Personal Creed
Sun Tzu says in The Art of War:
"If you know yourself but you do not know the enemy, you will lose the battle half of the time.
If you know the enemy but you do not know yourself, you will lose the battle half of the time.
But, if you know yourself and you know the enemy, you will not lose in a hundred battles."
Sun Tzu also says:
"A successful army always keeps a reserve force."
To this end, I function as a reserve force in my dealings with the world. I step in only where others are struggling; not where they are doing well. In my relationships, I intervene only when my people cannot cope with their troubles using their own resources. As a teacher, I look to where the enemy (ignorance) makes his most stubborn stand, and only there commit myself, and then only after the student has exhausted her own powers. I may seem idle when things go well, but the reserve force must be ever vigilant and ready to commit at any time.
Sun Tzu says in The Art of War:
"If you know yourself but you do not know the enemy, you will lose the battle half of the time.
If you know the enemy but you do not know yourself, you will lose the battle half of the time.
But, if you know yourself and you know the enemy, you will not lose in a hundred battles."
Sun Tzu also says:
"A successful army always keeps a reserve force."
To this end, I function as a reserve force in my dealings with the world. I step in only where others are struggling; not where they are doing well. In my relationships, I intervene only when my people cannot cope with their troubles using their own resources. As a teacher, I look to where the enemy (ignorance) makes his most stubborn stand, and only there commit myself, and then only after the student has exhausted her own powers. I may seem idle when things go well, but the reserve force must be ever vigilant and ready to commit at any time.
posted by black hole | 10:42 PM
1 Comments:
I like the metaphor 'reserve force' for teaching because effective teaching sometimes is standing around, stepping back...letting the student struggle to his or her victory. One of my hot buttons is teacher generated "learned helplessness" in students.
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