Dear Teachers and Students,
This is my second e-book in a trilogy I am writing to help all those who are interested in a teacher-student or mentor-student relationship and would appreciate knowing the experiences of a passionate and excited person who is into his fifth decade of teaching. A good teacher has to first bury his/her ego and then enter the classroom. A good teacher is first a good educator trying to draw out the individual student's talent, and good teaching is a one-to-one experience: teacher and student, regardless of the number of students in your class.
I love the role of the mentor. The mentor goes beyond the left-brain institutional requirements of receiving a check and achieving tenure. The mentor is interested in the TOTAL person not just the social security number that needs a grade to be promoted to the next level or credits to graduate from an educational institution. Not all students are immediately lovable, and at times, it takes patience to create the appropriate bonding towards a specific student to create the necessary synergy required for you and the student to work together.
Teaching is a spiritual calling that transcends all paychecks and job titles that have ever been created on the planet. There are many educational institutions with bureaucratic red tape and educational managers that have little soul regarding the teaching process and the importance of the teacher-student bond. There are appropriate and inappropriate relationships that teachers establish over the years with their students. It is important to note that those lasting relationships occur when the teacher sees each student as a future parent and grandparent, as a future town leader and coach, and as a model within the community's future.
The teacher needs the vision. The teacher needs to be nurtured. The teacher needs to know that what he/she gives his/her students is what his/her students know, and that information is going to be given to each succeeding generation within their individual families. When the teacher gives the wrong message, that wrong message is what the student transmits to the next generation in his/her family and community. This why the teacher must see his/herself as a spiritual being having a human experience, and rise above the short-sided vision of human nature. Students will do what is natural; however, the teacher needs the vision to go beyond human nature and share his/her vision of life and the rainbow of skills (not just survival skills) needed to be successful and happy in life.
The successful teacher is the successful student for life. Wisdom is the ability to look at a situation in a new and creative way that was previously never valued or considered. Children feel wisdom. Children know wisdom. When the teacher speaks from wisdom, every child will listen and feel the power of the silence that follows. Teaching is not about the facts and trivia. It is not about standardized achievement testings. It is not about comparing student accomplishments. It is not about some students feeling superior or inferior to other students. It is not about creating glory days for 10% of the student body in academics, athletics, and cultural arts events.
Sincerely,
Larry D. Allen
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