The Book That Changed Everything: Tuesdays With Morrie

I Can’t Believe She Gave Me A Book

I was never that big of a reader. I actually hated reading. As a 4^th year education student, I knew I’d have to pick up books and encourage my students to read and develop the love for reading that I could never understand.

For my 21^st birthday, my friend, my first unofficial mentor back in high school (though no one knew we were talking), gifted me a book. Of all things. A BOOK. Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom. I tried reading it, but I couldn’t get past the first few pages. I was such a slow reader, so on the shelf it went, bookmarked.

Life As A Newly Graduated Teacher

Fast forward a year. I was casual teaching, and if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have wanted to be a student in my classroom; I was loud, angry and scattered some days – the exact opposite of who I was or wanted to be.

Then I landed a contract from a random school. I was covering a variety of classes. Everything was okay, but there was this one year 6 enrichment class I loved. There were students who called out, finished the work too fast and some who were just quirky. They were also intelligent, knew right from wrong and mostly well behaved. There were just some who had strong personalities. There was this one student I’ll never forget. We’ll call him Jack.

I asked his current and previous teachers how they got through to him. I’ll never forget what one teacher said to me – she was an absolute delightful person, but I was shocked.

“Jack is … an interesting boy. He just doesn’t care. I’d tried everything, but you’ll never be able to break him”

That hit hard …

I didn’t want to break anyone. I wanted to help him – I wanted to help all of them. I then remembered the book my friend had given me. So I began reading.

The Day I Started Reading

Twenty pages in, I was hooked. Staying up late and eating with the book in my hand – every single time I’d hit the end of a chapter, I’d tell myself “Just one more page …” which then cascaded into another, and another until it was 2am. I resonated so much with it.

It’s about how a professor helped his former student rediscover what it means to be a good man by teaching him again – but differently. The classroom was now the professor’s home. His homework was to action what felt right. And the curriculum was life, taught through a series of captivating and detailed stories of the professor’s life.

The Book That Changed My Life

After I’d read the book, I was inspired to connect with this class. Every week during eating time, I’d tell them a story that I told them had happened to a friend of mine in high school with each section carefully planned out – friendships, boundaries, loneliness, bullying – always ending on a cliffhanger.

Every single student was encapsulated, asking question after question. When I’d finally revealed at the end of the term that the ‘friend’ was actually me, they LOST it. I was the one who was bullied. The one who was alone. The one who felt like a monster who didn’t belong; “born in the wrong era,” I’d always think to myself.

The students started seeing me differently – not just as a teacher, but as someone safe with whom they could go to for advice or to share things. I’ll never forget the day Jack came up to me and burst into tears, asking me why no one liked him, or the day he was called into the principal’s office and refused to speak to anyone – except me.

That book opened a new way of connecting with others. I learnt how to create a safe space for people to leave their ego at the door and just be themselves.

What Am I Up to Today?

This was the first of many students who I’ve since helped. I’ve since stepped away from teaching full time to teaching casually in high schools whilst building a youth mentoring business and podcast, The Voices of Tomorrow. Everything I do empowers people – youth, parents and everyone else to be more confident, communicate better to strengthen relationships with the right people and work on goals that suit them and what they want in life. So many people start this journey as adults, but what if we’d started it as kids?

What’s a lesson or skill you wish you’d learnt growing up?

By Kevin Chu

About the author

Kevin Chu is a youth mentor, podcast host and former educator with 10+ years in schools. Through his business, Spark NextGen, he helps young people improve their confidence, find their authentic voice and move forward with purpose whilst supporting the adults who care for them. He volunteers regularly with Rotary’s teen leadership programs as well as Australian Refugee Volunteers, and is now developing a dedicated program for teenage boys to better understand themselves, communicate better and navigate the world with confidence and kindness.

Check out Kevin’s new program at www.sparknextgen.com or connect with him via LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram at kevinchu.withyou