagers. I have come to believe it is vital to help students use the
knowledge and
skill they acquire in a right way, for the enduring impact of what we educators
do should
be who the students become as persons as well as what they will know and what
they will
earn as professionals.
We should help them understand that living by pretense is not living,
uttering and
passing on values are nowhere near as important as living values, merely
surviving is not
living, living a life without principles is not fulfilled living, seeking to
only fit in
is not standing out, sitting down is not standing up, trying only to get by
won't get
much, measuring life by net worth is not a gauge of worthiness, and trying to
be perfect
is a futile and frustrating venture for any imperfect human being. Above all,
we should
help them feel and let explode into every nook and cranny in their personal and
professional lives the white-hot energy, the special beauty, and the uniqueness
that is
each of theirs, that the best-paying job any of them can ever have is the job
of just
being an excellent example of being human and living a life overflowing with
self-respect
and respect for others. We should help them understand that their education
should both
benefit them and others as a whole, that virtue is a philosophy of living life
all the
time and everywhere rather than merely a strategy or tactic for getting ahead,
that if
they act with genuine love and authentic purpose in whatever it is they do, no
obstacle
will have the power to stop them; that if they are truly thankful for the
smallest of
things, they will experience the most magnificent of blessings; that if they
walk through
this world giving the care and attention each precious moment deserves, they
will have
untold riches in their lives; and, if they do what is right for both them and
others, they
will be a living expression of the sacredness they are.
This way we have a shot at helping them acquire the greatest amount of
knowledge
and skill, the deepest sense of their own unique value and beauty, and apply
all of who
they are and what they know according to the highest morality and fullest of
life. We
should want our students at the time of graduation to want to paint their
self-portraits
with the rich, deep oils of honesty, enjoyment, fulfillment, authenticity,
respect,
purpose, and peace of mind rather than with the pale, pastel watercolors of
isolating
selfishness, restrictive anxiety, racing for material success, and being
satisfied with
temporary temporal pleasures; we should want them to be far better persons than
they are
professionals. If they are, they will become superb professionals who each day
will be
driven by the purpose and passion of the empowering perspective of making a
positive
difference, who will crush all excuses and rationales under the weight of their
purpose
and meet a challenge as an opportunity to improve their way through it rather
than as a
barrier to stop them in their tracks.
After all, there is always another creative horizon only when there is
an open
mind, joyful heart, accepting soul, and a helping hand.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__/\ \/\
/ \/ \_ \/ / \/
/\/
\ /\
//\/\/ /\
\__/__/_/\_\ \_/__\
/\"If you want to climb
mountains,\ /\
_ / \ don't practice on mole
hills" -
---
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