Layer After Layer

Lately I've been thinking a lot about onions. One of the more memorable lines from the movie 'Shrek' (the first one, none of that sequel garbage!) is when Shrek explains to Donkey about his complex personality: "There's a lot more to Ogres than people think... Ogres are like onions; we both have layers." It's almost a cliché to make this statement, almost as cliché as a picture of an iceberg with the caption 'There's far more under the surface' or some generic sounding quip. But despite the obvious, it's a thought I can't seem to shake. Working with students is one of the most challenging professions one can take on. Be it as a teacher, coach, mentor or guardian, the energy and passion put in largely goes unseen and even unappreciated. However, despite the lack of recognition, the success of any student is directly tied to the attitude and dedication of an adult behind the scenes. One who goes the extra mile to ensure a student understands a concept or takes the extra time after practice to show proper form not only demonstrates their commitment to their role as a mentor but let's the student know they are worth it. It's just like our swamp dwelling friend told us. Think of students as onions. (For those who have middle schoolers who refuse to embrace deodorant, that might not be hard to do!). Onions have purpose. However, used outside of that purpose, they don't fit in very well. You wouldn't bite into an onion and eat it like an apple, just like you wouldn't toss a student into a situation that they wouldn't be prepared for. It also takes insight to know how each student needs to develop and pay attention to that, the same that cooking onions in different ways brings about different enhanced tastes, textures, etc. But perhaps bigger than all that is the importance of knowing it takes time and effort to get to what's usable. The reality is that students often hide so much of who they are. And despite the myriad of reasons one might do so, the fact remains that if anyone wants to successfully engage in the life of a student, they must earn the right to be heard. As you'd expect to take some time to peel back the outer shell of an onion, so too should you expect to need to put time in with a student to get to the core of who they are. It's not always easy. There will likely be tears. But seeing the potential in a student bloom into character and confidence is worth any investment of self.