For those of you that have attended one of my workshops in the past 3 years, you have probably heard me speak of George Wythe. He was a long-time resident of Williamsburg, Va. a legal scholar; a teacher & mentor; a patriot; and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His student roll contained some very familiar names, among them: George Washington, John and John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry (one of his most challenging students), and Henry Clay to name a slight few. Later in life, he was named as the first Dean of the College of Law at William and Mary. His teaching methods were simple and effective. Basically, 1) live under my roof, and do as I say and do; and 2) listen and be kind, 3} Read, write and speak well. George demanded that these rules be followed or you didn’t get the benefit of his schooling. This was critical to the student, because in those times, without schools of law, the law was taught by example and experience by people like George. So willingness was hard wired into the curriculum. If it meant something, you followed the rules and got the education. George taught by speaking, reading and writing, which meant that he was the role model, and he accepted his part in that as a teacher, a student and a practitioner. Wouldn’t it be cool if that were the case today? Well chosen words impeccably delivered; Well thought out ideas discussed and refined; and well written messages and paragraphs read by many. Does that mean that we throw away our cell phones and abandon Google, IMDB, and You Tube? I certainly think not, but it does mean that we call on our own personal natural resources of kindness, curiosity, attentive listening, reading and writing complete and intelligent sentences as we engage one another. Who knows? We might just discover that there is something to be effectively said or heard in the process. Let’s continue to discuss and apply George’s rules over the coming months. He was a rock star of a teacher and mentor. Maybe we and those around us can be, too. M
