Wednesday, I heard from Arizona (her real name). She is a former student from years back who is now a high school teacher. Among the things she said was, “….Doc, you’ve written a lot lately about faith, hope, and love in the classroom. And, you said you’ll write more. Of course, that’s been your theme in everything you’ve put up, as you always say, into cyberspace. And, what’s more important, that’s what your class was for each of us in there with you, a love story. But, now I have an assignment for you. Could you do me a favor? I want you to boil all those reflections into one or two sentences that will be a tighter guide for following through on taking your ‘Teacher’s Oath.’ I’ll give you a few days, but no later than Monday….”
One or two sentences! I’m not sure how I get myself into these situations. But, it was a challenge I could not ignore. Anyway, picking up her gauntlet, this what I came up with:
Our attitudes drive our actions and our actions affect our attitudes. Focusing on and making real unyielding, unconditional, non-judgmental, committed, persistent, inclusive faith, hope, and love “de-herds” the classroom; they transform “the class” from an “is” into an “are,” from a collective, generalizing, stereotyping, depersonalizing, dehumanizing, faceless, nameless singular blur into a “gathering of separate, noble, sacred, unique ‘ones'” unclouded plural. When we do that, we have no choice but to find ways to make each day a moral occasion when the process of unconditionally helping each and every student to help her or him learn how to make a good living and to live the good life come inseparably together.
Whew! But, I beat her deadline.
Louis