I Am a Teacher, Not an Instrument of Violence

I am a teacher. My goal is to educate, to open the minds of students to important ideas of past and current thinkers. Among so many other things, I strive to encourage critical thinking, to stimulate awareness, and motivate concern regarding the importance of the social and political justice and fairness.

I am a teacher. I have confidence that what I’ve been entrusted to accomplish in the classroom is important and that my efforts can make a difference, perhaps even contribute in a small way, to making the world a better place in which to live.

I am a teacher. I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill.

I am a teacher. I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill. I believe that to do so is to admit defeat, that what I do as an educator has no meaning or relevance, that violence, and by implication war, is the only effective means available for making change, of resolving differences, conflicts, and disagreements.

I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to make clear by reasoned argument as well as by personal example the superiority of forgiveness over retaliation, of love over hate, and of peaceful reconciliation over vengeance.

I am a teacher; an educator and I will not become an instrument of violence.

By Camillo Mac Bica

Camillo “Mac” Bica, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Dr. Bica is a former Marine Corps Officer, Vietnam Veteran, and the Coordinator of the Long Island Chapter of Veterans for Peace.

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