Mr. Lambert walked on water

Sometimes a teacher comes along who is a real motivator and still a lot of fun.  I never thought I would really like to speak German but Mr. Lambert made it fun.  Almost everyday we sang a song in German.  In fact my wife and children laugh at me as I still sing a couple of those songs on occasion today, 41 years later.  One of the memorable events was Mr. Lambert taking us over to the music building where he played the saxophone for us.  His creative use of other media made learning interesting and less laborious.  For me the most memorable event was he promised he could walk on water and of course the only person to ever do that was Jesus.  Of course there was the exception of Peter who took Jesus's hand then was able to walk with Jesus on water.   You know there might be a learning lesson there about trusting in Jesus, HMMMMMM?

Well let me explain what happened.  Mr. Lambert brought several of us over to his house to prove he really could walk on water.  I saw it!  Incredible!  He had filled the bathtub with water and then proceeded to show us how he accomplished the task.  I bet you are wondering, like me, how he provided this illusion.  Mr. Lambert had built a Plexiglas box that was invisible in the water.  Being a master of deception he stepped in the water with a significant amount of animation as he carefully placed his first foot down on the water to only sink about an inch.  Then he boosted his weight and shifted such that he was able to get both feet on the water and stand erect then he took a few steps forward to show he could walk on water.  Obviously he shared his secret with us but it was pretty dog gone good.  Do I need to explain "dog gone good"?  That means very impressive.

You know there was an awful lot to learn from Mr. Lambert besides German, so here goes on "what do you learn in the Osage?".

• There are tricksters in life and there are real miracles - Each of us has to figure that out in life and put our trust where trust is deserved.
• Creative and enjoyable teaching techniques make learning fun and motivating and I can think of a lot of teachers, particularly in college, who needed more personality and less high thinking of themselves
• Holding folk's attention is easier when you make learning interesting and I truly believe that those ADD and ADHD kids are some of the best potential students a teacher can have only if the teacher decides they are an asset rather than a liability to learning.  I am not so sure Mr. Lambert wasn't one of us (ADDers or ADHDers).
• Pre-judging folks because of a disability is your disability not theirs.  Albert Einstein failed grade school math and was thought to be mentally slow when I bet you he was either autistic or ADD or ADHD but he overcame the prejudices of NORMAL folks.

I am so very grateful for Shidler and Grainola teachers who saw past my disabilities and encouraged me and motivated me.

gary@thepioneerman.com