Let Go of the Peanuts & You’ll Be Free!

Southcoast, MA - We’re no different than our primate cousins it seems. My first boss whose Army enlistment was about to come to an end was anxiously waiting for the ceremony to start. It was December 7, 1941 and he was getting out! The commanding officer asked every other man to step forward. “Welcome to the 1st Cavalry Division gentlemen. Pearl Harbor has been bombed and you’re shipping out to the Pacific.” While in the Pacific, Ed spent quite a bit of time in the Philippines where, he said it was hot, rainy and miserable. The reason for this post is because of a less than fruitful day in my first class of the day.

It’s a lethal combination. I’ve been told by colleagues that it's one of the toughest subjects to teach (I won’t mention the subject here), it’s spring semester, mostly seniors and, class is at 8 AM. Teaching, even on the best day is sometimes a challenge. You’re in competition with yourself to deliver more and more and at a higher level. You want your students to be interested, engaged and enthused. But, no matter what happens, or doesn’t, in the classroom, I’m responsible. It comes with the job. I’ve previously described the challenges of teaching as pushing string, corralling cats and trying to get the horses to drink. The biggest challenge, for me, is based on the concept of teaching old dogs new tricks.

One of my friends and colleagues calls what we do in class – edutainment. We’re comics, seers, parents, and a number of other things all rolled into one. I thought of Ed because he told me an interesting story about how the native Filipino people captured monkeys. It seems that monkeys are no different than us. Their habits are based on the same reasons we get into the habit of doing things.

Ed said the Filipino monkey hunters would make a hole in a coconut small enough for a monkey to squeeze their hand into. The coconut would be staked to the ground. Inside the coconut was a monkey-sized fistful of peanuts. Smelling the peanuts, the monkeys would cautiously approach the coconuts. The hunters would be waiting nearby watching for them to stick their hand in the coconut for the peanuts and then would run out from their hiding places yelling and clapping their hands. The monkeys, in a panic, would refuse to let go of their fist-full of peanuts. The only way they could escape was to let go of the peanuts in order to pull their hands out! They imprisoned themselves and were captured as a result of their habitual thinking. They screamed and hollered but would not let go of the peanuts!

No, I’m not comparing my students to those monkeys. I am, however, correlating their behaviors. You see, my students, even the best of them, are the products of our standardized educational environment. They have been conditioned to sit, listen, record and retain. Or, as I’ve mentioned before – read, remember and regurgitate. They are prisoners of an instructor-centric environment. My classes are learner-centric. That means that they must become involved and invested in their educations. Even at the peril of not getting a good grade, they will not “let go of the peanuts” and save themselves!

Yes, they’re seniors (whatever that means). Yes, it’s spring semester – their last semester (whatever that means). Yes, it’s eight o’clock in the morning and it’s Monday (whatever that means). They have an opportunity to engage themselves in a course project that will enhance their resumes, as well as, their (professional) social media sites (Linked In) and, with enough effort, self-promotion and good timing – who knows where their well-executed project will take them or give back to them.

Ed told me that the monkeys weren’t the only stubborn creatures he saw during World War II in the Pacific. He saw his comrades constantly complain about constantly being wet, yet they did nothing to change the outcome of their circumstance. He was not just my first boss; he was one of the best bosses I ever had. He taught me how to notice how and why people do or don’t do what they need to do. He said you needed to know this if you needed them to get something done or, figure out a way to get it done. He once came into the building saying how the air conditioning unit shed needed to have the leaves cleaned out of it.

It was spring and the days were getting warmer. He told us when he went to inspect the job; he found a ten dollar bill. He showed us a rumpled and dirty ten dollar bill and wondered if anyone wanted to volunteer for the job. You see, it wasn’t the ten dollar bill he showed us because there was no ten dollar bill.

Ed had more volunteers than he needed and the job got done. Yup, some of the volunteers found a few dollar bills. He had planted them there for motivation. Ed had learned on December 7, 1941 to let go of the peanuts but many of his buddies didn’t. They continued to complain about how unfair it was that they were back in the Army and how they hated the heat, bugs and rain for starters. They never learned to let go of the peanuts.

On that note, here’s an old story about two Buddhist monks who were on a journey. It had been raining and the roads were very muddy. They came upon an elegant lady who could not cross the road lest (don’t get to use that word much) she get her feet, shoes and dress full of mud. The elder monk picked her up with the protests of the younger monk ringing in his ears. Stopping to help the woman was delaying their journey he shouted. The young monk continued grumbling about stopping to help the woman for quite some time. Finally, the elder monk said, “I put the woman down about five miles back but you’re still carrying her – why?”

He obviously wouldn’t let go of the peanuts! My class has to do their “big” course presentation in two days. Let’s see if they can let go of the peanuts and get down to the job at hand. [AUTHOR’S NOTE: Ed was Ed Picard and he was the manager of Gulf Hill Parlor in South Dartmouth – thank you Ed!]