A Quickie On When Small Is Large, II

 Thinking of the words those two students wrote, I know that the guiding light of our teaching should be to spread an aura of goodness, to help others become better persons rather than merely more informed or more skilled wage earners we call professionals or otherwise. That’s the stuff of which making a significant difference is made.

 I am convinced that those who can and do make a difference are not just the particularly special Mahatma Ghandis, chosen Maria Teresas, select Nelson Mandelas, or extraordinary Martin Luther Kings. Each person can make a difference if she or he cultivates two intertwined and inseparable inherent human “soul-like” qualities and capacities that lie latent within each of us, which allow each of us to experience a sense of compassion and beauty and sacredness of those and things around us.

 As I just told someone, the first quality is a courage that comes from following a purpose that goes beyond personal concerns. Courage is, to paraphrase James Allen, a drawing of strength from both cherished ideals that beats in our heart and what Peter Senge calls a reflective and articulated “personal vision” of what we want to create of ourselves; it is a loveliness, a tenderness, a kindness, and lovingness that drapes each of our thoughts and feelings; it gives meaning to a person’s actions; it is an unrelenting commitment to doing what is right and when our integrity will not allow us to take any other path. It is powerful and demanding, but reachable truth and purpose put into action. The second capacity is attentiveness to the needs of others. The sin of not be attentive, not being unremittingly aware, alert, or awake, is the sin, as Joseph Campbell once said, of missing and not making use of the only thing that is truly ours: the present moment of life.

 Writing as a practioner and not as a theorist, I can assure you that as you demonstrate courage with attentiveness of, empathy toward, and patience with others. you will find yourself walking inexorably down what I call a path of “do thats”: Do that and everything which passes so quickly in a blur will ever slow down and be sharp; do that and you’ll hear what the daily breezes and constant whispers have to tell; do that and you’ll acquire a sense of indestructible wonder at how startling life is; do that and you’ll see the sacredness in each person; do that and you’ll see the whole future in one person; do that and everyday, you’ll think as you wake up that you are fortunate to have woken up, that you are alive, that you are a precious human life, that you’re not going to waste it, that you’re going to use all your energies to develop yourself to expand your heart out to others for their and your benefit; do that and you’ll see with open eyes and an open heart; do that and you take notice of the unnoticed; do that and you’ll do everything that needs to be done to do all the good that you can do from where you are and with what you have; do that and you’ll fill each day with your gifts of love and kindness; do that and you’ll the experience the real joy of being fully engaged in whatever you’re doing; do that and difficulties will disappear and obstacles will vanish into the thin air; do that and you’ll see the face of meaningfulness; do that you’ll blow away the dark and blinding fog of despairing tiredness, regrets, frustrations, sadnesses, worries, anxieties, complaints, jaded boredom, angers, and resentments; do that and you’ll enter wholly and make loving use of this day, feel a rich texture and fullness of life, have a peaceful heart, and exercise a clear mind; do all that and you’ll opportunities opening up to make a difference in someone’s life and change the world.

 Trust me. All that “do that-ing” is tough. It’s demanding. It gives a lot of headaches. It offers huge challenges. It requires a lot of emotional and physical strength. It takes a lot of work and demands a lot of time. It asks for sacrifice. It even creates a lot of pain and agony. But, if you think of the effort as purposeful and wonderful, and if you feel it as purposeful and wonderful, it will transform what others might ordinarily see as a heavy and laborious burden into a continuous stream of fired energy of joy and meaning that will pour from your soul.

Make it a good day.

      –Louis–

This entry was posted in Random Thoughts by Louis Schmier. Bookmark the permalink.

About Louis Schmier

LOUIS SCHMIER “Every student should have a person who wants to help him or her help himself or herself become the person he or she is capable of becoming, and I’ll be damned if I am ever going to let one human being fall through the cracks in my classes without a fight.” How about a snapshot of myself. But, what shall I tell you about me? Something personal? Something philosophical? Something pedagogical? Something scholarly? Nah, I'll dispense with that resume stuff. Since I believe everything we do starts from who we are inside, what we believe, what we perceive, and what we do is an extension of ourselves, how about if I first say some things about myself. Then, maybe, I can ease into other things. My name is Louis Schmier. The first name rhymes with phooey, the last with beer. I am a 76 year old - in body, but not in mind or spirit - born and bred New Yorker who came south in 1963. I met by angelic bride, Susie, on a reluctant blind date at Chapel Hill. We've been married now going on 51 years. We have two marvelous sons. One is a VP at Samsung in San Francisco. The other is an artist with food and is an executive chef at a restaurant in Nashville, Tn. And, they have given us three grandmunchkins upon whom we dote a bit. I power walk 7 miles every other early morning. That’s my essential meditative “Just to …” time. On the other days, I exercise with weights to keep my upper body in shape. I am an avid gardener. I love to cook on my wok. Loving to work with my hands as well as with my heart and mind, I built a three room master complex addition to the house. And, I am a “fixer-upper” who allows very few repairmen to step across the threshold. Oh, by the way, I received my A.B. from then Adelphi College, my M.A. from St. John's University, and my Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I have been teaching at Valdosta State University in Georgia since 1967. Having retired reluctantly in December, 2012, I currently hold the rank of Professor of History, Emeritus. I prefer the title, “Teacher”. Twenty-five years ago, I had what I consider an “epiphany”. It changed my understanding of myself. I stopped professoring and gave up scholarly research and publication to devote all my time and energy to student. My teaching has taken on the character of a mission. It is a journey that has taken me from seeing only myself to a commitment to vision larger than myself and my self-interest. I now believe that being an educator means I am in the “people business”. I now believe that the most essential element in education is caring about people. Education without caring, without a real human connection, is as viable as a person with a brain but without a heart. So, when I am asked what I teach, I answer unhesitatingly, “I teach students”. I am now more concerned with the students’ learning than my teaching, more concerned with the students as human beings than with the subject. I am more concerned with reaching for students than reaching the height of professional reputation. I believe the heart of education is to educate the heart. The purpose of teaching is to instill in all students genuine, loving, lifelong eagerness to learn and foster a life of continual growth and development. It should encourage and assist students in developing the basic values needed for learning and living: self-discipline, self-confidence, self-worth, integrity, honesty, commitment, perseverance, responsibility, pursuit of excellence, emotional courage, creativity, imagination, humility, and compassion for others. In April, 1993, I began to share ME on the internet: my personal and professional rites of passage, my beliefs about the nature and purpose of an education, a commemoration of student learning and achievement, my successful and not so successful experiences, a proclamation of faith in students, and a celebration of teaching. These electronic sharings are called “Random Thoughts”. There are now over 1000 of them floating out there in cyberspace. The first 185, which chronicles the beginnings of my journey, have been published as collections in three volumes, RANDOM THOUGHTS: THE HUMANITY OF TEACHING, RANDOM THOUGHTS, II: TEACHING FROM THE HEART, RANDOM THOUGHTS, III: TEACHING WITH LOVE, and RANDOM THOUGHTS, IV: THE PASSION OF TEACHING. The chronicle of my continued journey is available in an Ebook on Amazon's Kindle in a volume I call FAITH, HOPE, LOVE: THE SPIRIT OF TEACHING. There a few more untitled volumes in the works..

Comments are closed.