Published March 19, 1986
The business of teaching
Not very long ago, I was still teaching. My school? Well, it was almost as big as the city of Hartford. My job was high stress… as all of teaching is inclined to be in these times. But I had been doing it for years, and I enjoyed it. During my career I taught kids all the way from junior high through college. This job was my favorite age group… juniors and seniors in high school. They are old enough to understand adult ideas, but most have not yet been gripped by the adult world and the necessity for having the trappings of “the good life.”
About this time I was talking with some older friends of ours. Floyd and Fanny have been married for about 60 years and both are in their late 80s. But don’t think they have become fossilized between the ears yet. Floyd is a very religious man, something of a fundamentalist, but he does not shove his religion at everyone. He said to me, “So you enjoy teaching… but do you teach kids to think? Not too many teachers are doing that nowadays, I am afraid.”
I answered him in this way, “On a recent final exam I had my students write four essays. They had to deal with the following topics:
1. Show how a particular piece of literature is related to or comes from the society in which it was produced. Use only a serious author with whom you are familiar.
2. Explicate (explain) a poem… Robert Frost’s “The Leaf Treader.
3. Write an essay on something in which you really believe.
4. Write me a letter in which you tell me how this class has gone for you. Use concrete examples.”
When I had finished my list, Floyd thought a moment. Then he said, “I guess you ARE asking kids to do some thinking.” At this point I had to admit sometimes a few of my students start to whine and complain that no one has ever asked them to do this before. My stock answer is that it is about time.
A good teacher must have a commitment to a larger enterprise. By that I mean that parents send to us their children… the chiefest treasure they have in this life. They want us to educate them; sometimes they even want us to civilize them. But we must do it in such a way that we teach them the same values the parents have. No one ever gave a teacher a mandate for advocating revolution.
But there is an inherent absurdity in this. If we teachers really do our job, we must prepare young people to face life and its most difficult decisions. In order to make decisions, a person has to learn how to think. If a person really does think, his thoughts are his own and cannot be controlled. He may even think and act in ways that will be incompatible with the value systems of his forebears, until the rough edges are smoothed, somewhat by the abrasions of life. Thus the teacher’s encouraging students to think may ultimately be a subversive activity.
Another problem is that students feel school is not “like real life.” This is a seemingly valid judgment if real life to them is based on what they see in films, television, magazines and in live entertainment centers. In that artificial world all desirable girls are gorgeous and pliant. All guys are cool, handsome and used to incredible amounts of violence.
Of course, school is not like that. And neither is the real world. The real world people have to buy their own toothpaste and toilet paper. They have to make decisions and live with them. They have to make mistakes and there is not always a fade-out to a happy ending. The glutton will probably develop stomach problems. The smoker may get emphysema or lung cancer. The drinker will probably become a dirty, smelly alcoholic. The drug user will most likely become strung out, tortured and finally dead. The sex-thrill seeker will probably get herpes, AIDS, or one of the minor venereal diseases, such as syphilis.
And the spoiled brat will have to face a world that will finally be unforgiving. Mom and Dad will not be there to pick up the pieces. In their mistaken kindness, they may have said, “Well, I don’t want my kids to have to go through what I went through.” Why not? Steel is tempered by the fire. We may not remember the easy lessons we learn but we will surely remember the hard ones… if we have learned to think.
Aha, there we are back at that thinking thing. I guess I want every young person with whom I come in contact to think for himself. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This ancient Greek had worked it all out. He did not mean that if you examined your life it would necessarily be all beer and skittles. No one has promised us a rose garden… but if we learn to think, our chances of survival will be much greater. That I do believe.
Coloma Public Library news
Book Club
The public is invited to join the Coloma Public Library’s Book Club every other Thursday in the Community Room at 4 p.m. The selection for the meeting on Jan. 4 is “No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister. The selection for Jan. 18 is “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt.
Romantics Book Club
Adults who love to read romance will want to join the library’s new Romantics Book Club! First session is Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m. The selection is “Love and Other Words” by Christina Lauren. Following sessions will be the second Tuesday of every month.
Paws for Reading
Weekly Paws for Reading sessions with trained therapy dogs Pailey and Margaret are Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. in the Children’s Room. Next session is Jan. 10.
Toddler Story Times
Weekly Toddler Story Times are Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for fun interactive story times and activities. Next session is Jan. 9.
Program schedules are on the calendar at colomapubliclibrary.net. Contact staff at 269-468-3431 or readcoloma@gmail.com for more information.
4-H Tractor
Operator
Program for
14 & 15 year olds
For more than 40 years, the 4-H Tractor Operator Program (TOP) has been preparing youth for the workforce along with teaching young people safety, confidence, and responsibility. Michigan State University Extension will be offering the 4-H Tractor Operator Program starting on Jan. 16, in Berrien County. Successful completion of 4-H TOP provides a certificate of training required for operation of a 20 PTO HP or greater, garden or agricultural tractor, by 14- and 15-year-old youth employed on property not owned, leased or operated by a parent or legal guardian. Certification is also used by youth who exhibit and participate in local contests, parades and festival activities.
The 9-week course will be taught on Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m., Jan. 16 through April 2, 2024. The driving exam will be held on April 5. A minimum of 25 hours of instruction is required and participants must be 14 years of age by the date of the driving test.
The program will meet at the Old Baroda Township Hall, 9081 First Street, Baroda. Pre-registration is required through the Berrien County MSU Extension Office by 5 p.m., Jan. 15. The cost is $50.00 per person. Registration can be done online at: https://v2.4honline.com/#/user/
sign-in or by calling 269-927-5674.
For questions, please reach out to the Berrien County MSU Extension Office at 269-927-5674 or Kelly Stelter, 4-H Program Coordinator at grandtke@msu.edu.
Persons with disabilities may request accommodations by calling the Berrien County MSU Extension Office at 269-927-5674 by Jan. 5 to ensure sufficient time to make arrangements. Requests received after this date will be met when possible.
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