7 Lessons from an Unlikely Teacher - Tom Wilbeck

7 Lessons from an Unlikely Teacher (eBook)

Tom Wilbeck (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
80 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-1509-9 (ISBN)

'7 Lessons from an Unlikely Teacher' is the culmination of 15 years of early childhood experience. Each lesson was hard-won by the author and will resonate with everyone in the childcare industry. Each lesson will illustrate the simplicity and wisdom of our most precious gift: young children. The author's background as a psychotherapist is evident throughout the book as each lesson is evaluated and unpacked in an easily understandable way.

"e;7 Lessons from an Unlikely Teacher"e; is the culmination of 15 years of early childhood experience. Each lesson was hard-won by the author and will resonate with everyone in the childcare industry. Each lesson will illustrate the simplicity and wisdom of our most precious gift: young children. The author's background as a psychotherapist is evident throughout the book as each lesson is evaluated and unpacked in an easily understandable way. We don't have to be experts to lead. We don't have to be driven up a wall by the behavior of others. "e;7 Lessons from an Unlikely Teacher"e; will guide the reader through a simple but impactful journey of learning and love. The stories told in this book will sound familiar and the lessons are tried and true. You'll love the relaxed narrative and will find yourself coming back to this book time and time again to learn and relearn the simple wisdom of the children we serve.

LESSON 1:

It’s What you do WITH them that matters most

The year was 2006. My children were two years old and attending Methodist Day School in Angleton, Texas.

Like most parents, I was working full-time, commuting, volunteering, over-committing… you know the rest. I was immersed in an adult world where I felt as though I had to be an expert. In my job, I was often given tasks that required specific outcomes with regulatory implications if my answers were inaccurate. I was put in charge of projects that had an impact beyond my campus and shaped the way my peers would do their job.

I wouldn’t say I liked it.

From time to time, I had moments of clarity when I’d look around a meeting with department heads and ask myself, “How did I get here?” I was a fish out of water. I was promoted beyond my skill level and hated going to work.

Does this sound familiar?

On my commutes, I would daydream and think of ways to change my life for the better. I began to think about my love of music.

I’ve always dreamt of being a professional musician. Trumpet playing helped to pay for my first two years of college, and guitar playing had been a hobby that more than paid for itself through my role in bar bands and praise and worship bands.

I’ve got kids now, I thought… there’s no way to have late-night practices and shows with little ones at home…

What about playing children’s music? To my surprise, the children’s music my wife and I brought into our home was terrific! We discovered children’s musicians who wrote wonderful songs with witty lyrics that we all loved. I was inspired by these incredible artists who had the talent and passion that I never expected to find in this “little genre.”

So, I started writing.

Songs about bath time, our favorite foods, wagon rides, and our insect friends began to flow. My kids approved, and the song collection grew.

Soon, others became aware that I was starting something new. Well, it was new to me anyway.

The director at my kids’ school asked if I’d be so kind as to donate some time and play some songs for the students.

MY FIRST CHILDREN’S SHOW!

I was crazy nervous! I picked an outfit days in advance. I practiced my between-song banter and made a set list to tape to my guitar. I tested my sound equipment and subjected my sweet wife to endless questions rooted in insecurity and doubt.

In hindsight, I can see my folly…. but at the time, my goal was control. I was afraid of not being “perfect.” I wanted to ensure that “my best showed through.” If I was asked to perform a task, it was my responsibility to ensure its proper execution.

…what an exhausting way to live.

On the day of the performance, I rushed to the school to set up. In my mind, this would be a test to see if children’s music was really an outlet that could help change my over-stressed, overworked life.

I was all set up, and the kids came in with their teachers. I remember seeing my children walk in with “bubbles and tails” and then sit “crisscross applesauce” on the floor. The walls were painted blue. The tile floor was a light shade of blue. The curtains on the small windows were…. blue. I was later told that this room was called the “blue room.” This makes me smile because this “blue room” was about to change my life.

The school’s director addressed the kids and told them to “be on your best behavior for our guest.” I remember thinking her words were unnecessary because I had Googled “how to control a group of children” the night before, and I was ready with all kinds of tools for behavior management in this event. Just wait, I thought. She’s probably going to offer me a job!

She turned the room over to me, and I immediately said:

SHHH…

…SIT

I had placed a single finger over my lips with my eyes wide so the kids would notice my multidimensional communication style. Then, I gestured with two fingers of my right hand, “sitting” on two fingers of my left hand. I knew this was very impressive to the teachers watching. I could tell by the quizzical looks on their faces. Thanks, Google.

“I’ve got this totally under control,” I thought. I remember the director giving me a strange look, but I brushed it off and thought that she was probably totally impressed with my excellent behavior management techniques.

I introduced myself and started to play the first song…

The guitar rang out with a clear and shimmering chord specifically chosen to put the children at ease and help them enjoy the show. It was working. I was in total control.

Then I sang… “Ladybug and Dragonfly, they’re kind of nice, but they’re kind of shy. You can see them when the sun is high. Ladybug and Dragonfly…”

That’s when it happened…

The kids, calmly enjoying my extraordinary performance, popped off the floor and began to fly around the room, buzzing, flapping their arms, and running in circles. It was chaos! Pandemonium had replaced the solace I had created in that blue room! These kids were being disrespectful! How dare they interrupt my performance!?!

I stopped the song. I had to regain control!

I repeated…

SHHH…

…SIT

This time with a bit more force…emphasizing the hand gestures…

I started the song again… I began to sweat a little…

This time it was immediate. This time they were holding hands and running in circles. I was overrun. They didn’t care that I had written songs just FOR them. They didn’t care that I had taken a vacation day from work to play FOR them. They didn’t seem to notice the cleaver lyrics and chime-like chord structure of the song I had chosen just FOR them!

I knew something had to change immediately. I started to panic a little. I looked to the director and teachers, and they were smiling.

In hindsight, they were probably laughing a little too.

Then I saw my kids. They were laughing, dancing, flying, and all I wanted to do at that moment was to be WITH them.

I stepped into the fray and danced, sang, flew, hopped, and… changed.

I was hoping for something to change my life. I wanted something to pull me from the rut of the daily grind. I was miserable until the kids pulled me in. I was rigid until the kids showed me how to bend.

I don’t remember much from the rest of that first show. I remember making songs up WITH the kids. I remember dancing and singing WITH the kids. I remember appreciating the teachers WITH the kids (because I had a newfound respect for these wonderful people.)

The director asked if I would come back to play again next month. A parent in the room asked if I would play at their kid’s birthday party. A church representative asked if I would play for an event that was coming up next week. And just like that, I was given a wonderful gift that would take me to boundless joy and help me achieve a dream.

It wasn’t me. It wasn’t my preparedness, and it had nothing to do with my control.

It was the lesson of being present.

It was the wisdom and acceptance of a blue room full of young children that opened my heart.

I now see the power of presence. I now know:

It's not what you do

FOR someone that matters…

It’s what you do

WITH Them, that matters most!

I hope this message resonates with you. Your contribution to the world has little to do with what you know. Your contribution to the world has everything to do with how people feel in your presence. Be WITH them. Open your heart and allow others to be WITH you. You will experience life on a new level. You will see joy in everything you do. Be brave, be bold, be WITH the children in your life, and prepare yourself for the wisdom of simplicity.

A Note from the Therapist:

I love this story. I’ve been a therapist for a long time, and this is something I was supposed to know. I can’t think of one therapeutic modality that DOSEN’T start with a connection with the client.

So… what’s so essential about connection?

Well… just about everything!

When we encounter other people in our daily lives, we assess them within seconds of seeing them.

When we’re connected with that person (like a son or daughter of our own), we can see their worth, possible behavior, needs, and wants with alarming accuracy and insight.

When we’re not connected with the person we encounter, we perceive very little of their worth, needs, and wants. We perceive more about their unknown behavior and threat potential, completely missing the person’s essence.

This has been exemplified in social experiments time and again. One that comes to mind goes something like this:

A famous concert violinist is asked to play a particular piece of music in a concert hall. The audience members are treated to a stunning performance and then asked to rate the value of...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	21.7.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
ISBN-13	979-8-3509-1509-9 / 9798350915099

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