Mother Teresa, Full of Wisdom

Currently, my leisure reading is composed, in part, by this book I'd Rather Teach Peace. A good friend lent it to me. By his writing style, I can tell that the author is one of those teachers that students don't ever forget. Someone who engages his students, encourages them to speak their minds and think critically about issues. He wants the material he teaches to become part of his student's identities; rote memorization and mindless regurgitation, despite its prevalence in our education system, does not constitute true learning. I couldn't agree more. I have experienced this myself in my own education. Learning is most fun and most meaningful when I can dive head first into the material, think about it, chew on it and figure out how it ought to be integrated into my reality. The world needs more teachers like Colman McCarthy who puts his faith in the humanity of even the most closed off and misunderstood kids.

This book has called to my attention how much violence is emphasized as the preferred means of conflict resolution in our country, world, etc. High school history classes highlight the heroic acts of war heroes while often overlooking the peacemaking efforts of many. Truly, why don't we learn about people like Gandhi in school?

Included in the text is a poem written by Mother Teresa that I think is really cool. It's entitled Anyway

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and openness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and open anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.