Picture
Movie Recommendation: Buck
An amazing example of teaching with respect and compassion
I strongly recommend this film to all teachers and parents, and especially as one that deserves time in a faculty meeting study. It provides invaluable reminders of how to teach with respect and compassion; how to uphold the maxim that for every step forward with pedagogy one must take two steps forward with personal development.
    “Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will.” So says Buck Brannaman, a true American cowboy and sage on horseback who travels the country for nine grueling months a year helping horses with people problems. BUCK, a richly textured and visually stunning film, follows Brannaman from his challenging childhood to his phenomenally successful approach to horses. A real life “horse-whisperer”, he teaches people to communicate with horses through leadership and sensitivity, not punishment. Buck possesses near magical abilities as he dramatically transforms horses - and people - with his understanding, compassion and respect. In this film, the animal-human relationship becomes a metaphor for facing the daily challenges of life. A truly American story about an unsung hero, Buck is about an ordinary man who has made an extraordinary life despite tremendous odds.
Buck Brannaman began his career as a trainer of trainers by studying and being mentored by another famous “horse whisperer”, Ray Hunt. In his book “Think Harmony with Horses” here are some things Ray Hunt had to say about teaching.

    Now there are a lot of horses doing things that they don’t like doing, but they are the victims – they have to do them. This is what I don’t like to see in a horse. I don’t like to see a horse doing things that are our ideas but not his. I believe the horse can do these things we’re asking him to do and really want to do them. So you don’t make anything happen. You let things happen. If you let him do it, he likes it and then it’s his idea; but to do this well you’re going to have to be a teacher! You’re going to have to understand the horse’s feelings. You will work on yourself more than on the horse to realize what is taking place.
    I’ve never been a teacher in a classroom but I don’t think the teachers are going to make their kids do anything. I don’t think that when students walk into the classroom the teacher meets them with a club and says: “Now kids, we’re going to do this!” A good teacher not only does not need a club but doesn’t even have a “have to do this” mental attitude. He knows how to approach the student and present the material so that the student is eager to learn. He can fix it up for the student and let him find it. Of course not all teachers have the same gift for teaching. I’ve heard so many people say: “My child really got a good start in school; he had a good teacher,” while another will say: “I wish mine had gotten a good start; he had a poor teacher.” Now I don’t know whether these children had good teachers and a good start or bad treachers and a bad start. Both things can happen to a child. It can happen to a horse.  But, if a child or a horse is having problems it’s so easy to just say: “Augh, he’s slow, he just doesn’t understand.” So the thinking is to just go ahead and work with the fast ones and let the others hassle along. Don’t give any time or thought to the ones with the poor start. But maybe the other children weren’t smarter, but just caught on sooner because they were less bothered, whereas the slow student was maybe just as bright, but his personality or characteristics, or the situation he was under made things more difficult for him. Perhaps he was bashful, shy, or didn’t have the confidence he needed in that teacher to get a good start.
    But, to a real teacher, all the students are equal. This child, the one who is having some trouble learning or behaving, gets special care from a good teacher. This doesn’t mean keeping him after school. The teacher won’t even make an issue of it at all. But you’ll see the teacher, maybe, stop by the desk and encourage the child, help him a little bit. The the teacher will help the others. You won’t see the teacher doing much for those who don’t need much help, but there will be a real good friendship with them anyway. A good teacher is able to encourage all students to develop their abilities. All students are different, and so are all horses. A lot of times you will present something to the person, or the horse, and they will do plumb opposite of what you want.  But the way you presented it was without understanding.

    Let’s get back to teaching the horse and the ways of making him understand. Maybe by presenting what you want in a different way you’ll get a different try – you’ll get understanding. I’d say that about 99% of the time [when] the horse isn’t doing what we would like him to do is not because he’s trying to get the best of us. It’s because he has no choice. The way we present it, it just doesn’t come through that way to him. You’ll be the one who analyzes how he reacts and you’ll realize he doesn’t know what you want – he doesn’t understand. We have to present it to him in a way he does understand, but you can see that we have to be the teachers. We have to be the ones who really make most of the adjustments. Sometimes we make a 90% adjustment just to get the horse to make a 10% adjustment. It will be one mind and one body because his idea will be your idea, any time you ask for it. He will have learned it because you have offered it in an understanding way. You’ve made it enjoyable for your horse to learn. You’ve worked on a level he understands. You’ve kept his mind right and let him know ahead of time what you wanted so he doesn’t have to become bothered. Make it a way of life with the horse to be the way you want – listen and learn. You listen to your horse and learn from him.