Here is a pair of quotes from The Art of Teaching that, though they are 22 pages apart, together speak more to our roles as mothers than as school teachers.
The Art of Teaching: Teaching happens, whether you intend it or not, and it is the how more than the what that instructs.
Yet it is impossible to have children without teaching them. Beat them, coddle them, ignore them, force-feed them, shun them or worry about them, love them or hate them, you are still teaching them something, all the time (5).
It is so true. And it is so scary.
Remember, you must not armor yourself against the energies of the young. You must not be the policeman watching the mob. You must be the leader of a group – something higher than the actor with his audience, something lower than the priest with his congregation, something kindlier than the officer with his unit (27).
These quotes together have me contemplating the aura I emit as I parent, teach, and even simply live amongst my little people. Sure, it is a cliche: “More caught than taught.” But that doesn’t make it less true. It does perhaps make it harder to contemplate.
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