d. m. arney, m.a.

My sister reminded me of a Batman quote from “Dark Knight” – “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian.” It was apt because I’m facing a tough client situation where I am starting to become part of the system. I had to remember why the mentor always dies in the hero sagas: if she didn’t, the hero could not learn to stand on his own, to become a ‘warrior’. Loss, ending; they are normal parts of life, and one of the final roles of a tutor is to give each student a positive ending. Once you’ve planted your seeds, sown what wisdom you can, then you must move on and let the student harvest what she can. The success of a tutor is his own redundancy.