Well, the semester is coming to a close. November is just beginning
and it's
almost gone. The flow of my November is always disrupted by five "high" days
at the Lilly
conference on teaching at Miami University and the equally long Turkey Day
break. Then,
the students return in the daze induced by a caloric overdose with only a week
before
classes come to an end. So, up to now, by my count, I've read about 2400 daily
journal
entries over the past 12 weeks for each of my four classes. Among those almost
10,000
entries, aside from constant revelations of the humanity of each student, one
thing jumps
out. I'll frame it in the form of a few questions. Why is it that almost all
students
are surprised that a professor cares about them as persons? Why are they
stunned when a
professor notices them? Why are they floored when a professor respects them?
Why don't
so many of us fathom the almost immeasurable impact of caring? And, what does
that say
about far too many of us academics?
I know most of us do care about students. But, that's not enough, for
while we
are all proclaiming "I care about students" with our lips, are we careful to be
caring in
our hearts? And if we are, why are far too many of us displaying a limited
caring that
waits for a few of them to come to us and isn't reaching out to all of them?
Why is the
caring of so many of us selective or highly conditional? Why would we hear if
we
listened closely to both ourselves and others the culling out phrases "they
have to
deserve my...;" or, "they have to earn my...;" or, "they have to work for
my...;" or,
"they have to show me that....;" "if...."
As we are in our brain, so we are in our thoughts and attitudes; as we
are in our
hearts, so we are at our core; as we are in our souls, so we are in the soles
of our feet.
So, do we live those words of care? The true answer is not found in whether we
care, but
rests in whether the students feel cared about.
That matters. In the people business of education, what matters most
is the
attitude of the teacher. Trust me; there is nothing more magical than that.
There is
nothing more powerful than feeling you're cared about, then feeling you're
noticed, then
feeling you're being valued, them feeling you're wanting; then feeling lovingly
embraced;
then being made to feel that you're important. There is no teaching method more
influential than what I call "caring lived." If I am right, the positive
impact that acts
of caring have on students should and must provoke us to reflect upon what is
it that we
can do to reinforce this impact in order to feel it, smell it, taste it, live
it, and keep
it alive and well each and every day. We have to acquire and live an intense
awareness
and a deep otherness that will not allow us to let opportunities, large and
small, pass by
in which we can help others feel welcomed, special, cared about, noticed,
valued, and
appreciated. Don't underestimate the power of caring, for time and time again
I see
seemingly small gestures of caring leaving indelible memories and having
lifelong impacts.
But, from my experience there is another side, a by-product, to "caring
lived."
Our own self-worth, dignity, faith, hope, significance, meaning is cultivated
as we live
caring. The more we live caring, the more courageous we become to reach out;
the greater
our daring, the less we're inclined to be discouraged by an overwhelming sense
of
hopelessness; and the less we're inclined to be discouraged, the more resilient
we are.
"Caring lived" is a fuel for the fires of our inner strength that in itself
drives our
faith, commitment, determination, perseverance, endurance. At the end of the
road, and it
is a high road, "caring lived" nurtures emotional security that creates a
greater chance
of touching both yourself and someone, and both changing the world and altering
the
future. And, when you do touch someone, when you change the world and alter
the future,
I assure you, there is no greater "high," no greater exhilaration, no greater
joy, no
greater feeling of accomplishment, no greater sense of significance, no greater
addition
of value and meaning to what you do.
Ah, wouldn't it be lovely if unconditional "caring lived," rather than
merely
"caring spoken," was so commonplace, so integral to what we feel and think and
do, that it
would no longer be a surprise to any student.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\_/\ \/\
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