What gives me the right ....

“I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him.”

~Galileo Galilei

I reread most of my posts several days after I post them. It is usually to check my thoughts and to see how pompous I sound. For the most part, I think the point I am trying to make is made. For me, I say a lot of things in jest and in the role of the devils advocate. As the great lyricist Eminem said, "sometimes the truth is said in jest." What I really want is for people to think about other's and re-examine their positions on certain topics. It is just to begin a dialog between people. I look at myself and ask, "what gives me the right to write about these things?" Well, I don't know. I do have strong opinions about somethings, but for the most part I am someone who is "on another level" as one of my residents put it. My thinking is not in line with the old guard or new guard, it is somewhere between. I try to see things from both sides and I can usually find valid points in both.

My ultimate desire is not to be famous or world renowned; it is not to be rich. My desire is to be a great educator. Someone who inspires others to develop their own thoughts and question other's thought. We tend to be so self involved about what our current positions are that we lack perspective. As a student, we see things as a student looking up; as an educator, we see things looking down. Maybe we should all come to the same level and look eye to eye. Maybe it should be more of a dialog than a lecture. But to do this, both student and educator need to meet half way.

I look at my teaching style now and wonder how to make it better. I draw from some of the great educator physicians in my past; as well as, some of my previous and current students. So those who read this and take offense to a topic or disagree with a point, I have done my job. I am not here to say what is right or wrong. I don't have the ultimate say, it is not a dictatorship. When someone writes a comment agreeing or disagreeing, I just smile; now we have a dialog.

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

~Galileo Galilei