My friend Michael Sellars posted this today at his Substack, “A Deeper Look.” I’m republishing it here because I think what he has to say is important for everyone.
How lovely that you forwarded this post this morning, Tom. Michael Sellers’ posts have become one I monitor because he often posts more than once within each 24 hour cycle and it’s always highly worthwhile and timely.
Certainly this morning‘s post is significant and carries traits typical of his writing: humility, introspection, brilliance, foundational experience, lessons told in the voice of a real person… and I love how he says he is compelled to write so it does not just stay in his mind (and heart, no doubt) going round and round. Wow.
I’ll confess to the decadent lifestyle, with my monthly pass at Alamo, I’ve already seen the movie twice, Thursday and again last night. Three hours can be overwhelming the first time through… so much going on and dialogue that’s important but you might not catch it all the first time through. At least that’s how my brain works.
I found this very thing happened with F1 the Movie a year ago, that I left the theater in a bit of a blur, having understood what I saw, but when I saw it again, clarity! Structure and dynamics. (Maybe Mom was right, that my brain is like mashed potatoes… Just have to throw that in here.)
Anyway… While there was much take away Thursday, I came away last night having experienced greater depth, appreciating all the chapters of the story as depicted in the film at levels that resonate with what Michael has to say here.
A piece of me also sits aside and marvels at what it must take to create such scenes, the script itself, with sets and cameras, people and travel and costuming and… all that goes into it, almost unfathomable. It’s even why I usually sit through the credits and marvel at all the names of people who did all those things… plus the soundtrack continues and sometimes there’s an Easter egg or two. Why not? Every name there represents a life.
So I had yet to glance and did not see that Michael had posted and here you are, sharing. Thank you. So very grateful for SUBSTACK making these connections possible; so enriching.
He says more than this as he closes, but for starters:
The Odyssey is not simply about a journey across the wine-dark sea.
It is about the lifelong journey of becoming.
You know, I’ll add here that I’m forwarding Michael’s post to a student from long ago who just moved from Arizona, I believe, to a parish in North Carolina, where he will soon be installed as Pastor. This is a kid I taught in second grade (and maybe third too). His Facebook post tells a short bio narrative and how he is in awe of what’s transpired, the path of life he is traveling. I remember standing behind him during standardized testing, not hovering, just there for reassurance so he would keep going. I knew he was a great kid, but I’ll say something here… Literally there were parents who told the principal that wherever he was assigned, they did not want their kid in his class. Can you imagine? He and one other student I’m thinking of… The principal himself literally asked me why I would spend time on such losers. I remember having nothing to say in response because I was in shock. We’re talking a kid who is seven (and has already seen more of life than he should)!
And Roger has definitely “become” and continues to do so. He’s married with six kids, so content, doing God’s work, and just… I wish my husband were at my side to witness and join in as we extend congratulations and wish him well going forward.
OK, typical, it got long… Please forgive me. Lots of buttons get pushed.
Clearly, Mr. Field would’ve been “my kind of guy” on staff. A rarity, I am sad to say.
I’ll tell something I may have mentioned before. My student Andrew, now an English professor in Basel, Switzerland… Was a spunky brilliant funny kid in grade 2 I think, though it may have been grade 3. (I’ll have to ask him.) A couple of years ago I sent him a birthday wish in August via Facebook messenger.
When he responded, thanking me, he added a tidbit. He said a pediatrician had once to ask his mother if she’d never considered sedation.
He said that always makes him think of me.
That’s the end of the story, but obviously without tone or context, it’s not as hilarious as Andrew and I find it.
His point is that we would have looked at one another with big eyes and simply asked, “WHY?!”
I’m sure his mother declined.
His point is just that everything went so smoothly with us… We could not relate.
I was always so surprised to learn that Andrew had trouble in school in the years before my class and soon after he moved to the next grade, they moved to Canada where his father taught at McGill. Then they were in the UK. They ended up back in Palo Alto and he went to Paly high and then Stanford. At Stanford he was a DJ for KZSU, knew nothing of jazz but someone there mentored him and he became a total aficionado. It’s fun on his Facebook page reading about all the jazz events in Basel, his perspectives and memoirs on musicians and more. The reason we’re in touch is, riding one day in the car with my grandson, I told him a silly slightly off-color joke someone told me in class one day and I told him I was pretty sure I remembered who told me. We looked him up on Facebook and I got in touch. He responded quickly that of course, yes, he had told me that joke, that his paternal grandfather loved puns, and that was one of his favorites. I was then in touch with his mother and one of his sisters and it became a family time. Pretty special.
My son had a wonderful teacher I think in the 7th or 8th grade. Wrote such a nice note on his report card. But cant say the same for many of the ones after that.
Some teachers, like Katherine obviously, just see the goodness in kids that others ignore or dont make the attempt to see.
All these dynamics are quite something, Maggie, yes? It’s all so personal and yet it’s a system, and by definition, we are to be professional, not too personal… I do wonder sometimes how some people end up in the profession, or even once there, choose to (or are allowed to) stay there.
Maggie, thank you. I’m sure your son remembers.
I have fun out in the world on occasion mentioning third grade to a sales person or someone I’m meeting in passing… And 99% of the time a smile comes to their face and you can see in their eyes they are drifting back and if they don’t name their third grade teacher, they’ll mention a different class and the teacher they’re thinking of. It’s significant, and usually a very special moment.
Maggie, thank you for your kindness. It’s so odd… I trained to teach secondary, but went on to be credentialed K-14 and then taught in a FLES program before it was phased out (Foreign Language in Elementary School - part of NDEA). My own upbringing was judgmental and biased. From the start I would take in in wonderment some of my mother’s strong opinions, pondering alternatives I imagined as possible and more healthy. We were well provided for but the restrictions and judgments did great harm to my brothers, now deceased, and for me… Well, they contribute to and definitely influenced my life story, which continues and I’m grateful. When FLES morphed into the Multiculture Dept., shifting focus to civil rights (Palo Alto’s history is rocky!), I went into the classroom with a 2+3 combo, which I always loved, and I’ll wager I was just always myself with the kids and invited them to do the same toward me and all in our class and school community… So we were very real with one another. Over time in these later years as former students have been in touch, one word that never occurred to me is I was told they felt “safe.” That concept takes me aback and gives me much to ponder. There were kids who excelled with me who had trouble before my class and afterward… What on earth does that mean? I’m sure I did not serve every kid in the same manner, but I did my best.
Since I haven’t relocated, with my husband now having passed, I’m in touch with people approaching 60 whom I met in the early 70s when age 8. We weren’t in touch all along, but never fully lost touch… Several live in the homes where they were raised… several live far far away, but we connect via FB and email. It’s a fascinating journey.
I know on my campus I was viewed somewhat as oddball, but when I asked to change schools, thinking that was customary, the admin in charge told me this one other teacher and I were pillars of the community and no way was he going to move us. OK…
We had kids from all over the world because of many rentals where families lived for 1–3 years as parents went to university, med-school, etc. The diverse population was a delight. We had a center for the hearing impaired on campus, a special ed day class, Spanish immersion for a while, and after school daycare for the district that was prorated for families needing extra support. As a youngster, I admired my paternal grandmother’s career, teaching young kids in inner-city LA near Chinatown… I still have a manila folder with cuttings from the Sunday LA times showing crafts… Saved as I declared somewhat reliably that I planned to go into teaching.
I highly recommend the Odessey movie. It did feel overwhelming the first time through. But there are definite nuggets written into the plot and the dialogue - life lessons, poignantly moving and telling.
You know, thinking of teaching… I always did my best with what I was responsible to teach, but did not limit or constrict learning, especially with our rich community of families from all over the world. Why not learn from each other, expand horizons?
I will reference Lucian Truscott IV’s post of 9/9/25 where he explained AI’s current trajectory as misguided, and why a diametrically opposed approach would make much more sense and be far less intrusive (thanks to demands for outrageous levels of resources). The article was not long and was so clear that I remember in the comment section remarking that his clarity sent my brain to forming a lesson plan where I’m convinced we could’ve explored the topic with clarity and ease in a third grade classroom.
Mind you… Anytime I chatted with my older brother and spoke of these things, on occasion he would say, “No wonder you get in trouble with the parents!” Lol.
I think it’s time to stop. My lengthy comments show, I guess, my deep investment…
It’s certainly why a select cadre of Substacks holds such great value: informing invigorating, inspiring… All in this one place! And then the reader community…
Not all are as marvelous as ours here… And I chuckle as I cycle back to a term referenced midstream in this comment: to feel “safe” dipping one’s toe in the water and contributing to the dialogue.
Your "lengthy" comments are always interesting. I have no doubt that children in your classes felt safe and comforted. That is so important - more so when their home life doesnt make them feel that way.
And yes, these communities do feel like a safe place - comfortable.
Gosh, I was editing my response to you and touched it wrong, I guess, and it went away. Frustrating…
Basically, I was remarking about Rob Hubbell’s Today’s Edition to which I’ve subscribed since February 2017 when I first learned of it. He has a broad reader base with a lot of qualified people who are well informed on issues… That’s not me. I try to stay updated, network, take it all in, but I’m no expert. So on occasion, he remarks about a number of readers correcting him or putting him under attack even for having a certain perspective, like when he first suggested we should expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court. I know whenever he mentions such a thing, readers even stopping their subscription because they disagree with his outlook, which is not Pollyanna-ish, but does aim to point out reasons for hope and all the good stuff that is happening (like Jess Craven, whom he knows). Anyway… His comment section is often so long that I just don’t have the bandwidth to read it all and take it all in. But when he remarks about such negativity on the part of some, I think to myself how we just don’t bump into that on TAFM. It’s a different community… Rob and Tom know one another. Early on Rob would mention TCinLA and I thought what an odd handle, wonder who that is. Glad I found out.
And by all means, make good trouble, follow the five-second rule, and listen to teachers, preachers, coaches, scoundrels, plumbers, and know-it-alls because there's always something to be learned that you can't learn at home. All the input builds your dreams.
Thanks for the extra post today because of its broad lens.
Thank you both!
How lovely that you forwarded this post this morning, Tom. Michael Sellers’ posts have become one I monitor because he often posts more than once within each 24 hour cycle and it’s always highly worthwhile and timely.
Certainly this morning‘s post is significant and carries traits typical of his writing: humility, introspection, brilliance, foundational experience, lessons told in the voice of a real person… and I love how he says he is compelled to write so it does not just stay in his mind (and heart, no doubt) going round and round. Wow.
I’ll confess to the decadent lifestyle, with my monthly pass at Alamo, I’ve already seen the movie twice, Thursday and again last night. Three hours can be overwhelming the first time through… so much going on and dialogue that’s important but you might not catch it all the first time through. At least that’s how my brain works.
I found this very thing happened with F1 the Movie a year ago, that I left the theater in a bit of a blur, having understood what I saw, but when I saw it again, clarity! Structure and dynamics. (Maybe Mom was right, that my brain is like mashed potatoes… Just have to throw that in here.)
Anyway… While there was much take away Thursday, I came away last night having experienced greater depth, appreciating all the chapters of the story as depicted in the film at levels that resonate with what Michael has to say here.
A piece of me also sits aside and marvels at what it must take to create such scenes, the script itself, with sets and cameras, people and travel and costuming and… all that goes into it, almost unfathomable. It’s even why I usually sit through the credits and marvel at all the names of people who did all those things… plus the soundtrack continues and sometimes there’s an Easter egg or two. Why not? Every name there represents a life.
So I had yet to glance and did not see that Michael had posted and here you are, sharing. Thank you. So very grateful for SUBSTACK making these connections possible; so enriching.
He says more than this as he closes, but for starters:
The Odyssey is not simply about a journey across the wine-dark sea.
It is about the lifelong journey of becoming.
You know, I’ll add here that I’m forwarding Michael’s post to a student from long ago who just moved from Arizona, I believe, to a parish in North Carolina, where he will soon be installed as Pastor. This is a kid I taught in second grade (and maybe third too). His Facebook post tells a short bio narrative and how he is in awe of what’s transpired, the path of life he is traveling. I remember standing behind him during standardized testing, not hovering, just there for reassurance so he would keep going. I knew he was a great kid, but I’ll say something here… Literally there were parents who told the principal that wherever he was assigned, they did not want their kid in his class. Can you imagine? He and one other student I’m thinking of… The principal himself literally asked me why I would spend time on such losers. I remember having nothing to say in response because I was in shock. We’re talking a kid who is seven (and has already seen more of life than he should)!
And Roger has definitely “become” and continues to do so. He’s married with six kids, so content, doing God’s work, and just… I wish my husband were at my side to witness and join in as we extend congratulations and wish him well going forward.
OK, typical, it got long… Please forgive me. Lots of buttons get pushed.
Sometimes its the children who "arent easy" that need that extra care and empathy to make up for the humans who lack so much of it.
Long but so worthwhile, Katherine. How very fortunate those children in your classes were!
Remembering my kids in school & what a difference a GOOD teacher makes to a child's confidence, and how hurtful a bad teacher is in every respect.
As a kid who "wasn't easy," what kept me going to what I have become was Mr. Field, back in sixth grade, who believed I was "this great kid."
Clearly, Mr. Field would’ve been “my kind of guy” on staff. A rarity, I am sad to say.
I’ll tell something I may have mentioned before. My student Andrew, now an English professor in Basel, Switzerland… Was a spunky brilliant funny kid in grade 2 I think, though it may have been grade 3. (I’ll have to ask him.) A couple of years ago I sent him a birthday wish in August via Facebook messenger.
When he responded, thanking me, he added a tidbit. He said a pediatrician had once to ask his mother if she’d never considered sedation.
He said that always makes him think of me.
That’s the end of the story, but obviously without tone or context, it’s not as hilarious as Andrew and I find it.
His point is that we would have looked at one another with big eyes and simply asked, “WHY?!”
I’m sure his mother declined.
His point is just that everything went so smoothly with us… We could not relate.
I was always so surprised to learn that Andrew had trouble in school in the years before my class and soon after he moved to the next grade, they moved to Canada where his father taught at McGill. Then they were in the UK. They ended up back in Palo Alto and he went to Paly high and then Stanford. At Stanford he was a DJ for KZSU, knew nothing of jazz but someone there mentored him and he became a total aficionado. It’s fun on his Facebook page reading about all the jazz events in Basel, his perspectives and memoirs on musicians and more. The reason we’re in touch is, riding one day in the car with my grandson, I told him a silly slightly off-color joke someone told me in class one day and I told him I was pretty sure I remembered who told me. We looked him up on Facebook and I got in touch. He responded quickly that of course, yes, he had told me that joke, that his paternal grandfather loved puns, and that was one of his favorites. I was then in touch with his mother and one of his sisters and it became a family time. Pretty special.
Andrew was a great kid. He’s a great person.
Tom was a great kid. Tom is a great person.
My son had a wonderful teacher I think in the 7th or 8th grade. Wrote such a nice note on his report card. But cant say the same for many of the ones after that.
Some teachers, like Katherine obviously, just see the goodness in kids that others ignore or dont make the attempt to see.
All these dynamics are quite something, Maggie, yes? It’s all so personal and yet it’s a system, and by definition, we are to be professional, not too personal… I do wonder sometimes how some people end up in the profession, or even once there, choose to (or are allowed to) stay there.
Maggie, thank you. I’m sure your son remembers.
I have fun out in the world on occasion mentioning third grade to a sales person or someone I’m meeting in passing… And 99% of the time a smile comes to their face and you can see in their eyes they are drifting back and if they don’t name their third grade teacher, they’ll mention a different class and the teacher they’re thinking of. It’s significant, and usually a very special moment.
Maggie, thank you for your kindness. It’s so odd… I trained to teach secondary, but went on to be credentialed K-14 and then taught in a FLES program before it was phased out (Foreign Language in Elementary School - part of NDEA). My own upbringing was judgmental and biased. From the start I would take in in wonderment some of my mother’s strong opinions, pondering alternatives I imagined as possible and more healthy. We were well provided for but the restrictions and judgments did great harm to my brothers, now deceased, and for me… Well, they contribute to and definitely influenced my life story, which continues and I’m grateful. When FLES morphed into the Multiculture Dept., shifting focus to civil rights (Palo Alto’s history is rocky!), I went into the classroom with a 2+3 combo, which I always loved, and I’ll wager I was just always myself with the kids and invited them to do the same toward me and all in our class and school community… So we were very real with one another. Over time in these later years as former students have been in touch, one word that never occurred to me is I was told they felt “safe.” That concept takes me aback and gives me much to ponder. There were kids who excelled with me who had trouble before my class and afterward… What on earth does that mean? I’m sure I did not serve every kid in the same manner, but I did my best.
Since I haven’t relocated, with my husband now having passed, I’m in touch with people approaching 60 whom I met in the early 70s when age 8. We weren’t in touch all along, but never fully lost touch… Several live in the homes where they were raised… several live far far away, but we connect via FB and email. It’s a fascinating journey.
I know on my campus I was viewed somewhat as oddball, but when I asked to change schools, thinking that was customary, the admin in charge told me this one other teacher and I were pillars of the community and no way was he going to move us. OK…
We had kids from all over the world because of many rentals where families lived for 1–3 years as parents went to university, med-school, etc. The diverse population was a delight. We had a center for the hearing impaired on campus, a special ed day class, Spanish immersion for a while, and after school daycare for the district that was prorated for families needing extra support. As a youngster, I admired my paternal grandmother’s career, teaching young kids in inner-city LA near Chinatown… I still have a manila folder with cuttings from the Sunday LA times showing crafts… Saved as I declared somewhat reliably that I planned to go into teaching.
I highly recommend the Odessey movie. It did feel overwhelming the first time through. But there are definite nuggets written into the plot and the dialogue - life lessons, poignantly moving and telling.
You know, thinking of teaching… I always did my best with what I was responsible to teach, but did not limit or constrict learning, especially with our rich community of families from all over the world. Why not learn from each other, expand horizons?
I will reference Lucian Truscott IV’s post of 9/9/25 where he explained AI’s current trajectory as misguided, and why a diametrically opposed approach would make much more sense and be far less intrusive (thanks to demands for outrageous levels of resources). The article was not long and was so clear that I remember in the comment section remarking that his clarity sent my brain to forming a lesson plan where I’m convinced we could’ve explored the topic with clarity and ease in a third grade classroom.
Mind you… Anytime I chatted with my older brother and spoke of these things, on occasion he would say, “No wonder you get in trouble with the parents!” Lol.
I think it’s time to stop. My lengthy comments show, I guess, my deep investment…
It’s certainly why a select cadre of Substacks holds such great value: informing invigorating, inspiring… All in this one place! And then the reader community…
Not all are as marvelous as ours here… And I chuckle as I cycle back to a term referenced midstream in this comment: to feel “safe” dipping one’s toe in the water and contributing to the dialogue.
Thanks for your "lengthy comment", Katherine.
Your "lengthy" comments are always interesting. I have no doubt that children in your classes felt safe and comforted. That is so important - more so when their home life doesnt make them feel that way.
And yes, these communities do feel like a safe place - comfortable.
Gosh, I was editing my response to you and touched it wrong, I guess, and it went away. Frustrating…
Basically, I was remarking about Rob Hubbell’s Today’s Edition to which I’ve subscribed since February 2017 when I first learned of it. He has a broad reader base with a lot of qualified people who are well informed on issues… That’s not me. I try to stay updated, network, take it all in, but I’m no expert. So on occasion, he remarks about a number of readers correcting him or putting him under attack even for having a certain perspective, like when he first suggested we should expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court. I know whenever he mentions such a thing, readers even stopping their subscription because they disagree with his outlook, which is not Pollyanna-ish, but does aim to point out reasons for hope and all the good stuff that is happening (like Jess Craven, whom he knows). Anyway… His comment section is often so long that I just don’t have the bandwidth to read it all and take it all in. But when he remarks about such negativity on the part of some, I think to myself how we just don’t bump into that on TAFM. It’s a different community… Rob and Tom know one another. Early on Rob would mention TCinLA and I thought what an odd handle, wonder who that is. Glad I found out.
Thanks, Maggie. Always enjoy your remarks.
Thanks, TC. Michael’s Substack and yours are two of my mainstays. Interesting lives you guys have obviously lived/are living 😉
The journey matters because of what it does to the traveler.
⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
Indeed!!
That was wonderful!!! Thank you.
Fantastic, Tom. And your friend's own odyssey is perfect.
Wow! made me think differently.
And by all means, make good trouble, follow the five-second rule, and listen to teachers, preachers, coaches, scoundrels, plumbers, and know-it-alls because there's always something to be learned that you can't learn at home. All the input builds your dreams.
Thanks for the extra post today because of its broad lens.
A beautiful read. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks for giving us this post, and thank Michael Sellers for posting it! It was many years ago that I read the Iliad and the Odyssey...