People who know my
father and I comment on how similar we are in our mannerisms and speech, but
it’s his role as an educator and mentor to me that I wish to deconstruct
below. Dr. Lee, my father, is a
psychologist and educator. He currently
sees clients in a private practice, teaches graduate level course at Western
Michigan University and consults an array of professionals in ‘diversity
trainings’ all over the country.
In grade
school, many of my teachers would know me because of my father’s work in
consulting for the school district. My
earliest memory of working with my dad was reading off anonymous surveys taken
from participants of his diversity trainings.
His business card read, “Dr. D. John Lee and Associates.” When I asked him who the associates were he
said, “you are,” then proceeded to tell me the real-world application of
incorporating a lone enterprise. It was
an honor when teachers asked if I was John Lee’s son. This established the respect I hold for my
father as an educator: if he can teach teachers than he could teach me
infinitely more. The involvement in his
work when I was young not only gave me a sense
of value, which he increased by including me as an ‘associate,’ but also
opportunities to extrapolate on the workings of the world, which he and I
continue to do to this day even if people aren’t necessarily wondering how the
world works as we see it. This approach of
educating everyone around us is a result of the value of knowledge that my father cultivated within me, and
frankly, that’s one of the greatest gifts that a teacher can give to a citizen
of the world. It’s hard to pinpoint the
roots of a value of knowledge, but I think it derives from the authentic
interest and attention my father gave to my personal intellectual endeavors. He made me feel validated and independent.
During
high-school my father took me to my first protest and then took me away from
said protest when snowballs were thrown at the police. We got lunch afterwards and talked leftist
politics. Radical movements all around
the world became my sole focus after my punk band disbanded in high school. My dad had always had leftist leanings, but
my radical pursuits allowed him to further develop his - a fact he reminds me
of and thanks me for regularly. Provision. Dialogue. Mutual aid. Provision is basic, but entirely relevant to
education. My dad provided for his
family. I never went to school hungry or
in want of anything reasonable, especially Noam Chomsky books which I was
reading about one every week at my pique.
I try not to take this for granted now for I did when I was a teenager,
but I know increasingly that access to food and clean water is a pressing issue
for people. My mentor provided that for
me, and then some. When we break bread
together, whether after protests or at holidays we dialogue about the things
relevant to us and the socio-economic landscape. We make our own curriculum, we always have and
always will. This is discussion and
mutual aid. By sharing our experiences
and passions in a respectful and loving environment, we can grow the manifest
of our minds twofold.
The
lecture my dad gave at the Christian Anarchist gathering in Ohio on the
beatitudes as a blueprint for social justice was a great joy for myself as a
budding anti-authoritarian. I was
interested in attending a conference and expressed this to my dad who then not
only takes me but prepares a talk regarding something dear to his heart and
relevant to the gathering. That was one
of the greatest father-son moments I can remember.
I look
forward to what I can learn from my father as we both get older. There are talks of co-writing a text based
off some of his diversity training work: this would bring it full circle. Status quo beware – there will be two Lees
collaborating against business-as-usual.
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