Favorite Teachers/Mentors/ Top 5 Wednesday

Favorite Teachers/Mentors/ Top 5 Wednesday

March 28th, 2018

This week's topic was on our favorite teachers/ mentors. Below, I have listed my favorites from books and movies. I cheated and made one of the answers three different people but I could not pick between the three. All of these favorites are in no particular order. 

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in joining.

5. Ford Prefect from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

- Ford is an unconventional teacher for Arthur. He helps Arthur learn about hitchhiking through experience and then will explain what is going on along the way. I have always enjoyed Ford as a character, he's one of my favorites out of the books. Him and his interactions, especially with Arthur are some of the best scenes in the book.

4. Obi-Wan/ Yoda/ Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars Series (this contains some minor spoilers for the series including from Episode 8: The Last Jedi)
- I wanted to put each of these Jedi masters into a category together because they are all favorites of mine. Each has a specific way of teaching their Padawan's/ pupils that fit their personalities perfectly.

- When he is younger and older, Obi-Wan tries to impart the wisdom of the Force and tries to help his apprentices to mature and grow in knowledge and wisdom. We see Obi-Wan teach at two different times in his life and both of his teaching methods are based on what he has experienced. This is also true with Luke and Yoda.

- Yoda's teaching methods, especially in The Empire Strikes Back are some of my favorite scenes in any of the movies. Yoda is not at all what Luke is expecting from a Jedi master but over time he learns a great deal from him. A lot of how he teaches Luke is through aphorisms and philosophy. Luke similar to his future mentee is expecting something else entirely from his mentor. Luke does not only learn how to use his Jedi powers as a way of defense but also as a way of meditation. Yoda challenges Luke and also tries to show him what he has to work on through strengths and weaknesses.

-Luke is an interesting teacher/ mentor for Rey. We have seen a change in Luke from the end of Return of the Jedi to The Last Jedi, from the farm boy turned Jedi. His optimism is gone and this is a change that many including Rey were not expecting to see. He has dealt with a lot in the thirty or so years and has become disillusioned because of a mistake he made with Ben Solo. Rey goes to Luke expecting something completely different than what she actually got. This sort of mirrors Yoda's first appearance in Empire. Luke has become a legend in our world but also in his own galaxy. His lessons for Rey deal with not only himself but also of the mistakes of the Jedi of the past. The problem of hubris with the Jedi is one of these lessons.

3. Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings Series
- There is an archetype that is well known called "the wise old man". Gandalf has always been one of the characters that I first think of when I hear this phrase (the other is number one on this list). He is first introduced in the books as an old man riding in a cloak with a long white beard. Characteristics of the archetype themselves but also not all of it. Gandalf is a wise man who teaches Frodo and also many others in the Fellowship. I remember really loving his character as a child and I still do to this day. He's a teacher/ mentor that I would have enjoyed to have myself.

2. Morrie Swartz from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
-The only real person on this list. I first read Tuesdays with Morrie in high school and loved it. Morrie was Mitch's college professor but also his teacher in his adulthood. The lessons that Mitch learns in the book are life lessons that each of us could use. Morrie was a man who imparted valuable information onto his students. This wonderful man's last months left a lasting impact on Mitch but also on so many other's. I still remember this memoir to this day and think about it often.

1. Merlin from the King Arthur tales
- I was first introduced to Merlin with the Disney movie The Sword in the Stone
(I later read the wonderful book). Merlin has had so many iterations over the years and I have enjoyed the ones that I have come across. The one from the Disney movie has always stuck in my head though.