A Teacher’s Root System

How are your teachers’ root systems? If you have the opportunity, ask an arborist talk about root systems and about the tree planting and care process. From root hairs to mycorrhizae, it’s a fascinating world. But one that is mostly invisible to us and that tends to fall prey to our drive to control and manipulate what is visible to us. Melvin Lehman employs the metaphor of roots as he reflects on nearly four decades of teaching.

 

He did his first teaching back in the early days of the Christian school movement when he observed much rapid planting driven by the need to quickly fill the empty spaces in all the new classrooms. We have better opportunities for cultivating strong and healthy roots today. But of course, this is not automatic and there are plenty of pressing reasons for ignoring our root systems. As a school leader, you are in a position to model the development of healthy roots and to care for those of your team. Without them, as Melvin says, we will be unable to access and appropriate the resources around them, however rich and abundant they may be.

 

Here are some of the main recommendations that Melvin makes in his talk:

1. Develop of the discipline of meditation and prayer
2. Be wholesome (and holy)
3. Accept new or challenging assignments
4. Read widely and with a plan
5. Teach in diverse situations
6. Pursue stimulating and productive hobbies
7. Master new and essential skills
8. Surround yourself with stimulating and challenging people
9. Take advanced courses of study

This episode was first published on The Dock as "Intentional Growth:" https://thedockforlearning.org/lecture/intentional-growth-melvin-lehman/  More from Teachers Week 2012: https://thedockforlearning.org/series/fbep-teachers-week/teachers-week-2012/