Goethe is right
I was musing on my teaching philosophy (I teach some college courses and train a lot of amateurs and professionals alike). And I ran across a saying attributed to Goethe that goes like this:
“If you treat a man as he is, he will remain as he is; if you treat him as he ought to be and could be, he will become as he ought to be and could be.” – Goethe
Unfortunately, you can fall prey to bogging down your teaching approach into useless minutiae There is a danger in that. If you think too much about HOW you are teaching, you won’t become a better teacher. There’s a gut instinct to teaching. It’s about leading and mentoring and helping students to find their own way. It’s never about my-way-or-the-highway or some juvenile power struggle (these concepts are all too real in far too many classrooms).
And so, I feel simpler is better. You just need a basic philosophy that keeps you on track but still leaves room for growing, augmenting, and (especially) improvising. And so, the Goethe quote now works for me. It’s elegant. And powerful. And right. Here’s a similar quote from the same genius:
“If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.” – Goethe
This is what the best teachers do. They motivate students to have higher expectations for their own learning. The role of the teacher is not to be in the “education” business. No. The real role as I see it is to be in the “life success” business and help students realize their own dreams.
“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Goethe
That’s my teaching philosophy. Plain and simple.
And when I organize and lead my courses (and in life generally), I follow this simple advice, too. It’s not Goethe, but it’s the same sentiment:
“Make a short list of all the things done to you that you abhorred. Don’t do them to others. Ever. Make another list of things done to you that you loved. Do them to others. Always.” – Dee Hock
And so, Goethe is right. Thank you!
