Undressing

Thoughts on writing this one...
Well, I just finished reading through Benno's last entry, and I don't want mine, perhaps coming too quickly on its heels to supercede it since he's got some really great things to say about what we are both experiencing here--so do make sure to read through it. At the same time, though, I just felt that I wanted to share this experience. It really reflects a lot of the way I am feeling about teaching right now, and I know it applies to all of life, not just teaching.

This morning I was just reflecting on the craziness that has more frequently become my life since coming to this place of teaching; like yesterday…Oh! I just can’t even get into yesterday! It was all about crazy: an irresponsible, rebellious young gal whose history placed in jeopardy others opportunities, and politics, and directives, and “problem solving 101” to get two students out of Boarding and to a poetry event that they were performing at, and confusing car keys, and embarrassment, and no ‘airtime’, and changed venues for the event, and not being notified, and Plan B, and finally getting there, and hearing a great—really wonderful—poet, and hearing my great—really wonderful—students perform, and getting home after midnight on a Friday night, and feeling that it was all worth it, just for the memory of having done it. Thinking of all the crazy things I’ve done for and with my students, I KNOW, I really do know that these are the things—these acts of sometimes irrational, crazy, “You shouldn’t do that, it might be viewed as ‘unprofessional’.”
“You shouldn’t do that—they don’t pay us enough.”
“You shouldn’t do that—what about…this, what about…that?”
You get the picture? There’s a lot of things I’ve done that if I was going to be safe and comfortable, I wouldn’t have done. But…the thing is that if I hadn’t done those things, then I would have missed out on so much, so much, SO MUCH.

Yes, “You gotta undress”. In my first class of my teaching degree, a graduating student came to do an orientation session for my class and that was the shocking statement that he made to begin his session, and it truly was profound for me, because I’ve never forgotten it, and I try to put it into practice, often. Those things--those acts of undressing—being open to all kinds of risks, being vulnerable—have given me some of the very best memories of my teaching career—of my life. I have had the joy of reaching deeper into the lives of my students. I’ve had more hugs, more smiles, more shared laughter, shared memories; the joy of standing back and watching them grow, experience, and shine! So, I recommend—very highly—this life philosophy that that wise graduating student taught me. Not just in teaching, but in so much of life, really, it’s about THEM and not about me.

Undress
(In the teaching profession, you gotta undress.)

You wanna hear a story
of how my life came to be
If you wanna listen
If you wanna listen
there’s an important lesson
for you to see

You see…
Before I got this degree
I had a lesson
on how it should be
Okay, I’ll confess
here’s the lesson:
You see,
before I go into a lesson
I gotta undress
Yeh, in this profession
You gotta undress

“Before you go in that room,” he said,
“you gotta undress.
Take off that ego and
put it on the shelf
cause it’s not about SELF.”

Hey, I say, that’s the lesson I learned
It’s NOT about “me”
It’s about everything—everything
that my students WANT and NEED to be.

He told me, he said,
“Before you go into that room, now,
you gotta undress—
take off the inhibitions
‘cause sometimes you gotta
be on the stage
sometimes you gotta
just let loose and rage
to help them see that
life is NOT about stayin’ in a cage
help them see that
life IS about writin’ their own page…
Take off the inhibitions
Sometimes you gotta just be a fool
and that’s cool.”

Hch … hch, that’s cool?
In school?
Are you crazy?
Look at me,
I’m a PROFESSIONAL
and you want be to be…CRAZY?
“Yeh
You do what it takes
to help them awake
to the possibilities
so they can see
everything that they can be
‘cause you know
you KNOW
It’s not about YOU or me
It’s about everything—everything
that THEY need to be…

‘cause you see
life is NOT about stayin’ in a cage
they can’t stay in that cage
they need to find the stage
their lives need to be
everything that they WANT and NEED to be
‘cause
it’s not about me
it’s not about me
it’s about everything
it’s about everything that
my students WANT and NEED to be

so
that’s what I learned
I confess
that I gotta undress
be selfless
leave the ego on the shelf
‘cause it’s not about self
It’s about THEM not me
It’s about everything
that they WANT and NEED to be
It’s about everything
that they
WANT and NEED to be