“If you can read this, thank a teacher.” Harry S. Truman
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. Teachers are supposed to forge us into better versions of ourselves. In Sumo training, the sumo-tori or wrestler practices palm striking and pushing exercises on this large pillar or pole called a teppo (鉄砲 ). Repeatedly palm striking this pole is supposed to improve their tachiai (立合い) or the “initial charge” at the beginning of a sumo bout. A teppo is a large piece of rounded wood that is sunk into the ground and the wrestlers are supposed to try and uproot it with their pushes and strikes. Striking the teppo can be painful but it is supposed to make one’s hands very strong and improve their initial attack. In many ways a teppo is like a teacher. Teachers must stand up straight and be strong like a teppo in not only form but action as well. A teppo always stands firm regardless of what the wrestler does to it like a teacher and like the teppo, the teacher is always waiting for the student to arrive. The only job of the teppo, like a teacher’s, is to make the wrestler or student better. Obviously, the pole can’t be moved but the wrestler is supposed to imagine that with enough effort it can be. Thus, the goal of every student is to surpass their teacher, but only those who put in the greatest effort will. Furuya Sensei said, “An average student admires their teacher, a good student follows their teacher, a great student will surpass them.” Truman’s assertion about reading is poignant because it is easy to take for granted the little things that are bestowed upon us thanklessly by our teachers. In Japanese they say, “Rosoku wa hokanohito wo terashimasu ga, jibun jishin wo hakai shimasu” (蝋燭は他の人を照らしますが、自分自身を破壊します) which means “A candle illuminates others but destroys itself.” This idiom is very much like a metaphor for teaching. The teacher, like the teppo, is easily overlooked for its sacrifices and without it we wouldn’t be the people we are today. That is why it is important to take a moment and appreciate those that have taught us because it is through their thankless efforts and sacrifices that we can not only read, but also function as human beings as well. Thank you Sensei and all others that have taught me in the past.
Today’s goal: Take a moment to remember and appreciate those that have thanklessly taught you now and in the past.
Watch this wonderful video of a teacher who disarmed a school shooter.