The Magnificant Obsession (book review)

The Magnificent Obsession: Knowing God as Abraham Did by Anne Graham Lotz


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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It's the small things of life...

...that make it fun. Despite stresses, illness, deadlines and general responsibility, there are the pleasant little things that can make a day special. Today was such a day when I took a dozen or more of books and books on CD that I've read into a local bookstore and got $80 credit. I tend to only keep classics and antiquarian books, but that doesn't mean that I don't greatly enjoy buzzing through the modern stuff. You know modern books will become classics, but you usually sense what kind of stuff from which the book is made in order for it to eventually become a classic, and those usually aren't the light reading material. There are a few fantasy and sci-fi series that I think will stick around for a long while like Piers, Salvatore, and Rowling, but that's not the norm for the zillions of modern writers out there.

Usually I resell books on Amazon if I can undercut the lowest offered book price and still make $10 or more. However, that's not always possible, so the remaining books go to The Book Alley in Lakewood. My loot today involved The Lord of the Flies, Clockwork Orange, Dune, Freakanomics and a couple books on CDs for my travel time. Still plenty of credit available too, so I look forward to future visits.

What promised to be a somewhat lifeless day full of work and definitely a bad headache instead had a great start making the headache an annoyance instead of a mood driver.

Teaching Reflections

It's interesting looking back over my twenties and realising how completely unprepared I was to teach Tae Kwon Do, but knowing it was the only way to prepare one for such interesting challenges that occur only in the field. Teaching involves far more than expertise in one's knowledge. Psychology, sociology, teaching methodology, and a whole hell of a lot of patience is also required, especially when you teach a physical sport to children. After going through the experiences that essentially mold you into an experienced instructor, it's easier to instantly throw together a lesson plan on managing a class of teaching martial arts to 30 white belt 5 year olds that have zero discipline or support in the home.

There were days though....when my mind was completely blown.

Like when the kid in the back got scared and peed on the floor. What do you do with that? Ignore it? Address it? How to address it?

Or when there is visible lice and pink eye in your classroom, and you wonder how to incorporate hygiene in the martial art lesson (lived with anti-bacterial soap) and still got it every school year. ARG

Or like when I was teaching really tough kids for a summer who were considered extreme at-risk and are probably all in juvy right now. The lessons were far more involving discipline and respect, and that's difficult to do with teenagers who feel that the world is against them.

Or when you know a kid's getting beaten at home and neglected, but CPS will simply make it worse instead of better. Try dealing with that.

Or my absolute favourite, when a lockdown juvy centre rings and wants us to demonstrate Tae Kwon Do, then when we get there, we're told that no violence should be demonstrated. "No kicks, punches or board breaking." Really? Talk about changing approaches on the fly!

I think the most important lesson I learned through everything was to keep them human. It's especially hard when you're dealing with a chaotic class of 20 students with absolutely no sense of protocol or discipline, and you do have to be tough as nails, but never failing on the fairness and consistency. Of course I did fail on that, but apologising for it to the student(s) is the best demonstration any instructor can show for respect. Even more, explaining decisions is not a sign of weakness, but show of respect to the student(s), especially as they get older. How can you ask them to respect you if you don't respect them OR yourself in return?

Anyway, I digress. All of these experiences made me into a different person. Yes, I'm really tired from martial arts in general and don't really have a craving at the moment to go kill myself coaching all day at a tournament, or even better, competing and coaching at the same time. Ridiculous. I don't even want to train right now; although I know that won't last too much longer because practicing is now part of my blood. However, the whole teaching, training, coaching and business running experience was possibly the best, most effective, and longest lesson that makes a the knowledge from a degree program pale in comparison. You learn to think on your feet and trust your instincts. The only component required for that lesson in life is a passion and a mission.