An Octagenarian’s First Time

02-28-2023. At 6:00 p.m. on December 12, 2019, I walked out of my New York University classroom and into retirement after more than sixty years of teaching. But I really wasn't retiring from a "job" like most retirees. Teaching for me hadn't been just a job, it was a vocation. From my earliest years as a young adult in the 1950's, I realized that I had a calling, one I pursued, fervently responding to its siren song totally dedicated to its rhythms and lyrics. Who I was, was defined and repeatedly affirmed within the walls of a classroom environment.

There were never any doubts or hesitations. The melody of my soul, that siren song that echoed within me, proclaimed that I was, and forever would be, a Teacher!   

In the later years of my career, questions concerning retirement initially plagued me daily.....How do you retire from a vocation without suffering the loss of identity? Are you still a Teacher when you no longer teach?  

After finally deciding to walk away from the profession, I awakened in the morning but no longer prepared for a class or gathered my thoughts with regard to delivering a lecture. No one was waiting for me to deliver anything, not even a pizza. When reading a book I found myself taking notes as if I were to teach a class when the reality is, I no longer had any classes to teach.

Over these past few years since leaving the NYU campus, thanks to several of my ex-students, many of whom still remain in my life, I've been made aware that my teaching life need not be over. They've informed me that due to the breadth of new technologies, non-existent in my younger days, there are digital arenas filled with individuals seeking deeper knowledge, expansive concepts and meaningful dialogue. This was not only news to me, but it also sounded as though there was a body of "students" out there whom I could still engage with.

You must know that in the main, I have roamed the recent explosion in the techno/ digital landscape as if I am an escapee from Jurassic Park. Having been raised during Radio Days when a NY Subway ride was 5 cents, these new technologies have not embraced me, nor I them.

However, recently my wife and my loyal friends, unwilling to put me out to pasture, have opened my eyes to this concept of blogging. I'm excited by this new opportunity to share ideas with inquisitive minds, no longer constrained by geography or the workings of a clock. This electronic venue will allow me to engage those who seek to navigate the turbulent waters of a dynamically changing physical, political and moral environment. This blogging experience with others will allow me to establish an ongoing dialogue my old Greek Mentor Socrates said, "resides at the heart of a life well-lived." And the beauty of it all ... no tests, term papers or grades!

So, this is your invite from Socrates (the Bronx version)  -  Let's get it on!

- Gurland