Physician and Teacher

My current favorite etymology in medical terminology is of the word ‘physician,’ meaning naturalist. ‘Docere,’ Latin for ‘to teach,’ is the fourth naturopathic principle and where we get the term ‘doctor.’ Doctor as teacher was a principle that immediately drew me to my current chosen field of study. Included in my curriculum is material on behavioral health and psychology, invaluable areas of study that undoubtedly should be given priority in the medical community at large. These areas of study are inextricably linked to education, as I believe that most teachers would agree that teaching a classroom of children is easily equated to a psychological battle of the mind to shape behavior. ​

I first began teaching as a very young boy in my mother’s martial arts classroom. I found myself in the role not only because my mother taught, but because it was always expected of everyone to teach those with less experience and belt rank. Teaching is well respected and identified in many Asian cultures as a great responsibility, one of the most valuable resources. Unfortunately, this doesn’t hold true in the United States, where teachers are given modest wages to do some of the most difficult work. I’ve experienced this personally working both in school systems like my own, Jackson City Schools, and at Shanghai High School in China. There were so many things that differed between my work in the states and my work abroad that it would be difficult to convey them all. Highlights include the drastic difference in societal priorities, with the subject I taught, mathematics, making the top of the list in China. In my high school, it could be argued that football took the number one slot. Another very disturbing contrast was the very different state-sponsored meals. I remember the meals in China as something that might scare most US children away, but they were certainly of more quality than the food they give to children within school systems here in the United States. As the director of a before-and-after-school program in the Denver Public Schools in Colorado, I witnessed low quality, previously frozen pizza and pastries being paired with sugar-laden milk and juice for breakfast. While some children with low-sugar diets would pine after the sweet taste of an orange, kids in my after-school program would almost always throw them away, while never skipping on Cinnamon Toast Crunch when that was on the menu. These cultural differences highlight some of the many challenges we face in the United States: sugar overconsumption could explain the childhood obesity epidemic and what seems a significant rise in hyperactivity. However, a shift in priorities could ameliorate areas where public education suffers.

From mentoring children while in high school, to tutoring peers at my universities, I’ve identified methods effective when communicating with and helping others understand concepts in many subjects. I’m finding now the real extent of how difficult it is to help others to achieve success in making healthier lifestyle changes. It becomes even more challenging when instruction includes going against what has become a cultural norm. In the US, sugar overconsumption is, to many, a way of life. It is central in holidays, with sugar omnipresent in stores and hidden in foods, making consumption of healthy foods overcomplicated and an unnecessary battle of willpower. I believe quality teaching includes empowerment, and it is said that to help someone, they must help themselves. Integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit, four of the five tenants of Tae Kwon Do, in my opinion, describe much of what it takes to overcome the many obstacles of health facing us today. Self-discipline is something we all struggle to maintain and the power of habit is a strong force, but if we can take steps like identifying our cues or even focusing on forming new habits instead of on quitting old ones, we can take steps toward achievable goals that will lead us all toward healthier lifestyles.​

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About Alexander Arrington