Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 127, no.2, March 2022, p.32
Learning patience
Retired teachers : By Noela Rogers, QRTA President
As the older section of the education community, retired teachers now have some time to reflect on the past, the present and the future. One aspect of our lives today is the speed at which everything is moving: days run into days, weeks into weeks and years into years. And then we wonder where the time has gone.
Also, we experience the speed with which our daily lives move. People rushing to work; traffic eager to reach its destination as quickly as it can; mothers trying to do too many things at once; children growing up before their time - these are just a few examples that come to mind.
In all this movement, we seem at times to have lost patience with each other and the world around us. The lack of patience on the road leads to road rage and accidents. A little more tolerance and all would reach their destination safe and sound. A wise old teacher in my early days of schooling repeatedly said: “Better to be late than dead on arrival.”
How can we learn these lessons? Children are taught social skills as part of the prep curriculum and then on throughout their schooling. This includes sharing, taking turns and tolerance for others, all of which are part of patience. Waiting for results or waiting for the outcome of a story or film can be exciting, but equally, the suspense can be unbearable. Either way, patience is a virtue most of us try to adhere to and uphold in our everyday existence.
So how come it’s so hard to implement, and even harder to maintain once you make progress? The problem with “becoming” patient is that you can’t practice it without being put in a situation that requires it.
Benjamin Franklin once said: “He that can have patience can have what he will”, while William Shakespeare wrote: “How poor are they who have no patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees.”
Patience is a virtue, and should be instilled within all of us, so that we may make logical, well thought-out decisions, and benefit the emotional welfare of others as well as ourselves.
Living in this COVID world has meant that many activities have been cancelled or rearranged. Even a QRTA Executive meeting had to be cancelled as we had no rooms to go to, so we have had to use our patience and use other forms of communication.
Members should check with the website or the newsletter for activities, as a full list of proposed adventures will be posted. Remember also to notify Donella if you wish to attend. Paying online is one of the procedures that has come into being because of COVID. Again, all details are listed on the website or in the newsletter.
Stay safe and healthy.