Teaching for Improvisation

I'm thinking today of inspired teachers and voracious learners, their gifts and challenges that are both a pain in the neck and move us to try things beyond our cautious reach. Their stories are on my mind in this particularly vulnerable week.

My father was a gifted teacher of geography, music, and the fatherly arts. While versed in all, he had the good sense to, in his words, "get out of the way and let them fly" when the time was right. Improvisation was not my father's long suit, being a John Philips Sousa guy, but he knew when to let go and allow the birth of the jazz musician within to take flight. He taught the love of geography and had to accept where it took his offspring. It is the dad who ran next to us on the bike, got out of the way, and accepted there may be some bandaging.

I'm thinking of Allan, a dear friend who died suddenly this week, leaving friends from around the planet and scores of library books for his wife to find and return. I imagine a screen-shot of his email sent file, a collage of friends to whom he shared articles on a range of topics of our interests and his. He learned what others cared about then he engaged as well. He taught himself to read and talk again after a stroke, the desire to connect so great as to overcome the barriers and frustration. I will miss Allan walking in the door with a stack of DVDs and a head full of topics for discussion. A voracious learner and teacher.

Luke, my youngest, leaves for the Army this month. When Obama was innaugurated he announced, "he is my Commander-in-Chief." Some will remember Luke as the guy who didn't care about reading in 1st and 2nd grade, but figured out by 5th that if he got sent to the hallway he could read what he cared about-- government books. He is a well-read patriot with some ideas about the difference he can make; now it is my challenge to get out of his way and trust in his roots. Let's see what he does with it.