I'm no Naruto fan, but I know enough of the anime series. I know that he has a son called Boruto and after watching a few episodes, I suppose the only reason why I never finished it was because it got too draggy. However, one of the best compliments that I have gotten from my students was that he saw me as Naruto imparting knowledge to the Borutos of the next generation. I don't know about you, but being an anime fan and a teacher, that's rather high praise.
What led to the compliment
I teach many groups of students, but my core group of students is university students who are training to be teachers. Every year, we are assigned a group or a class to care for. My last class graduated a year back and has been teaching for over a year now. I saw them through almost their entire time at the university and had the privilege to be a lecturer and a mentor to them. The difference here is that I am obligated to lecture them about academics, but I am not required to mentor them.
However, I have taken the liberty to guide them about everything that prepares them for life in the classroom and outside of it. After not speaking with one of these students, I caught up with him and found that he regretted not being serious at university. He noted that his lack of seriousness has made him feel inadequate academically and as a teacher.
I disagreed with him and told him that he did not do as bad as he thought. I also pointed out that we all have very different strengths and it was important to work according to these strengths. I told him that trying his best to be something that he isn't would put him at a disadvantage as compared to working based on his advantage. It was at this point that he made the remark and compared me to Naruto.
Not all of us are cut out to be good academically
When compared to Naruto as a whole, I think he is a good example of how schools can overlook potentially talented students. So to the Naruto fans out there, correct me if I'm wrong, but early on in the anime, Naruto only mastered two Jutsus and did them very well. He was however not as proficient in the other Jutsus that his peers were able to do. This relegated him to labels such as a problematic student. This is similar to many students in the classroom these days. Of course, not all of them have some overpowered nail-tailed beast living inside them supplying them with enormous amounts of Chakras.
As such, it is up to teachers to guide them towards their fullest potential. It may not be easy as witnessed by how problematic Naruto was. But I do believe that one day, they will come back and thank you for that.
My preferred comparison would be this guy.
Image source
Hey man, excuse my anime ignorance, but who's that?
Glad you asked. That is The Guyver, a bio-boosted warrior. Details found here. By the way, I would recommend watching the second animated series.
Thanks for this post. This is a good reminder for me to be more mindful not to judge people too quickly on the surface. Every one is unique and has something special about them. They don't need to be like everybody. And very often, they only need to be good at one thing. We should encourage more listening, observing and praising to bring out the best in people.
And mentoring! definitely mentoring, we just need one person to see potential in us and help us get there. Thanks for stopping by bro! Hope you are well?