Who would have thought teaching would be so dangerous? Stepping out on a rope stretching from August to June, spanning a multitude of subjects and disciplines, holding a pole festooned with such a motley mobile of educational accouterments that it would cause Calder to turn in his grave. The audience is below; a smattering of smiles and smirks; some applauding every step and some waiting for the spectacle of a fall. There is no net. This is the real world, after all.
Once you step out onto the rope, there is no backward, only forward. Each step is a sigh of amazement that the rope is still beneath your feet. Each wobble is a gasp of doubt that the balance will remain. One, two, three… eyes on me, as you step gingerly across the void. As you teach, you are taught. There is the ever-present tension in the rope you tread; the threads of necessary knowledge are intertwined with the windings of wisdom. A strong rope needs both… and the teaching must be taut.
Your eyes look straight ahead; the goal of this careful crossing must be your ever-present focus. A second of distraction can be disastrous. Don’t look down; look forward to the goal. Be centered. Be balanced. What is the point of all this? What learning do you want to facilitate? Are those spit balls being shot on either side of you? A taught-rope walker must have exceptional peripheral vision. You identify the perp without a pause in your pace, without turning your face. “Take that paper pulp out of your mouth and drop it in the garbage can. That is not what we meant by recycling.”
Half-way across the chasm, you stop to ponder your progress. The quiver is gone, your step more certain. The pole is no longer a burden but a tool for balance. You pause your pace for a bit of interpretive dance, which captivates the audience but garners a glare from the ever-present ringmaster. Ignore the glare, shrug off the stare. For whom do you perform, after all? They follow you with their eyes. If only they would learn to focus, not on the walker, but on the path; the taut rope that catches every step.