The Master Teacher - Introduction

Introduction
​Dr. Michael Richardson

   A. John 8:2 “And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.”   
   B. I once had a college professor who said, “The Master teacher does not need a textbook.”
   C.  I questioned that statement at first. However, after being mesmerized by him for 3 hours each week for 18 weeks I came to believe his statement.
   D. For those who do not know it. I was a public-school teacher for 33 years and also taught at two colleges.
   E. Let me you. Teaching is hard work. No, the “angels” do not sit and work quietly at their desks while you read the morning paper
   F. Did you know that the famous author, Stephen King, once taught high school English?
   G. He once wrote an article where is presented 4 students as a type of “monster”. The one I liked best was “the thing that would not shut up.”
    H. The continual monster I had to face was the monster called “the interruption”
     I. Allow me to illustrate my point with this amusing fictious story:

• A young man was training to become a teacher
• A college professor told him that he must never say anything negative to a student least you damage their “frail egos.”
• The young man accepted this idea thinking the professor knew what he was talking about
• In his 1st semester he soon found out the professor was full of “hot air”
• Instead, he discovered that student were interested in anything but his history class
• His classes were 45 minutes long
• Now this one student was into cars and he had an imaginary clutch, brake, and gas petal on the floor in front of his desk
• He also had used a rubber band to attach a pencil to his desk. He had his own “imaginary” car
• But the young teacher did not say anything negative least he damage this boy’s “frail ego”
• Classes were 45 minutes long. 15 minutes into the class the teacher heard the young boy pretending to “change gears” in his imaginary car. He was angry. The rest of the class knew it but this boy of oblivious!
• 15 minutes later his class was interrupted again by the same kid in his change of “gears” in his imaginary car
• It took a Herculean effort of the part of the young teacher to bring his temper out of the ceiling. Still he said nothing negative
• At the end of his class he was passing out homework and explaining what to do
• That is when he heard it for the 3rd time! Same silly kid in his imaginary car “racing
• The young teacher decided he did not care what some college professor said, he was going to say something negative to this annoying student.
• He pointed his finger as the student and screamed, “Stop it!”
• The young teacher instantly regretted doing that
• The silly car kid slammed on his imaginary brakes and screamed a loud screeching sound!!

    J. Folks, that is public education—One interruption after another.
​    K. One the main interruptions came from the Principal’s office 
     L. I once had a principal who went on and on about wasting class time but would then interrupt class time with 15 minutes of announcements.
    M. So, I placed following on the outside of my classroom do. The principals never said anything to me, but I do not think they liked it:

“Then Jesus lifted up his voice to teach his Apostles, but Peter interrupted and said, “Do we have to know this for a test?”. Jesus began again to instruct his disciples , but Thomas interrupted and said, “Does anyone have pencil and paper I could borrow?” Once again Jesus began his lesson when Phillip interrupted and said, “How is this going to help in real life? Patiently Jesus began once again to teach when Judas [not Iscariot] interrupted and said, “Judas Iscariot called me a name!” Then came the Pharisees [the principals]saying, “Where are thy lesson plans?” “Where are your learning outcomes?”Where is your Cultural Diversity for your lessons? Where is your accommodation for bodily kinesthetic intelligential learning?------And Jesus Wept!