Great Teachers

I just finished watching "Coach Carter" with Samuel L. Jackson. It's a great movie! For whatever reason, I feel like I should apologize for liking it because it clearly is one of those "inspirational" movies. But I bought it, hook, line, and sinker. I'm thankful for uplifting movies like this. The point of the movie is that we are successful when we overcome our fears of being our best selves, the idea being that, for whatever reason, many of us are afraid to live up to our potential. Along those lines, the movie argues that when we become our personal best selves, we give others room to be their best selves instead of bringing them down to our lowest level. This is contrasted with the ghetto culture, which binds people down through pressure to conform. Conformity to low standards=a sucky life.

So...what I got from the movie was a renewed appreciation for great teachers. One teacher comes to mind from my high school experience: Ms. Hellman. My AP US History teacher. She was extraordinarily proud of her students and her job. After lots of drilling, testing, and encouragement, she prepared a classroom of teenagers for the AP History test. Let me tell you! That is one hard test. Along the way, she made us feel like we were important to her as individuals, as more than students. What leadership and intelligence. To be capable of bringing out the best in people year after year. She's an unsung hero.

Of course, this idea means a lot to me because I'm a piano teacher. I've had such a hard time keeping my students practicing and engaged. To connect with them on individual basis and inspire them would demand some serious people skills I just don't have. But I must try. It would be so satisfying to watch my students improve, to make a difference.

This leads me to my final point about good teaching: at the end of the day, it must be selfless. Coach Carter's players loved him because, ultimately, he cared more about their life success than any flashiness on the court. And it wasn't about Carter's vanity, about his need to be validated by transforming lives. I've encountered despicable teachers like that, too. My choir teacher in high school, for example, clearly singled out struggling kids and turned them into her pet projects. At the same time, she was never particuarly nice to me. That's because I didnt' need her. I wasn't a problem kid. So she didn't care about me.

As I strive to be a good teacher and be my personal best, etc. I must be ever watchful of myself. Sorry to be cynical, here I go again. It's just that for every great teacher I meet, I meet another who abuses their authority by using it aggrandize themselves in some way. I hate people who abuse their authority, or seek to "mentor" for self-interested reasons. It's so base.