The teacher who wandered in during cleaning time and the senior colleague who made me coffee... What I learned from two 'quiet mentors' [Tracing the Source #2]
Hello, I'm yasu.
Last time, I talked about my first encounter with technology, tracing it back to when I was in elementary school.
The 'huge box' I saw at a junior's house, the BASIC computer I touched with my father, and the cassette tape handed to me by a professor in Okinawa.
Meeting new worlds through people.
Looking back, my journey has always been supported by such encounters.
Today, as a continuation of that, I would like to talk about what I received from the 'people' themselves.
Within me, there are two 'quiet mentors'.
One is my homeroom teacher in the 6th grade, Mr. A.
The other is a senior teacher I met after I became a teacher myself, who was knowledgeable about ICT.
Even though the eras and situations were completely different, strangely, the two of them had something in common.
The teacher who wanders in during cleaning time
When I was in the 6th grade, a female teacher named Ms. A was assigned to my class.
She was not a young teacher.
She was someone with many years of experience, with a calm and composed demeanor.
When a problem occurred in the class, Ms. A never questioned us in front of everyone.
Instead, she would wander in during cleaning time.
She would quietly approach a child who was alone in the hallway or a corner of the classroom.
She would listen to them whisper, say 'I see,' and then just walk away.
She didn't scold loudly or lecture in a booming voice.
Yet, the class was strangely calm.
There is an episode I still cannot forget.
It was during a research lesson one day.
It was a tense environment with school teachers coming to observe.
When the children weren't offering many opinions and the classroom atmosphere became a bit quiet,
Ms. A waved a card in her hand, half-hidden, and signaled to me, 'Could you say something about this part?'
She didn't try to perform perfectly, but instead used a playful trick.
I remember very well thinking, 'What an interesting person,' at that moment.
There is another scene I cannot forget.
This was also when I was by myself.
Ms. A was wearing sandal-like footwear, and she suddenly asked me this:
'Does this sound bother you?'
When I asked, 'It doesn't bother me, but why do you ask?', she replied, 'A teacher above me told me it wasn't good. I was just wondering if it was something that bothered people.'
A teacher who asks me, a child, 'What do you think?' about things that adults usually decide for adults.
I didn't think much of it at the time, but looking back now, this is truly remarkable.
Treating a child as an equal, as a human being.
Facing me as someone whose opinion is worth hearing.
The year I spent in Mr. A's class was, strangely enough, a year filled with a sense of 'peace of mind'.
A phone call that arrived after 10 years
After graduating from elementary school, I hadn't thought about Mr. A for a long time.
Junior high, high school, university.
Wherever I went, I never reached out to Mr. A.
I suspect the teacher also never had the chance to know which school I went on to.
Since I was aiming to become a teacher, I went to the faculty of education, and after four years of study, I passed the teacher employment exam.
When my assignment was decided, my name was published in the local newspaper.
And then, one day.
I heard that Mr. A had called my house.
I was out at the time, and it was my mother who answered the phone.
Later, my mother told me, 'That teacher called for you.'
He saw yasu's name in the newspaper and was as happy as if it were his own.
I received those words through my mother.
Ten years.
Even though that much time had passed, Mr. A remembered me.
He didn't miss my name, which was printed in a small column in the newspaper.
And he went out of his way to call.
I wasn't able to speak to him directly.
But now, I feel that the distance of 'not being able to speak directly' was just like Mr. A.
He didn't celebrate it grandly, nor did he seek a reunion; he simply conveyed that he was 'happy.'
He remained the same teacher who would just casually appear during cleaning time.
Evening lectures spent at a senior colleague's house
Time passed, and I became an elementary school teacher.
The major turning point that led me to become deeply involved with ICT during my teaching career was meeting a certain senior teacher.
A veteran male teacher nearing 50.
He had a wealth of knowledge about computers and networks, and even back then, he was someone people relied on, saying, 'If you ask that teacher, you'll get an answer.'
I started visiting that senior's house regularly at night with three or four other colleagues.
Whether it was once a week or once a month, I don't remember exactly anymore.
In a room at the senior's house, he would carefully teach us the finer details about ICT.
How computers work, the logic behind networks, and how to use things in certain situations.
It was a thorough lecture that was practical, yet allowed us to understand things from the roots.
Idle chatter over coffee
However, looking back, I feel that what was truly important wasn't the lecture itself, but what came 'after' it.
After we finished learning, my senior colleague would always make me coffee.
With a steaming mug in one hand, we would begin to talk about trivial things.
Things that happened at school.
The children I was in charge of.
Small questions I felt every day.
Lessons that didn't go well.
New ideas I wanted to try.
The conversation would naturally drift from ICT to talk about education and life.
My senior colleague didn't give me special answers.
They would just listen with a gentle tone, saying, 'Uh-huh, uh-huh.'
Sometimes, they would drop a single word that would stay in my heart.
That time was incredibly comforting.
You can learn techniques on your own by reading books.
But 'how to apply those techniques in the field' and 'what to use them for.'
I think that perspective is something that sinks in precisely through such casual conversations.
The living room at my senior colleague's house at night.
The aroma of coffee.
The laughter of friends.
That time has become the origin of my 'way of learning.'
The 'quiet warmth' common to both of them
Teacher A and my senior colleague.
Even though they were two people from completely different eras, situations, genders, and generations, looking back, there was something strangely common between them.
They weren't flashy.
They didn't speak passionately.
They didn't force anything on others in an intimidating way.
They were simply, calmly, warm.
In fact, there are more people in teaching who proceed in an intimidating way.
To manage a classroom, they raise their voices, bind with rules, and move with discipline.
That approach certainly has immediate effects.
But neither Teacher A nor my senior colleague was like that.
While maintaining a soft tone, children, or perhaps junior colleagues, would naturally gather around them.
Smiles were exchanged.
Trust was built up.
When I was a child, I didn't think that deeply about it.
But now, looking back after finishing my 33-year teaching career, I understand it clearly.
Behind that 'quiet warmth' was an unwavering core.
People won't follow you just by being kind.
Children won't grow just by being warm.
What lies behind a soft tone?
What do you value, and what will you not compromise on?
Unless you have that firmly within yourself, that presence cannot be born.
During my teaching days, I walked my path hoping to be like that myself.
When I was a rookie, there were times I pushed forward without knowing anything.
But the figure I ultimately wanted to be was undoubtedly something I received from those two.
And now, as we run WAY as a couple, we have the slogan, 'We listen carefully, we convey.'
Looking back, I think it's because the image of that teacher who dropped by during cleaning time and the senior colleague who made me coffee flows within me.
Next time preview... Days as a promoter
With what I received from my two mentors in my heart, I continued to walk as a teacher.
Then one day, a word from a newly appointed principal led me to be entrusted with the major role of promoting ICT.
For some reason, the city designation jumped straight to a prefectural one.
My days as a promoter began with that slightly mysterious event.
Next time, I will look back on that "time spent running."
Conclusion
The teacher who would just wander in during cleaning time.
The senior who would make me coffee at night.
Both of them are people who flow quietly within me.
Perhaps humans are creatures who pass on what they have received from someone to someone else.
The reason I now call AI my "partner" while trying to deliver something to the adults involved with children
is surely just a small segment of the baton being passed on in this way.
Is there anyone you think of when you look back and feel, "I am still influenced by that person"?
If you'd like, please let me know in the comments.
I would be happy if we could gently exchange our "sources."
Well then, until next time.
See you on Tuesday.
Thank you for reading until the end.
▼ [Tracing the Source] series magazine is here
Why have I been able to welcome AI as a "partner" so naturally?
Why do I feel it is so important to "balance technology and humanity"?
Over four parts, I am putting my journey into words little by little.
I will talk about my encounter with technology, my encounter with two mentors, the days I spent running as a promoter, and how I arrived at my current WAY.
▼ [Organizing Adult Time: AI Life Design Techniques] series magazine is here
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