Mr. Phillips was as old as Methuselah (969 years?), lifting up his chalk to the board with his other hand to stay steady but still grinning, sparkling with amusement over the laws of thermodynamics. Dr. Woods was aggressive, competitive, and determined to set me right. My nursing instructors were patient but eagle-eyed protectors of the sick, who sometimes let me fail in order to underscore the value of humility. My Peace Corps teachers were witty, worldly, and morally righteous, with the burden of the world on their backs. And then there were all those bosses, who instructed me on the way to win or lose, to find the holes in the organization, to serve others and stay clear of bureaucrat potholes, to look for opportunities wide enough to jump through, stay to the ‘true north’, and lead in the best and worst of times with grace and calm and reason.
Some of my best teachers have been in the College of Stoic Philosophers, both as faculty and students. Two of them led me to face myself straight in the mirror. One, in particular, was extraordinary for his own accomplishments: he single-handedly lifted the study of Stoic philosophy from obscurity and away from academics into the laps of average seekers, such as you and me. Eric Weigardt, the founder of the College of Stoic Philosophers and this Registry Report, knew 50 years ago that he was a practicing stoic and that he didn’t want to be one alone. To that end, he started a school, one that provided eager, curious, and brave Stoics-to-be with a map toward personal transformation. As my teacher and mentor, he welcomed me to think hard, study widely, and practice as if my life depended on it. He also believed I too had a mind that could handle Stoic ideas and present them back to others. And so, I am a Stoic teacher, always yearning towards sagehood, always hoping that I can tap someone else’s shoulders and help them on their way. Always following Epictetus’s wisdom that ‘only the educated are free! (Book 2, Chapter 1). Here’s to our teachers, with love.
With gratitude and respect,
Kathryn,Todd, Derrick,