331 Some Lessons From Yoda About Teaching

It seems to me that it’s just about getting late enough in the school year that people are starting to think about graduation, planning for the next year, etc.  However, a week or so ago, for some reason which I really can’t explain, I started thinking about teaching; what it is to be a teacher; how being a teacher impacts one’s life; what I think is important about teaching; and such thoughts.  In the course of this pondering, for some other inexplicable (at the time) reason, I was reminded of having taken an afternoon off from my Graduate Assistantship duties as Manager of the Fine Arts Auditorium (AND from my studies) during the summer of 1977, while I was on leave from Western at The University of Georgia.  At the time, I was working on completing my Doctoral course work before returning to Western and getting back to earning a living for myself AND my family, while working on my dissertation.  However, what I did on this, specific, afternoon, was to go see that (relatively) newly-released (at the time) movie which a lot of people were so excited about called Star Wars.  That movie, of course, was the one which we now call Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope.

Why, you might ask, would that movie come to mind?  Well, I think it’s fairly obvious to me now, but it probably wouldn’t be so to other people.  I think it’s because I have spent so much of my life in activities related to education in some fashion or other, that ideas related to such matters would be likely to have an impact on me.  And, THAT movie provided the introduction into popular culture of one of the greatest educators (and thinkers about education) in real, or fictional, history.  I am speaking, of course, of Yoda, the 900 year old Jedi Master.  I am aware of the fact that he doesn’t actually appear, in person, until the second movie; but, I would suggest that, if you are paying attention, his presence is felt from the very beginning of the series, mostly through the influence of one of his students, Obi-Wan Kenobi.  The first-time observer might not see it, but, I believe that, in the light of the later (and earlier) episodes, his influence is self-evident.  That MAY be beside the point, however.

This post is my attempt to point out and comment on some of Yoda’s ideas about teaching and teachers as they are revealed throughout the original Star Wars Canon.  And, since he has quite a few thoughts about those subjects, it’s possible that I might return to this topic at some future point, but I’m just going to discuss my take on some of his ideas here, and let the future remain in the future.  So, on with the important stuff!

I believe that Yoda was fascinated with “younglings;” how they change, grow and develop, as anyone involved in education probably needs to be, at least to some extent.  He is quoted as having said, “Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.”  And I think that interest shows up in his interactions with learners of all ages.  We see these interactions scattered throughout the three trilogies (and probably in the other stuff which I haven’t read or seen).  It seems to me, however, that he always appears to be patient, kind and interested in the students whom we see him teaching.  And, he seems to expect (and receive) a similar response from his students, which, also seems appropriate.  That seems a good place for ANY educator to start.

On the other hand, Yoda makes the point that age is not just a matter of years.  After all, everyone increases in age, but he suggests that getting “older” should be more than just that; "Age more than a count of heartbeats is.  Age is how many mistakes you have made.”  As we shall see, Yoda seems to have a great deal of interest (and faith) in making mistakes as a learning tool.

But, it is also important to be aware of the present, or, as Yoda says: “Of the moment, be.  In the moment, live.  The art of remaining in the present, learn.  Neither the past nor the future exists.”  One should not be afraid of either what HAS happened, nor of what MIGHT be coming.  One needs to actually LIVE in the present. So, while it might be wise to try to learn from experience and anticipate the results of actions taken now, it probably isn’t wise to allow those concerns to stifle the opportunity of fully experiencing the present.  After all, “To live halfheartedly, this is the most stupid thing in life.  Forever gone is the moment that is gone.”  The present is where we are, decisions (choices) MUST be made, as even the decision NOT to do something IS still a choice.  When it comes right down to it, ultimately it’s impossible NOT to make choices, so one must accept the fact that while your choices (decisions) MAY not always be the best ones, they do provide important opportunities for learning and growth.

As Yoda put it: "Each choice, the branch of a tree is: What looked like a decision, is after all only a pattern of growth.”  Yes, there will most certainly be times when you discover that a choice you have made might not have been the best one, and that that choice has brought you to experience challenges, discomfort, or worse.  Still, a choice had to be made, and, if you made an honest attempt to choose wisely, but didn’t, then you can still make the best of this circumstance.  As Yoda puts it, “If no mistake you have made, losing you are.  A different game you should play.”  The point being that not making mistakes probably means that you really aren’t actually trying.

You see, learning is a never-ending process and can pose challenges throughout ones’ lifetime.  As Yoda comments; "The more we learn, the more we discover how much we do not know.”  It seems that "Always more questions than answers, there are.”  I have to admit that I have also found this to be true.  One person is simply not capable of knowing everything, nor of never making a mistake.  Can’t happen.  Ain’t going to! 

Still, as Yoda puts it, "A way there always is.”  That is, that once one accepts the notion that complete knowledge and perfection may not actually be achievable, one doesn’t have to just give up in disgust.  It’s never really a case of perfection or death, unless you want to abandon all hope early on in the game.  No, if you have come to a point where you believe that the purpose of education is TOTAL knowledge and understanding, so that you can ALWAYS make the best possible choice in attempting to do difficult things, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”  Too many students, and I don’t just mean Jedi Padawan learners, think that they should be able to just give something a try, and they should be able to achieve success.

They are incorrect.  As Yoda points out, “Try not.  Do.  Or do not.  There is no try.”  As Yoda demonstrated to Luke on Dagobah, many things may not be easy, but amazing things can be accomplished if one actually puts forth the effort to master ones’ abilities.  Doing that MAY WELL require training, effort, and experience to be fully realized.  Perhaps THAT is what “education” is truly about?  Perhaps it’s the work of actually mastering one’s abilities that, ultimately, allows one to DO.

I believe that something of this sort MAY be what Yoda meant when he commented that “Delicate flower truth is, but also the most precious treasure in life—because liberation it brings, freedom it brings.”  It may well be that TRUTH is the most difficult thing to achieve because, in a world where we’d all LIKE things to be quick, easy and simple, TRUTH can take a long time, be hard and complex.  Perhaps it’s my age showing, but I kinda like to think that I have come to have at least some, some understanding of a few of the truths of existence.  It’s taken me most of my life, but it has also given me a career and much satisfaction.  I suspect that most, if not all, of whatever truths I have perceived relate in some way to theatre, either as an artistic activity or as subjects to be studied relative to theatre production, its literature and/or its history.  And I’d like to believe that at least some of my efforts as an educator may have proved useful to at least some of my students.

I certainly wasn’t aware of these things when I started those endeavors, but even then I believe that I was, in fact, following the advice of Yoda (who probably hadn’t even been conceived of back in the late 1960s when I began working for a Public School District-sponsored children’s theatre, prior to starting my rather lengthy career at Western Carolina University) but it turns out that I did end up following his counsel in attempting to “Pass on what you have learned.  Strength, mastery, hmm.  But weakness, folly, failure, also.  Yes, failure, most of all.  The greatest teacher, failure is.”

He IS correct, you know.  I know from my own experience that one doesn’t tend to learn much from the “easy” classes, where you don’t really have to study very hard or do much work to get a “good” grade, OR from productions where everything just falls into place, the casting choices are easy and obvious, so everyone is at least pretty good (or, perhaps, even better), the scenic, lighting and costume designs and construction all sort of fall into place, or at least work out with no major challenges, and the run goes smoothly with no major problems.  No, we actually learn much more from the productions, classes, (or pretty much anything else) that we have to “sweat” our way through, where it’s like pulling teeth all the way from the beginning until the project is completed.  They aren’t the most fun, but the reality of it is that you learn more from them.  Often MUCH more.  And that seems to be true in most of life’s situations.

Now Yoda wasn’t a theatre person, but I think he would understand and agree with my point.  In The Last Jedi there is a scene where Yoda and Luke appear to be destroying the last remaining copies of the Sacred Writings of the Jedi.  They aren’t in fact doing that, but they (or at least Luke) THINKS they are.  While this is going on, Yoda comments to Luke, “…read them have you?  Page-turners they were not.”  

As one who has taught (and studied) Theatre History and Dramatic Literature a fair amount, (although I will not pretend to have acquired the depth of knowledge of MY masters, especially Gerhard W. Gaiser, Richard Scammon, Eugene Bristow, Stanley Longman, Gerald Kahan, Leighton M. Ballew, August W. Staub, W. Joseph Stell and Oscar G. Brockett) I must be quick to admit to the fact that studying most things can be rather unexciting a good deal of the time.  As a student (like, probably, most students) I didn’t always appreciate that I was, in fact, going to benefit from the time and effort which I expended in preparing for my classes with these “Masters,” and the other work I did to acquire my education, including the considerable time and effort I put into productions as a student, but they DID prepare me, I think, for when the time came to be the one teaching the classes and doing the directing, designing, construction, etc., of my own productions as a teacher.

I’m pretty sure that there were times when at least some of my students just wished I would shut up and leave them alone to do what THEY thought was important.  But, Yoda said it better than I could when he commented, “You think Yoda stops teaching, just because his student does not want to hear?  A teacher Yoda is.  Yoda teaches like drunkards drink, like killers kill.”

I’ve never been sorry for the path my life has taken, I only wish that I had been smart enough, knowledgeable enough, and talented enough to have been better than I was at what I was trying to do.  Again, Yoda (some of those scriptwriters were really good with words) describes what it means to be a “Master” pretty well, I think.  “We are what they grow beyond.  That is the true burden of all masters.”  I will acknowledge that it CAN be a burden, but I’d add that it can also be a joy, as it is with parents, when we experience the growth of our “children.”

I expect I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with some other thoughts, probably on something quite different.  If I haven’t bored you too much with these, I hope you will be back to find out what they might be.

🖖🏼 LLAP,
Dr. B

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