No, not amidst the desks this time, but in front of them. The Garden School's academic year has begun again, and I am back in the saddle. Mr. K rides again... or something like that.
I confess that I did not know what to think about this year as I prepared to share. Last year, I was the sole teacher in my class of 15 unsuspecting students. This year, I am sharing teaching and grading responsibilities with an experienced teacher over a class of 20. Being that I am the dominant, obsessive sort, I was prepared for the worst. Like a rottweiler chained to a porcupine, I was sure this was not going to end well...
However, as we are nearing one month in the books, I have already experienced many revelations. Among them is how much of a blessing this shared responsibility has been. My perspective on what a good teacher looks like has changed and I am sure it will continue to evolve over the years I pray I have yet to teach. Much of this I owe to the woman who helps me lead this class and her many insights into what we, as a school, are about.
One of those insights which she has shared was tough for me to take seriously at first. You see, one of main principles, or maybe tenets, of our school is an appreciation for and cultivation of beauty. No, not the stuff of botox and tucking, but real soul-stirring beauty. Hmmmmmm...
Now I want you to try to picture this with me. Our school's crest is a celtic-styled tree with the school's name and three words making up a border of sorts. These three words are Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. With me so far?
For a guy like me, 2 of the three make good sense. I mean, come on... Truth is pretty obvious. This is that propositional stuff that universal absolutes are made up of. Yeah, propositional truth! This is the stuff of education if e'er I saw it!
Then you've got Goodness. Oh yeah, you have to have Goodness. Students need to behave and act morally. That's a good one. Being good. Yeah... that's.... ummm..... good!
But what about this Beauty thing? What? Uh, yeah, some art is beautiful and stuff. Sure.
At some point, I feel as though I began to appreciate this last one, and in this appreciation, I think it changed my perception of the other two. Please let me explain.
First, I had to admit that I really find beauty uplifting. It could be a song, a painting, a child's wonder, or a sunset. Deep within, I am inspired and calmed by such things. As I am driving on the road, and a stirring piece of music comes across the speakers, I feel like I am lighter than a feather. When I sit on my porch, the sunset's glow on my face, I feel worry ebb away and my heart feels a kind of peace.
This is not to be confused with lustful admiration for a curvy female, but a true appreciation of things that are lovely or beautiful. This beauty of which I speak might be transcendent in a way that human flesh can not capture, at least not purposefully, though it may be glimpsed when an artist portrays his or her subject. When a person tries to be this kind of beautiful, however, it flees from them like a bird evading capture.
Second, I had to admit that the recognition of beauty and the appreciation for it seem to be Divine gifts. I was impressed by this as I read Genesis again this year, and I read that the Lord made the Garden for man and that the garden was a beautiful place. I find this somewhat intriguing. I mean, there is apparently something more than utilitarian creation here. It was not only an environment fit for human survival, but it was a beautiful place, as well.
Now on some levels, I understand that this creation account was written from an anthropological viewpoint, and that this is human language. That said, it can not be denied that there is something about beauty that the Lord felt was necessary for his creation. In His desire to bless His creation, Man, He created beauty and the ability to appreciate it. This appears to be as much a blessing as the food He gives Man to eat...
Third, one of the blessings of having a capable mind is the ability to perceive beauty, and possibly to produce it. That is not to say it is a brilliant mind, but a capable one. Recognizing beauty is a skill that, when developed, allows one to see it in more things and to produce beauty for others to enjoy.
For instance, when I read great writing (the classics), I am constantly awed and challenged by the ability of the author/artist to express things in ways that resonate within me. Oftentimes, I find myself thinking something like: "Yes, I can see that... It is just so clear when he/she says it. I just wouldn't have been able to say it quite that way. Wow. I am going to remember that." Do you see what happened? I looked through the author's lens and saw something in a new way, and it was impressed on me. In a way, I am standing on the author/artist's shoulders and my ability to see and explain reality is broadened.
Once I began to put these together, I began to see connections with what we are doing in our little school in a new way. For instance, what is goodness? Is it moral actions... i.e. doing good and not bad. Well in a small way, yes. In a more integrated way, it is that which corresponds to the character of God, Who is altogether lovely. It is aligning our hearts with the Source of all beauty and trying to be beautiful like Him. How could we divorce true Beauty from Goodness?
Further, what about Truth? What hath Truth to do with Beauty? Here, too, it is more than propositional truth, which is such a cold, hell-ish notion of truth. Instead, it is experiential Truth which transforms a soul and makes it beautiful. Now, when I talk about what I do, I tell people that my goal is not to make smarter students necessarily, but to produce leaders with "beautiful souls." I am not so bashful about saying this like I once was.
So, do you see this changing of the guard occurring within me? Now, I feel like I understand my role as teacher a little better than I did before. I certainly don't have it scientifically dissected, like some philosophic autopsy, but I do enjoy the mystery of it a little more now than I used to. The call of the teacher is asking me to take a new road of understanding into previously undiscovered territory.
I am thankful that for this part of my journey, I have a guide to help me along.
Thanks, Aunt Renee.
