30 Day Blogging Challenge from Te@chThought: Day 7

In response to the recent challenge from te@chthought, I'm participating in a 30 day blogging mission, starting September 1st!

Day 7
Who was or is your most inspirational colleague, and why?

This is easy: Carter Latendresse, 6th grade English teacher and mentor for my student teaching portion of grad school.

There were, first of all, a number of coincidences that I discovered when I learned more about Carter's curriculum.  His class follows The Hero's Journey as outlined by Joseph Campbell, one of the most inspiring figures of my life.  I own and regularly watch Campbell's interview series with Bill Moyers titled The Power of Myth.  The interview is held at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, because Luke Skywalker is one of the most prominent fictional heroes of the 20th century.  Campbell likes to reference Star Wars because it's a popular example of an ancient storytelling motif.  Campbell discovered that there are many archetypal stories that have been shared among all the peoples of the world, the most universal being The Hero's Journey:

A young person's world is turned upside-down; a Helper emerges to tell the character that he/she is capable of great power, and to give the character a useful tool, weapon, or skill.  Suddenly, the Helper disappears, and this young person is face to face with the great villain but miraculously escapes.  The hero must endure a series of ordeals, including The Supreme Ordeal, that acts as a trial, building the hero's strength and focus.  The ordeals lead the hero back to the villain, and the ensuing battle ends with the hero emerging victorious.

I also discovered that other heroic tales that have remained favorites throughout my life, such as Tolkien and the Redwall series, were assigned reading for his students.

Carter also transformed the school campus within a short period of time.  Within two years, his Garden Club converted a nondescript grassy hill into a flourishing garden, growing all different kinds of food.  Two social gathering structures with green roofs surround a giant chess board, and a cob oven resides nearby.  The Garden Club moved on to similar conversion projects across the school grounds.  This work is part of Carter's vision for the future he'd like to see come to pass: People growing their own food; reducing reliance on fossil fuels and big box stores; a community working and playing together, helping each other learn, grow, and get the things they need.

The unit I shared with Carter during the winter of 2012 was titled "Empathy", and it led students through the Supreme Ordeal portion of the Heroic Journey.  This became a theme I never let go of, and I incorporate Empathy into my own classes at every turn.  In fact, the primary step in the process of Design Thinking is Empathy - empathy for the end user of the finished design.

Currently, my views on the role of technology in our civilization's future differ somewhat from Carter's.  Perhaps the greatest value of a mentor is the chance to hold a perspective outside of yourself in high regard, while also being able to compare and contrast it with your own.