A teacher affects eternity . . .
On this anniversary of his birth in 1838, it seems an appropriate time for me to reflect upon his famous statement, A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
I am again, for now, out of the classroom. Perhaps this time it will be for good, perhaps I will come fall again step into a classroom. I simply do not know.
I can look back on 17 or so years in classrooms with some satisfaction, but also with some trepidation, because of the second clause of that quote, of not knowing where my influence as a classroom educator stopped.
Since my role as a writer is also often one of teaching, I can have a similar concern about the words I express, for certainly by now we never know where the words we offer online might next appear, who might see them, how those who see them might react.
To teach therefore is a combination of arrogance and humility.
The arrogance is to believe that those of us who teach can make a difference not only in what our students knows, but help them positively take ownership of their own learning and thinking.
I am again, for now, out of the classroom. Perhaps this time it will be for good, perhaps I will come fall again step into a classroom. I simply do not know.
I can look back on 17 or so years in classrooms with some satisfaction, but also with some trepidation, because of the second clause of that quote, of not knowing where my influence as a classroom educator stopped.
Since my role as a writer is also often one of teaching, I can have a similar concern about the words I express, for certainly by now we never know where the words we offer online might next appear, who might see them, how those who see them might react.
To teach therefore is a combination of arrogance and humility.
The arrogance is to believe that those of us who teach can make a difference not only in what our students knows, but help them positively take ownership of their own learning and thinking.
An update on my wife
In one sense things are going well. But it is still difficult
Monday we attended a class to orient us towards chemotherapy, which will begin on Tuesday. The following day was her last day of radiation therapy - as had been scheduled at that time. Because she was doing so well, but also because he saw how much she was walking, her radiation oncologist decided it was important to be aggressive and worked out a schedule with her regular oncologist and she will be doing chemo and radiation in the same time frame. The positive aspect is that we have a better chance of moving more quickly until her underlying cancer is in remission and the surgeons will be able to deal with reinforcing her spine. We remain unsure of the impact upon her of not having several days to rest completely between rounds of chemo, because radiation is every weekday.
And I have to add something - before we headed to the hospital for that last session of radiation, she insisted we stop by a flower shop. She wanted to give a flower arrangement to the people who had been treating her in her radiation therapy. I'll bet that was a first, but it is so much like my loving spouse.
We are hopeful that she will not lose her hair. Friends who have had more modern approaches in chemo have on occasion not, and her oncologist is hopeful she won't. She has decided that even if she does, she does NOT want me to shave my head in solidarity - which is good, since there is a glaringly obvious flat spot in the back of my skull!
There is more, for both of us.
Monday we attended a class to orient us towards chemotherapy, which will begin on Tuesday. The following day was her last day of radiation therapy - as had been scheduled at that time. Because she was doing so well, but also because he saw how much she was walking, her radiation oncologist decided it was important to be aggressive and worked out a schedule with her regular oncologist and she will be doing chemo and radiation in the same time frame. The positive aspect is that we have a better chance of moving more quickly until her underlying cancer is in remission and the surgeons will be able to deal with reinforcing her spine. We remain unsure of the impact upon her of not having several days to rest completely between rounds of chemo, because radiation is every weekday.
And I have to add something - before we headed to the hospital for that last session of radiation, she insisted we stop by a flower shop. She wanted to give a flower arrangement to the people who had been treating her in her radiation therapy. I'll bet that was a first, but it is so much like my loving spouse.
We are hopeful that she will not lose her hair. Friends who have had more modern approaches in chemo have on occasion not, and her oncologist is hopeful she won't. She has decided that even if she does, she does NOT want me to shave my head in solidarity - which is good, since there is a glaringly obvious flat spot in the back of my skull!
There is more, for both of us.