Those who can’t, teach,
And those who can’t teach, teach teachers
I heard this cheerless ditty many times while working as a teacher – largely from people in other professions, although it was embraced with some humorous and self-deprecating resignation by my colleagues.
It echoed around my being, inspired some sense of shame, and prompted me to explore many aspects of my art in greater depth – writing, acting, music, editing: all of which have become important arteries of my existence. It made me explore my insecurities as an artist and as a woman, and led me to embody my art in my life, to nurture the artist of my soul, and to live with a boldness and a color that has sustained and inspired me, and challenged and broken me in perpetuity; spiraling ever outward, and up, while planting roots that run deeper and deeper with each passing year.
Yet, wherever I go with my art, it all, always, without fail, flows back into the jugular of my being – teaching. That is; holding the space, sharing the vital newsflash that YOU CAN DO IT, YOU ARE POWERFUL, YOU ARE MIGHTY, YOU ARE ENOUGH, YOU ARE PERFECT AS YOU ARE, YOU ARE HOME, and inviting young people to allow the power and majesty that they inherently possess to flow forth and take them on the journey of a lifetime.
For that is life.
So, I am thankful for the lessons and the wisdom offered by this disempowering ditty. However, I urge others with the burning call in them to teach young people to disregard this rhyme as bitter, harmful tosh. Although I can say that it stoked my fires of inquiry, and allowed me to quest through many a terrain; before finding my truth, and recognizing and claiming my worth, with an unapologetic vigor that smashes world-views and challenges stuck-thinking with the blink of a seeing eye.
That said, I have always been one to learn the hard way, and, as I said, I would urge all beginning teachers to disregard the message, primarily as it convenes the first rule of the code of free living: Don’t Listen to Anyone Who Tells You Who or What You Are, or How To Live. (Especially if they are lessening your worth).
So, in that spirit, feel free to disregard all and everything that I say. Apart from the part that you are powerful beyond all measure.
Moving forward, I have re-purposed the ‘Those who can, do/Those who can’t, teach’ pearl of anti-wisdom, and changed it to this:
Those who can do, teach.
Those who can teach, teach.
Those who can teach, through teaching, teach teachers.
Teaching is the seed that falls from the fruit of experience.
I would also like to add that, ‘those who can’t teach, teach anyway, and often do more harm than good.’
I feel the harm that poor, dogmatic, disempowering, domineering, mindless, unconscious, lazy, and disrespectful instruction does to the soul of the growing human being, is probably the root of the bitterness that leads to the adherence to the original ditty of discussion.
Bad teaching sucks.
Being taught badly is offensive to the soul and the mind of the young being.
‘Being taught badly’ translates simply as, ‘learning to internalize the tools of oppression, so that we may regulate and limit ourselves to serve the needs of the dominant few; to collude without conscious agreement’.
The result of being taught badly is a population that consists of humans who do not truly know themselves; humans who do not know their own worth; humans who have become accustomed to dimming their own lights; humans who live in fear, anger, frustration, disappointment, monotony, repression, mediocrity, suffering, and extremes.
And remember always – Hurt People Hurt People.
I do not need to tell you that we do not need this in the world.
This model has not been working. It has never worked.
We are so much more than this, and we have to actively learn that we are not what we truly are in order to create this unwell reality.
We are already enough. And our enough, together, is enough to create the reality that reflects our highest and most magnificent good.
I am not going to embark on a treatise into the Sociology of Education, and my particular standpoints therein.
But research it.
Schooling, as a tool of social reproduction, has benefitted those in society it is designed to benefit – those who already win.
And schooling successfully holds back those who are required to fail.
And, yes, there are always exceptions, bright stars who ‘succeed’ against the odds. Exceptions to the rule, not proof of a different rule.
And what does it mean to ‘succeed’ in a system that is designed to disempower and enslave the majority of the world’s population ? It means to come out on the ‘winning’ side.
Yet, none of us truly wins in a game that encourages the loss of the soul, the ensnarement of true freedom, the suppression of instinct, and the commoditization of nature in all her forms (including ourselves and our labor).
Resist!
I come now to my offering.
I am putting together a weekly class for teenagers.
I would say that the ideal age range for the work is 12-16, for now, although it will grow as the students do.
The name of the class is ‘Wonderland’.
Wonderland is the space of magic and creativity, of infinite possibility, of emboldened experimentation, of making something from nothing, of shifting perspectives, of tumbling down rabbit holes of the mind and imagination with the innocence and willingness that comes when we allow ourselves to fully trust our environment and ourselves.
Wonderland, in subject-specific terms, is an English and Drama class.
It is about writing and directing and performing and creating and storyboarding and inventing and exploring and collaborating and being brave.
Wonderland exists to provide the necessary space for teenagers to come and explore themselves, to transcend their realities, to create worlds of possibility and wonder, where they may let loose their imaginations and hone their skills of text and context, subtext and pretext. Wonderland is the place YOU needed when YOU were a teenager. Wonderland is important. Wonderland is not offered in conventional school environments. Wonderland is not permitted in conventional social spaces. Wonderland is a space that must be created and held.
Wonderland is here, at Finca Maravilla, and it is coming soon for our region’s bold, young souls.
Wonderland is not free. But Wonderland has no fee.
Wonderland is the culmination of my 40 years and counting on this Earth. Wonderland has come from my lengthy and expensive learning journey – BA, post-grad, continuing education – and nineteen years of professional expertise in one form or another (public education, art/drama/gardening workshops, academic publishing and course-book writing, acting, electronic music creation, mothering), as well as an ongoing commitment to my own lifelong learning journey, and a deep awareness that I may only ever know a small fraction it all. Wonderland has been fed through worldly travels spanning 12 solid years of roaming and exploration. Wonderland exists because I have spurned conventional means of making income – those means that would offer me security of salary as a teacher while enslaving my soul (and inhibiting my ability to create true Wonderland).
Wonderland takes place on our farm, for which we have a mortgage with the bank that must be paid monthly. And animals and humans who must be fed. And gardens that must be tended. And vehicles that must be run.
Wonderland is paid for in part by my life/soul/wonder/creation/love partner’s indefatigable sense of commitment, honor, loyalty and generosity of self with his partner, his family, and his community.
So, Wonderland is not free. In fact, it is very expensive, and it is worth a great deal. And it adds a value that is as unquantifiable as it is rich.
But, Wonderland has no fee.
Because the confidence to create, the skills to construct, and the right to be yourself are for ALL, not just for those who can afford it.
Wonderland is not a business venture. Wonderland is not a get-rich-quick scheme (of course, it’s not – who on Earth ever entered into teaching for that?!?). Wonderland is not a commercial exercise to be promoted and advertized where bums-on-seats is where it’s at, and file ‘em in, send ‘em home is the order of the day.
Wonderland is a true exchange of real and actual life energy. Wonderland is a commitment to a group, a vision, a time, a place, and to the self.
Wonderland English and Drama is not affiliated to any previously-ordained pedagogy, does not follow any externally created curriculum, and does not subscribe to any government standards of execution or assessment.
Wonderland strives to foster individuality, confidence, creativity, excellence, courage, integrity, patience, honesty, and collaboration.
Wonderland is real, and Wonderland is available to all students ages 12-16, by donation.
An average tutoring session of two hours duration in Puerto Rico would cost you $20. This is a group setting, so costs are reduced. You decide how much you can commit.
If you do not have, you do not need to pay.
I am also always open to trade, barter, and exchange.
We always need: hay, organic compost, animal feed, granulated swimming pool chlorine, organic human food, watercolor paper, quality watercolor and acrylic paints, organic local juices, good quality tea, good books, sketch pads, drawing pencils, boxes of indigo dye, essential oils, local coffee, fresh canning jar lids, swing-top glass bottles, bio-degrable laundry and dish soap, hugs.
We are a registered non-profit organization, all donations are tax-deductible and go back into the farm and educational programs.
If you are interested in claiming a spot for your teenager, please reach out and get in touch.
And remember – YOU CAN DO IT. YOU ARE POWERFUL. YOU ARE MIGHTY. YOU ARE ENOUGH. YOU ARE PERFECT AS YOU ARE. YOU ARE HOME.