Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

In about six months I will turn forty. As the date approaches I find myself thinking more and more about the significance of the milestone of middle age. I find myself not so much evaluating my previous forty years but wondering what the next forty (God willing) might hold.

What I've realized is the while I like teaching a lot I like mentoring aand coaching a whole lot more. What's the difference? As an educator, I don't have as much assurnace that all the parties involved are really engaged in the process. What I've realized that for me to get excited and "up" for the teaching experience, I need to believe that the other stakeholders are willing to paticipate in the process and take equal responsibility for the results. When I have students who are willing to do this, I become really, really energixed by it. The students don't even have to be all that good at what they are trying to learn, they just have to be willing to work and push through the inevitable roadblocks and setbacks.

To me, this seems a lot more like mentoring and coaching; a lot more like a real partnership. I become more of a knowledgable resource and repository of experience than the bad guy who gives bad grades. Most importantly, in a coaching/mentoring relationship, I know that the other person is there because they want to be. I can ask more and the other party will give more and the results will be so much richer. I always wondered why high school teachers always seemed to hit a point where they wanted to become guidance counselors or master teachers. Know I think I know. I love being in the classroom but to be surrounded my so many who would just rather have you shut up and not expect anything is really difficult. I saw school as such an incredible opportunity to learn as much as I could. If I could, I'd go back in a heartbeat and study all of those things I didn't have time for the first time around. I'd look to be mentored by the best and brightest minds I could find. I would seek out every challenge I could to see what it could teach me.

I'm selfish to wish every student I had would be like that I think. But as I consider the future I wonder if I shouldn't begin making the changes necessary to make sure my time is spent with more of those students. In one sense I think it would be more effective but then I look at the students who have come into my classes and who have been changed for the better by what I ask of them. How many uncaring stundets does that kind of student "make up" for? How many Luke Lewis' or Paul Waldorfs do I need to have to make what I do worthwhile? How many have there been that I don't even know about?

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