QUOTES from Atticus, Gibran, Mandela, and Maslow to Jay-Z

Nelson Mandela:  

"What counts in life is not the mere fact that we lived...  

it is what difference we have made to the lives of others

that will determine the significance of the life we lead."

This is where teachers have an unprecedented opportunity in a meaningful career where it is possible to make a difference on a daily basis!

Permeate

I cannot imagine a way of life more steeped in Mandela's philosophy than a life serving in classroom spilling over with bright eyed children who believe in the magic that all is possible when we act upon our dreams. --Toby Manzanares

Whether it be science, math, history, or the humanities, we are paid to impart the knowledge and wisdom of our academic disciplines... yet while doing just that, educators have an unimaginable opportunity to simultaneously make a difference in the lives of so many others. Where else can so few make such a colossal positive change in the human condition?

The purpose of this book is to place the importance of teaching back on the front page of our mental landscape for all to recognize or remember... In 

"You've got to be tough as nails with your tender heart."   

You will come to see that we learn nothing from winning,

the act of loosing however can elicit great wisdom.

It is inevitable to lose now and then,

the trick is not to make a habit of it.

"The great adventure in life, is what you decide to do with it." 

"We're trying to be right as often as we can, and trying to live a life that amounts to something."

"We'll share the credit when something good happens, and assume the responsibility for mistakes and not look for a scapegoat."

--Bill Clinton 

FOR STUDENTS:

Life is like a camera:

focus on what's important.

Capture the good times.

Develop from the negatives.

And if things don't turn out,

take another shot.

 

One way to frame my years in the classroom is to imgaine them like a jigsaw puzzle: each student, every colleague, each day like a piece of that puzzle coming together in the final moments to reveal a beautiful panoramic landscape, magnificent to behold.

"Greek-Armenian philosopher and mystic George Gurdjieff taught that we are born without a soul and that our task in life is to help our soul to grow and develop: Souls aren’t born; they’re earned. Every single day." I believe that is what teachers do: help students develop, grow and earn their souls.

My all time favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird, I first read in high school but was completely elevated by its message and characters when I read it a second time some 40 years later.  

Atticus Finch and Good Teaching

Believe that goodness can be found in everyone.

I just saw Aaron Sorkin's 2023 new stage version of to Kill a Mockingbird.  It left me in tears at several points but especially at the climatic standing ovation. Suddenly, thousands of affirmative voices ringing out to the performers, not just clapping hands but rising voices! I've never heard such admiration, a once in a lifetime ovation, but I wonder if it was for the performers or for the beauty of the message they delivered. It is the message of Mockingbird that I feel in the everyday work of teachers.

Then I came across Carol Kuchar's 6/2/2019 To Kill A Mockingbird online post:

".... unconditional love, non judgement and protecting one's own child in the face of adversity and fear... Atticus had no judgement... Teach your students to have an open and loving heart and mind, then listen to what they have to teach you! That is what love and teaching is all about!"

 

 Click HERE for Aaron Sorkin on To Kill a Mockingbird

 Click HERE for the National Tour of To Kill A Mockingbird

 

Atticus believed that goodness could be found in all the towns people. He refused to believe the people he grew up with, the people on the jury he knew so well would find an innocent man guilty. When they fell short of his expectations he began to question his view that there is goodness in everyone.

Yet, I believe that goodness can be found in everyone. It was certainly true of the students who walked into my classroom over my 39 years as an educator. Looking back, I can see how that belief made the journey so much more enjoyable.--tnm

 

Sorkin: There’s a scene in the book and in the movie. At the end of the trial, Atticus has lost, he’s putting stuff back in his briefcase, and the whole courtroom has cleared out, except for what they call the “colored section” up in the balcony. Atticus turns around to see that they’re all standing silently out of respect for him, and someone says [to Scout], “Stand up, Miss Jean Louise; your daddy’s passing.”

It’s a great scene and it's a good way to frame the way I see teachers:  "Stand up everyone, your teachers are passing."

 

A SAMURAI IN THE CLASSROOM

In a moment of solitude late one afternoon in a peacful,  undisturbed silence while grading papers, I sensed the presence of a distant ancestor with me in the classroom, there she was, a samurai standing by the observation bee hive, but unseen, nudging me to intuitively engage my students in the manner of samurai.  Into this stream of consciousness came to me a  Japanese proverb, now popular in the art world of tattoos. 

It is important, before going any further, to frame my understanding of a Samurai In The Classroom. To begin, bushido, the seven samurai virtues, are the same as how I ideally see teachers at work with their students. (Click HERE)  

 

Nanakorobi yaoki

Fall down seven times get up eight -- Japanese proverb

Though not specifically linked to bushido, the samurai code, this proverb reveals the soul of Japan alive today.  It may be that all Japanese people are descendants of samurai clans.

This proverb reflects a crucial, compelling and shared Japanese ideal: "Nanakorobi yaoki" (translates to: seven falls, eight getting up) means fall down seven times and get up eight. This is the Japanese concept of resilience.  This is one way of living that I want my students to carry away from their time in school with me.

The presence of Nanakorobi yaoki was considerable, like a strong wind, as I walked with the people of Hiroshima a few years ago, the dignity of Fall down seven, get up eight was everywhere.

Note: This can be pronounced in two ways. One is “shichi ten hakki” or “shichitenhakki.” The other is “nana korobi ya oki” also written, “nanakorobi-yaoki.”

Years later, when asked by our young docent why we were drawn to the Samurai Museum in Shinjuku Tokyo,  I replied: "My grandfather's grandfather was a Kobayakawa. His eyes widened, then he exclaimed: "Let me go get the owner, he wants to meet you!" He returned quickly with a wisened white-haired man a few steps behind who was even more animated, which was puzzling until he said:"The Kobayakawa were a powerful samurai clan during the Sengoku period"

 

Kobayakawa Takakage, a samurai and daimyō was so highly regarded as a statesmen that he was appointed to the Council of Five Elders by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was himself regarded as the second 'Great Unifier' of Japan.  The Kobayakawas were highly respected for their administration of politics in Western Japan."  

 There is an ancient family cemetery up the hill behind our Kobayakawa family home in Niimi Okayama. 

I visited with them one brilliant cerulean sky afternoon.  (go to 5:51 to 7:48  in the documentary below.)"

I visited with them one brilliant blue sky afternoon.  (go to 5:51 to 7:48  in the documentary below.)

Photo below:  The oldest family markers, (round) are in the back row, the earliest Kobayakawa samurai to be honored are here. As the generations passed, a second row was added in front for their descendants.

Video credit:  Toby Ishihara Kobayakawa Manzanares  

Next visit: Ask to see the Kobayakawa Kokocho (Memories of Japan)

 

But what do loyal warriors, who fearlessly stride into combat, do when they have children and grandchildren of their own?  They must fearlessly engage their progeny, raise them to be exemplary members of the community, show them how to make better the lives of people whom they touch.

These are the next gen samurai who walk into the epic struggle to make our world a better place.