Teacher Tom & Transformation

…without pain, without struggle, without anguish, discomfort and fear, transformation is impossible…Real learning, which is to say, transformation from a state of ignorance to one of enlightenment, is in reality more of a lurching, spiraling, ebb and flow, full of peaks and valleys, and yes, pain and suffering. Those of us in the world of play-based learning, myself included, tend to become fixated on the joy, but in reality, we know the much of the greatest learning comes through falls, disappointments, and failure, because we are not in the business of schooling, but rather transformation…

…Genuine growth and transformation most often come through pain and struggle. We must lose aspects of our old self, our old life, as we become new, and that is always at least uncomfortable. I’ve taught myself a mantra to recall, even as I’m tending to the physical and psychological bumps and bruises of young children: when someone is crying, someone is learning. Perhaps not in that moment of acute pain, of course, but in the struggle of transformation that inevitably comes on the other side, even if it’s only the conclusion, Well, I won’t do that again.”

-Teacher Tom, “Struggle Is Essential To Transformation.” teachertomsblog.blogspot.com. October 16, 2022.

I have just learned of this lovely blog. Teacher Tom is an elementary school teacher and his writing is wonderful. I figured it was worth noting and recommending for those who, like me, hadn’t heard of him before this week.