Increased interest in his essays almost wrecked his journal. He wrote “Random Thoughts” for himself, as a chronicle of his journey, and shared them with people who may or may not want to read them. As more people read them, though, these readers began making demands. When would the next one arrive? Why not discuss this? How about a book? Criticism also accompanied his writings, everything from readers who felt he should clean up his style to vociferously disagreeing with his points.

Schmier almost scrapped the project, but then reasserted the original intention of the essays: his journey when he felt compelled to write about his journey.

And always he kept an eye on the goal of improving himself as a teacher.

The overriding message of Schmier’s journey: “I want to be that person who helps others help themselves to become the person they are capable of being.”

This mission statement may surprise anyone who had Schmier as a teacher prior to 1990. Schmier admits he had a dual reputation then. He was a premier lecturer and speaker in the classroom, and his students often viewed him as a no-nonsense taskmaster. Schmier took pride in these attributes. He basked in the glow of a well-received lecture. He never personally attacked students, but he was strict in his approach in dealing with students. Schmier saw his teaching career as being about himself.

In 1990, he had his epiphany which also inspired his early “Random Thoughts.” His teaching career wasn’t so much about himself as it should be about his students.

“I stopped wanting to be important,” Schmier says, “and started wanting to do important things.”

He had viewed teaching as handing down information from the mountain. Now, Schmier sees teaching as walking up the mountain with students, helping them along the way, taking them by the hand and guiding them if necessary. He remains demanding of his students but he’s put himself in the position of helping them meet the demands of his classroom.

Schmier’s “Random Thoughts” are often direct reflections on teaching. The preface of the third book is by a teacher. Yet, in presenting what Schmier says is not “THE truth, but MY truth,” by a person who is willing to share his inspired moments as well as his doubts, “Random Thoughts III” is a book with thoughts that any reader, no matter their profession, can apply to their career and lives.

The beauty of “Random Thoughts” isn’t so much that it chronicles the transformation of a teacher but that it is a journal chronicling the transformation of a human being.

http://www.therandomthoughts.com

DR.LOUIS SCHMIER regularly writes essays on his life and his evolution as a teacher. These essays have been collected in a third book, ‘Random Thoughts III: Teaching with Love,’ released late last year.