Making a difference
This piece is sometimes attributed as ‘Charles Schultz’s Philosophy.’ A version I encountered: “The people who make the most difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most rewards. They are the ones who care.” It does sound like Schultz.
We can google answers to the first quiz. But not to the second.
In answering the second, you would have to take time to rekindle memories. You probably did not imagine seeing yourself as one of the people others would remember. Like most of us––I know it’s true of myself as a teacher––you live without thinking how you will be appreciated.
You may well aim to be a good person. But who you are in the lives of others you may never know. Some groups you encounter become special; others less so. You may even be a hero in one of them. Have you ever thought of that?
If you are a teacher, you, too, may aim to be the best you can be. And what you become in the lives of your students you will likely never know. For instance, I calculate that I may have had well over 8,000 students (an educated guess) in my forty years in the classroom. I was in tune with each of them as best as I could while they were with me. Such is true, I believe, for most teachers.
In all instances, you probably spend more time on a daily basis with your students than they spend with their parents. You may be a hero to some of them.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward” (Kierkegaard)
I write to bring ideas and methods from my life as a teacher in the latter half of the 20th century to help teachers and the public to “live forward” in this century. My latest book, Teacher in the Rye: Doing It My Way is available on Amazon. And I welcome comments here on my Blog or by email at frankthoms3@gmail.com.
