3 minutes
In this post, I wrote of how Peter Williams inspired me to write the book. Below is the letter I wrote to his partner and son upon his passing. To my mind, this would be the prologue of the memoir.
I have been lucky in life to have many good teachers, a few great ones, and fewer still inspirational ones. Even fewer are those, whom as a teacher myself now, I aspire to be. Peter Williams was one of those. Peter taught me in my honours year, but his impact echoes still. There are three things in particular that Peter did for us – his students – that I today as a teacher try my best to do also.
The first thing was literally the first thing on the first day of class. Peter welcomed us – his students – to the class. Most teachers do this, but his welcome was different. He welcomed us by assuring us that since we had made it this far, it meant we were good enough, smart enough, and hardworking enough, to be there in his class. And that those same traits meant that we were going to get through the class. As such, we should get on with our learning with him, not be anxious about getting through the class, or doubt our ability.
It was the first time in 16-17 years of formal education that a teacher that told me I was good enough to be in the class – that I would make it through if I trusted in myself. After class, there was a lot of discussion about that among the us – the students. What perhaps seems like a simple statement – a welcoming gesture – meant a lot to us. Perhaps it was the students from challenging backgrounds who felt that they did not belong, or felt like imposters that appreciated Peter’s gesture the most. But it touched us all. An acknowledgement that we had worked hard to get where we were, and that same attitude would get us through his course – a simple statement that assured so much.
From the welcome to the farewell – the second thing I learned from Peter.
End of semester farewells by teachers in my past were usually gracious farewells with invocations that we must continue to do well, how we confounded our teachers by doing better than expected, or how we must look forward to get ready for future challenges. Occasionally a few snide comments were thrown in for balance. Peter was the first teacher I had who thanked us for letting him teach us, and making it a pleasure for him. Thanked us – his students! He said that he learned from us. A man who we all thought was a genius and a truly remarkable man had learned from us. I felt very proud that I could have had something to offer him, and as did many in the class.
And there was no doubting his sincerity. That is the third thing I learned from him – treating students with respect and honesty.
Peter was very welcoming of questions in class. At times, some of us feel exasperated at the questions that were asked of him. ‘Its obvious’ or ‘Its in the readings’ we would think. But Peter answered those questions in detail, and with great patience. If he was frustrated, it did not show. The best was when someone asked a question that made him pause, or stroke his bristled chin. Those were questions you wanted to ask – the holy grail of questions. He answered them honestly, respectfully, and then invited your response. We were not condescended to, or brushed off – we were treated as equals. Most importantly, your thoughts on his answer was invited sincerely.
As a teacher, its taken me a few years to arrive at a place where I understand what Peter was doing, and even more years to have enough confidence to try to do what Peter did. While Peter is gone, impact on me, and through me on my students lives on as I try my best to the teacher Peter showed me I should be.