You Tube and Things I Learned from my Mom

Close to 2 years ago my father gave me a batch of old Super 8 films from the 1970s chronicling the misadventures of the Gutnicki family. Naturally, I was excited about this finding as these videos would no doubt unearth long lost memories and some other surprises. The first two videos I came across were snippets of my pre-kindergarten graduation and my brothers and uncle dancing to a Miami Boys Choir tune in 1981. The pre-k graduation clip did not provide much insight as there was no sound. Apparently, home videos filmed in the early to mid 1970s often did not include sound as the inclusion of sound was a luxury. Subsequently, one is left guessing what the principle presenters might have been saying and observes the clothing styles as well as other peculiarities of that era. More importantly, I have wondered what insight I might gain from watching these videos. Is it possible, I will learn something new about my mother?
Right about now, you might be asking why “my mother” and to what end? Or perhaps you have figured out that my mother is unfortunately no longer with us. In fact, my Mom passed away over 18 years ago when I was 18 years old. Obviously, a significant time has passed and so we cling to pictures and videos to bring back those memories. With this in mind, I converted about 20 Super 8 films to digital video and posted it on You Tube. In this way family members across the globe can enjoy these old memories long forgotten along with me. Having said that, I still always wonder, will one of these videos contain a special message or unique advice.
Well… its almost two years later and I have not still found that special message. Until one day…it happened. Yes, in fact there was a special message. This message was not actually a message; rather, it was a stark reminder of a few essential truths. Anyhow… I was watching a video of a summer vacation from the late 1970s. In this video clip we were vacationing at one of those bungalow colonies and I was riding a bike down some kind of hill. As I am riding down the hill, my mother said, “Here he comes down the hill. Look at him go”. The video then shows a brief interlude of the young boy (me) riding down the hill. Shortly afterwards, my mother exclaimed,” You see- I know what he wants. He wants to come rifling down that hill”.
You are probably thinking to yourself, so??? What does this mean??? This little tidbit gave me a revelation of why I do things in a certain manner. In this video, I noticed how my mother was taking tremendous pride in her ability to know what I enjoyed and taking pleasure in being right. This spurred to make the following realization. Every time, I go to a toy store, I take my time to analyze which specific toy my children will both enjoy and benefit from in an educational manner. More importantly, as I give this toy to my child I watch intently to see if they will enjoy it in the manner I was anticipating. If they do, nothing gives me greater joy. In order to do this, I often find myself reflecting on what kind of things did I like a child and then use this memory to bring them joy. Similarly, when I teach, offer professional development, or design a program, I also look back and think, which educational experiences were meaningful and important to me as a child. In fact in a number of my college lectures, I have often asked my students to try to remember how they felt when they were struggling to learn an advanced math or science topic.
That being said, I have often wondered where did I develop this approach? I certainly do not remember Piaget or Dewey saying this. So… thanks to You Tube, I learned it came from my mother. As I further reflected on this video it made me only realize that this philosophy was always the driving force that led my Mom’s life. She always took great pleasure in seeing her children succeeding and finding happiness. Not for her own self-gratification, but for the sake of her children. Well… once again February 23rd is here. Had my mother lived, she would have been 61 today. With this in mind… Mom, I thank you not only for what you gave to us at the time (which words on a computer could never fully explain) and for what you taught us through example. You showed me how important it is to always make a special effort to put your children’s needs first and enjoy it at the same time.