Mr. Stewart - Sage Educator

The Giver, Gandalf, Old Ben Kenobi and Yoda combined; these men are the Sage Educator.

A wise old man, who carries with him the weight of all Worldly knowledge. He has been everywhere, seen and done everything and knows exactly what you know and sees more clearly who you are and what your are to become than you yourself can see the screen you're now in front of. His insight is deeper than the greatest ocean and his knowledge and wisdom transcend the ages. Old, yet timeless, he carries on instructing the next generations of men on how to follow their paths.

The first man who I chose to chronicle in this tome of interesting people can stand with those names above on equal ground, and he is no work of fiction. His knowledge both in an out of the classroom stunned students, teachers, parents and the administration. Practically anyone who had the chance to talk to him left his presence a more informed and wise individual with a better understanding of the world than years of personal study could have achieved. His presence carried with him an aura, a palpable pressure; it was if you could feel the weight of all his thoughts pressing down on you just by standing next to him. He taught for untold years, carrying the banner of a highly acclaimed public High School where he taught "every single subject ever offered here, except French" though probably not for a lack of ability. His classes had the highest dropout rate and standardized test scores (be they MCAST, SAT or AP Exam) out of any in the school's history and he is, to this day (long after his "retirement"), the recipient for the school's yearbook dedication (though no current student has ever had his class or even seen his face). 

Mr. Stewart, or "Stew" to those who've had him (yet never to his face) was the most epic, and interesting teacher I have had the pleasure to study under (twice!). Once sophomore year for AP European History and once junior year for AP US. On the first day of class, after we had chosen our seats he said, "If a 50 megaton Russian hydrogen bomb went of over Boston right now the shock wave of the blast would break the windows and send the glass flying exactly halfway across the room." The then proceeded to walk to the other side of the room and wrote on the chalkboard "26", "2", "3". Those were the exact numbers of : the number of steps to the office, the number of forms needed, and number of times you had to sign your name to drop the class. By the end of the first week two dropped out, first month, six. The rest of us stayed with it to the end and were glad we did.

He was a hard teacher, we took volumes of notes, tore through more of the textbook than any other AP class in the state and were constantly tested. Grades became irrelevant, though, under the sheer severity of the workload and we scrambled to keep up. At the end, if we did all the readings (or at least some), took all the tests and passed (every student got either a 4 or 5 out of 5 on the AP exam) he rewarded us for our hard work and determination by playing classic movies... well, that after he had you copy a textbook of maps after which you were given a testbook of all the maps blanked out which you had to fill in.

Even though as a teacher he was a known maverick (when he was told he couldn't practice his golf swing on the football field he instead hit ball off the school roof at the field) he kept very strict rules in class: the only gum that could be chewed was licorice, if you did something he didn't like you had detention (it didn't matter what you did to do it), if you were late after lunch it was an automatic detention (we ran like bats out of Hell to reach his room first, which was on the opposite side of the school from the cafeteria). He had other strange rules such as you had to have a college degree to sit on top of a desk, and to this day every student who had him yearns to bring a desk to his lawn and sit on it.

Eventually, every class he taught individually made the game of testing His knowledge. He answered all comers, asked any question and he responded with the perfect, correct answer. Eventually a column in the school's underground, student's newspaper started making questions directed at finally stumping him arose; he found and answered them. To this day no one, including his equally educated and experienced wife (who is of a singular intelligence herself), has been able to stump him with any question. (Some has offered that Mr. Stewart is in fact some form of fallen divinity or possibly even the Creator God, for how else would he obtain his knowledge?)

Like the mythic instructors listed in the beginning he was a master at molding the young and drawing out potential, his vast amounts of knowledge stunned pretty much everyone, he is a living legend who at the end of his career was able to sew enough doubt as to his retirement that no student or teacher has a real clue as to where he is anymore, accomplishing a perfect vanishing act. Mr. Stewart (whose first name may or may not be Patrick) is one of the most interesting teachers and people I know.

A Quest Begins

He is the life of parties he's never attended.

He lives vicariously through himself.

He once had an awkward moment, just to see what it feels like.

He's a lover, not a fighter... but he's also a fighter, so don't get any ideas.

He speaks fluent French, in Russian.

These are just a few of the descriptions that make up the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World”. These commercials are credited with a 22% rise in Dos Equis beer sales in America over a four year period (tripled its sales in Canada).

Clearly, “interesting” or things that are interesting can be very powerful. When we find something interesting it affects the way we think and act around it; it focuses our attention and sparks our curiosity. Something interesting is held in a class above the everyday, the mundane and combines both unique and special qualities.

But what makes something interesting? That in itself is a trick question. Interesting, or the quality of being interesting, is not a manufactured state. It is inherent in both the object of appreciation itself and the eye of the beholder. People will find different things interesting and interesting things to one person can be the very essence of boring (the opposite of interesting) to another. This subjective experience of discovering The Interesting marks a connection between the two on a deep and instinctive level that neither have any control over. To actively try and create or become “interesting” is impossible, for while you may believe what you are making is interesting you cannot assume that anyone else will agree and to “create” something interesting for yourself is to fail to realize how you already find the subject matter itself interesting and thus are just making an object based on a preexisting interest. Rather, instead of trying to make The Interesting happen, one must allow it to come into their lives naturally; allowing their own inner curiosity and wonder take them as they discover it.

In this blog I will document my own personal journey to discover my own Most Interesting Person in the World and to develop my awareness of the interesting qualities in everything around me. I am fully aware that the people I will chronicle on this quest may not seem interesting to any readers who happen upon this blog. But as I have said, finding something interesting is a subjective experience and I am not writing to tell you that “This IS the most interesting person in the World” or that you will even find anything interesting about them. These are people whom I find personally interesting, and while it is my hope that you will somehow share these feelings, I am not expecting anything.