Confucius For The Win

I often thought that the popular acronym FTW meant something else entirely than the urban dictionary definition. Urban dictionary states that it means For the Win. Interesting, and much more appropriate than what I always thought it meant. You can use your imagination when trying to decide what I thought FTW did mean (it had a swear word in it).


But what does any of this have to do with Confucius?


Listening to some of his lessons there is some timeless wisdom on what teaching is and how a teacher should be. A central lesson from the Master is that a teacher can create justice and value by being upright and noble. Further, a teacher's primary role is to model exactly what a noble and upright individual is for his/her students.

Think about whether or not you are upright and noble in your classroom, your hallway, your extra-curricular club or team?

Think about how often students today see a person in their lives that is upright and noble.

I used to believe that if I let the s. word drop by mistake or on purpose in my classroom that it was no big deal, they say things much worse all the time, it's a new generation right? I would often sink to their level in order to "connect" at the expense of my character. I was wrong to behave like this. Students today rarely see what an upright and moral person looks like.

I am not trying to preach being holier than thou, or above everything that happens in the classroom and pop. culture, but I am trying to advocate being the person students can think of when questioning their own values.

More than anything our students need someone to model for them kindness, respect, intellectual rigour, involvement in the world, environmental stewardship... anything that you believe is essential to being an upright and noble individual.

The original teacher has some still very relevant lessons for 21st century teachers.
CONFUCIUS FTW!