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Originally Posted by Rick Abelson  We all have that special teacher we will never forget who helped us discover the joy of learning rather than the drudgery of being taught. |
Not everyone does, it often comes from within. One of the major themes of Steve's site is personal development on an individual level.
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I remember my 6th grade teacher Mr. Sladek whose family escaped Czechoslavakia in the early 1950's. He was so happy to be an American with the opportunites he was afforded that his passion for learning a new way of life in America really changed all of us young 12 year olds. I am almost 62 now and he is as vivid now as he was then. Who was your favorite mentor?
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The closest thing I had to great teachers were my mother...and Steve Pavlina.
My mother taught me to pursue my passion of reading and writing, even when it flew in the face of a very strict father. And she also bestowed upon me a very strong work ethic--something that schools no longer teach, I'm afraid. This work ethic was so important because it taught me to strive for excellence in everything I did; it wasn't confined to school and the working world.
It is for this reason that I was attracted to Steve Pavlina; his professionalism-mixed-with-simplicity appeals to me. More importantly, he taught me that the true odds of success in any field are dependent on the person, not on external factors.
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If you truly are 62, then I'm not surprised that you had a great teacher.
Older generations like to complain that today's young people have no respect for their teachers, but they seem unaware of how generations of teachers have changed over the years. I think many of the younger teachers (but not all!) need a dose of the professionalism I mentioned.
When I was in university, the same problems existed. Older professors were fair, friendly and hardworking; younger professors were "cool" but notoriously lazy and unfair.
Someone posted this quote by a Californian judge:
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A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare.
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With this quote in mind, I would propose that asking many of today's youth "Who was that special teacher" is like asking older people "Who was that special CO when you were drafted to serve in Vietnam". In both cases, few will respond because they have no good memories of that period.