I recently read Existentialism which was selected and introduced by Walter Kaufman. I found Franz Kafka's Three Parables very interesting, especially in how it relates to education. The first is entitled Imperial Message. It tells the story of an Emperor who is sending his message to you. The Messenger forever fights many obstacles to bring you this message. The Emperor dies and his message, therefore, becomes meaningless. The Messenger never gets to deliver this message and you are still waiting for this message from above.
The second is entitled Before The Law. Here a man tried to gain entrance to the Law. A guard blocks the way. The guard tells the man that he cannot enter at the moment. The man waits until he can enter, which becomes his entire life. Just before he dies, the guard tells him that the door was meant only for him and since he will not enter the guard must shut the gate.
The last one is entitled Couriers. Only one paragraph long, this parable simple states that when given the choice of either becoming kings or couriers of kings the children chose to become couriers. Since there are no kings the messages are meaningless.
Teachers are couriers in many ways. Their purpose is to deliver a message. When students don't understand the materials the teacher is presenting the message is meaningless. Like the messenger in the first parable, teaching may sometimes feel like a never ending obstacle of trying to get your message across. However, we may also choose to stray from the crowd and become kings. Kings make meaning and perhaps a good king can do this by getting to know his subjects.
