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Gandhi' and his Symbolic Spinning Wheel
Gandhi' and his Symbolic Spinning Wheel
While watching Ben Kingsley, the actor who plays Gandhi in the film by the same name, illicit the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi I thought about the symbols of teaching.
Gandhi spun for an hour every morning, usually around 4 A.M. He believed that it was very important for everyone in his ashram and he encouraged all to spin even Margaret Bourke-White, the Life Magazine photographer who took this photo.
When I began teaching in 1970 one large aspect of the classroom was the Blackboard. The Blackboard became a green board and now is a white board. The old Blackboard was eraseable, large and a source of information and punishment. None of our current students are required to write lines on the board like Bart Simpson, but maybe I should stop and write 100 times that " I will promise to be peace."
I spent over 35 years trying to facilitate peace between students, parents, teachers, staff and the community. Now I must spin a web of peace around myself. Thank you Mahatma for the daily lesson.
Since leaving the classroom in December, I have been searching for a new job. This has not been a peaceful process.
Retraining the teacher for a new job seems to be like getting rid of those old blackboards. I am stuck in the teacher mold. Getting rejections is not an easy thing, yet I must plod along looking for a different job all the while promoting peace.
Can one teach an old teacher new tricks?
Leaving teaching ... something I once though unthinkable but am now giving it a lot of thought myself. One can definitely teach a teacher new tricks...especially if that teacher is someone as brilliant and creative as you!
ReplyDeleteThank you. What is your reason for considering leaving? talk to me.
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