“Be mindful to your teaching story. Always learning. Always growing. pic.twitter.com/NasAU8UWzB”
Source: twitter.com
I celebrate the idea of being conscious of your teaching story. Here is one about my lost wallet.
In all my years of owning a wallet I had only lost it once before (and that was at a restaurant where I met my in-laws for the first time–yeah, first impressions, not. ) Yes, I had good wallet habits yet I lost it in my morning walk from car to office. I did not realize it was lost until after my last class of the day. I had no hopes for recovering it, but I waited a bit before I doing the manic, St. Vitus Day, cancel the credit cards dance.
The next morning I got an email from a former student of mine saying that she had found the wallet and would I like to pick it up. All the money and cards and irreplaceable ephemera and cruft of lots of years was undisturbed in there when I got it back. Happy day and rewards all around and karma generated by the kilo.
So, my story is just another example of the Golden Rule: teach as if someone you are helping might find your lost wallet someday (or change your IV or keep an eye on your kid or make your dinner). Teach humanely, thankfully, and humbly. It is its own reward, but…it can’t hurt to do so just in case you lose your wallet. This is not the first time karma has reared it rollicking buddha laugh in my teaching life, nor will it be the last.
One last think. One of the ways to be a mindful teacher is to constantly remind yourself of what your teaching stories are. Maybe I need get that first tattoo for that permanent reminder.
Teach humanely, thankfully, and humbly. —
made my morning ..
Kevin
Hi Terry,
There’s so much I love about this post…including expanding my definition of what it means to tell a teaching story! So much of teaching is about learning for me…thanks for teaching me and learning with me.
Kim
Yes, we all think through each other’s lenses. Not monocular, not binocular, multiocular?
You just never know when something you have done with or said to a student has made an impact that will have a ripple effect. What a great story. I once had a student tell me that when she was in middle school, I was the only person who said hi to her in thehall every morning. I was (of course) glad I had, but also it was a scary responsibility, to think that we impact in ways and times when we are not even aware.