The Words In Wolff's Head

And here is Wolff, once 'Sir Wolff', but now a leader of his own Order, the way the St John's Ambulance people are a pale shadow of the Hospitaller Knights of Malta, of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem. These days, he trains novices to be Wyverns, even if they are not of that Order. And his old Order appears to approve. Yet, there are still those who make him tetchy. Like the parents of some novices, who after having given them into his care, still make sideline noises.

By what right do you tell me how to handle my children?

The right of the novice master, thinks Wolff. His right, who wields the sword which cuts away all that will not endure. But all he says is the very simple and true:

I am the one who teaches them.

And this gives you the right to tell them I am wrong?

Yes, thinks Wolff. Because I was brought up to tell right from wrong, and teach others right from wrong. But all he says is the very simple and true:

What I have said, I have said.

Why do you confuse them by saying that their other teachers are wrong?

Because some of them are, thinks Wolff. And I would not give them a chance in a millstone, should the Highest wish to apply the law against leading children astray. But all he says is the very simple and true:

I speak things as I see them.

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And thus it is that the parent goes away confounded even though the truth has been spoken. All Wolff can think is this: forte dans mon devoir, simple dans ma vertu. It is perhaps one of the strongest principles he has obeyed in his long journey, and he has miles to go before he sleeps — miles to go, and promises to keep.

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If you wish to read more of the tales of the Wolff, look here.

Loco Parents

Schools have traditionally treated the teacher-student relationship as one in which the teacher is in loco parentis; that is, the teacher acts in place of a parent. If this were the gold standard, it would save much difficulty in ethical discussion — the teacher would have parental-level rights within the bounds of the school, and commensurate responsibilities. And of course, teachers would be bound by the kind of proprieties and conventions that exist between parent and child.

The contract should work both ways; should parents NOT desire this state of affairs, they should not be sending their children to school. Rather, such parents should educate the children at home, either by themselves, or through private tuition.

I think the point at which the relationship broke down was when schools began to be seen as service providers, with parents as clients and children as objects deposited at the schools by parents for 'servicing' and 'upgrading'. This had at least three bad effects: parents offloaded part of their responsibility, some children no longer thought of teachers as anything but (under)qualified technicians, and some teachers thought of their work as a mechanistic process (no matter how artful).

The only way to repair this situation is to allow the traditional state to persist. Teachers share in the parenting of the child, as far as education goes. You send children to school, the teachers school them. You don't like it, take them out.

Endings

31 July was when it ended. My parents got married two years before they became my parents, and they were no longer free. That, at least, is one interpretation of it all.

But now, many many years later, they are free even though that which made them unfree is still in effect. Lesson learnt: you grow into freedom, and freedom grows in you, and it is not a right any more than being matter is the right of a molecule.

I love watching my parents. They do so well together.

Underpass

I think it was Winston Churchill who once said that he had not gone through school so much as gone under it. It is a flimsy strand to join oneself to such a renowned figure, but it is one nevertheless — for to this day, I am quite bemused as to how I survived school.

About the earliest memory I have of learning anything was through the agency of my mother. This lady has always had a soft spot for me, I think because I was her first child. I remember her pointing at things and naming them. I remember reading the beautiful books of Richard Scarry with her, and making her turn the pages.

I think this kind of thing is what builds an underpass. A fair number of us don't need to go through school much. All we need is concerned parents who are able to teach us how to find out and use and apply whatever we need to. The problem, and the tragedy, is that there are so few such parents, although most would want to be like that.

The greatest gift of my entire learning life was to have parents who could build that underpass for me. I never needed school except for its paper qualifications. I don't think I am being arrogant here; I think I am being honest. And I will always thank my parents for that, because it is true.