You’re Not a Bum

Dear colleague,

A year or so ago, we decided the Stuart children needed a piece of core cultural knowledge known as Rocky (1976) in their lives. I hadn't seen the film since I was a kid, and I had to chuckle at a couple things I didn't remember from my first viewing decades ago:

1. Rocky is way less a boxing movie than a meandering (and beautiful, in its way) character study. Most of the run time is just Rocky walking around Philly doing stuff.
2. Fear of being a “bum” is the core demon of Rocky's life. He's obsessed with bum-ness. (One Redditor counted 57 uses of the word “bum” in the Rocky films, with the highest frequency occurring in the original Rocky at 17 uses.)

This all came to mind today as I was reading a little thank-you note from a student. Without invitation, a thought came to my mind: Dave, you're not a bum. The unwilled Rocky reference made me smile.

Perhaps I've got a little of Rocky's demon that pesters me, too.

And perhaps, lots of us teachers do.

So colleague, here's the deal: if you've attempted today to help your students grow in strength or knowledge or ability or wisdom — if you just took an honest and professional shot at this in your lessons — then you are, in fact, not a bum. We control process and effort, not outcomes. It's from a focus on the controllables that you can arrive at this simple conclusion.

You're not a bum.

Teaching right beside you,

DSJR