On Teaching: "Beethoven and Acceptance"

Several times last week I put on my iPod earphones and listened to classical music in between classes, and it was an interesting experience. One morning I was listening to the slow movement of Beethoven’s 6th symphony as the kids entered in their usual casual and chatty manner. It was strange, and somehow wonderful, to be watching them come in with lips moving and arms gesturing, and yet to be hearing mostly the beatific melodies of the symphony. In some way, Beethoven’s music brought out the simple beauty of the students’ entrance into the room. It seemed like a ballet was starting instead of just a second period English class.

* * * * *

A friend once told me to remember this whenever I’m faced with an apparent problem: “If you fight it, you’re stuck with it.” Lately, I’ve been relating that to my teaching, and the truth of it is becoming increasingly clear. As is true in any classroom, I am occasionally faced with situations that seem to be “problems” – an unruly student, a lesson gone awry, or even a bit of general chaos. In the past, I would simply fight the problem – head on, immediately, and with all my energy. It seemed to be an obstacle in my path, and I felt it needed to be destroyed. This suggestion by my friend, however, implies that by fighting the seeming problem, I’m only giving it greater power and longevity. In trying to get rid of it, I’m actually increasing its control over me. It suggests that, for the past 40 years, I may have been approaching classroom “problems” in precisely the wrong way. Perhaps what I should do, when faced with unruliness or an appearance of disorder, is remind myself that the universe obviously isn’t resisting this situation, and therefore I shouldn’t either. If it’s happening, then the universe must have a perfectly good reason for it to happen, and perhaps I should just step back and observe the situation, instead of fighting it. This doesn’t mean that I should give up control of my classroom, or that I should allow bad behavior to continue. Far from it. Like any teacher, I want my classes to operate in a harmonious and efficient manner, but the strange truth is that I may be able to reach that goal much more quickly by gentle acceptance than by forceful opposition. Paradoxically, by fighting a problem, I get more and more stuck with it, whereas by accepting whatever is occurring, I gain control over it. Sailors, of course, have always known this. They accept what the wind is doing and try to take advantage of it. By surrendering to it, they conquer it – and I can do the same with any problem that arises in my classroom.