The past, the present, and education

My vision and faith in two of the pillars upon which I have based much of my life, were renewed earlier this week, when I watched a movie titled, "The Emperor's Club."

First, a brief movie review is appropriate. The movie has been around for some time, having been originally released in 2002. I am sad to have to report that I am just now enjoying this wonderful production. I had seen the movie listed several times, but I thought it was some action movie. Was I ever surprised to find it to be such a thoughtful cinematic event.

The movie is based upon a short story titled, "The Palace Thief," written by Ethan Canin. I have put this short story on my "have to" reading list, and I hope that those of you who are still avid readers, will include it in your future as well.

I don't want to ruin any of the movie or the book for you, so I will only highlight some of the thoughts this movie challenged me to remember. The first of these has to do with history.

The lead character in this movie is a prep school teacher at a fictional and very elite boys school called St. Benedicts. The teacher, William Hundert, is portrayed by one of the greatest American actors of our time, Kevin Kline. Mr. Kline should be reason enough for anyone to put this movie on their "must see" list.

William Hundert teaches history and the classics at this very prestigious school. The main emphasis of his curriculum focuses upon the great intellectuals from both Greece and Rome.

As a former teacher of both American and world history, I began this article with the full knowledge that the very terms history and classics, do not endear themselves to many. Any educator in these fields, can attest to a broad lack of enthusiasm, by most of their students.

Early in the movie Kline addresses this lack of interest by quoting one of ancient Rome's leading citizens, Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero was a great politician, lawyer, orator, philosopher, poet, and historian. The quote he made regarding history speaks volumes. He stated, "Not to know what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child."

I could ponder, dream, research, and write volumes, about the subject of history without stating it's true meaning so profoundly. One can only imagine what it must have been like to be in the presence of such a man.

Hundert teaches about many ancients including Socrates and Plato from Greece, and Julius Caesar, the most famous Roman of all. This is a movie and short story that I definitely recommend. More importantly, it gave me new and vital interest in two of my passionate areas of learning and concern, history and education.

The education of our youth today is a contentious point of emphasis for a wide variety of individuals. Sadly, it has even become a major political issue. I hear many people speaking about education, but few of them are teachers.

I could ask almost any of you readers a couple of questions, and I think that almost all of you would have quick and fond answers. The questions are: "which teachers from your years in school were your favorites, and what was it that made them special?"

My list is lengthy, but I will pare it to just a few. At the top of my list was my sixth grade teacher, Ms. Marie Hensley/Thomas. I could write several stories about that wonderful woman.

My Latin teacher in high school was Ms. Chapman. From her I learned the simple art of preparation to learn the material for a quiz. Ms. Gail Keithly taught me basic accounting. Her double entry bookkeeping instructions have stood me well down through the years.

Joe Barone was my English IV teacher my senior year. He learned his skills at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Without him, none of my stories would have ever seen the light of day.

What each of these educators had in common, as did your favorites I am sure, was the ability to inspire and teach with passion. None of them were highly paid teachers, but that did not hinder them from imparting their wisdom to each of us.

My mother was a career teacher for more than 30 years in the R-5 system. I cannot tell you how many times our family has been told of the influence she made upon the life of one of her former students.

In today's world there is a movement that I fear is attempting to make it difficult for teachers like these to succeed in the future. This movement has at its core belief, that everything in education must be performance based.

I admire these individuals for their desire to support education, but I, and the vast majority of former teachers, disagree with the direction they seek for education.

In almost any other field of endeavor, we look to the individuals that are born with talents. Athletes, actors, writers, musicians, and artists, are just a few types of people, who we would all agree are born with their talents.

I for one believe that great teachers are born to be in the classroom. The idea that we should make each teacher follow a strict and unwavering system that teaches to a singular performance test, is absurd to me.

One must remember that Socrates committed suicide, rather than change his teachings. What were those teachings? He was charged with encouraging people to study philosophy and speak for themselves, in a time when the Greek government was extremely controlling!

My advice is simple. Remember those wonderful teachers from your youth, and tell the politicians to stay out of the art of education! The art of education cannot be painted in a Legislature.