Painting Chinese: A Lifelong Teacher Gains the Wisdom of Youth

Now, after three years of study, Kohl tells us what he learned from them. He shares the joys of trying to stay as fresh and unafraid as his young classmates and the wisdom he unexpectedly discovers in the formal tenets of Chinese landscape painting. As he advances into classes with older students, he reflects on how this experience allows him to accept and find comfort in aging. For anyone who feels stuck in the wearying repetition of everyday life, Kohls adventures will clearly illustrate that you can never be too old to grow from new experiences.

“In this masterful account, the fruit of a lifetime of pondering education and society, Herbert Kohl has given us a stunning gift. I know of no other book by a great teacher that is as deeply honest or as transcendently humble. All the impediments and humorous distractions and quiet breakthroughs that go into the process of learning are here uncovered.”—Phillip Lopate

“In this memoir, seasoned educator Kohl comes to terms with entering his twilight years. Kohl devoted his career to alternative education and to social justice, and in his mid 60s he created and directed a teacher-education program at the University of San Francisco that merged these two passions. In its fourth year, the program folded due to lack of funding, leaving Kohl despondent. On a walk through a predominantly Chinese commercial area near the university, he happened upon a fine arts school and on a whim signed up for beginners' level Chinese ink painting. On the first day of class, he discovered that he was by far the oldest pupil—his fellow students were five, six, and seven years old. He decided to stay, and over the next several years, painting took on a meditative quality for him. Kohl tells of studying alongside the children, reflecting on his life. The supportive environment and hands on, noncompetitive learning process renew his sense of wonderment, patience, love of learning and freedom of expression. The narrative is interspersed with samples of his painting as well as Chinese poetry and literary excerpts explaining the symbolism behind traditional Chinese painting imagery. Kohl writes with a bit of a tin ear, but his earnestness and plainly told account are fitting for a story of rediscovering the peace and unfettered joy of childhood.”—Publishers Weekly

“In spite of all his accomplishments as an eminent educator and the author of many influential books about education, teaching, and social justice, Kohl found himself bereft as he approached 70 and faced the demise of the teacher-education program he founded at the University of San Francisco. Rather than succumb to despair, however, the teacher turned himself back into a student and enrolled in a storefront art school devoted to traditional Chinese painting. Kohl had painted on his own for years, but now he apprenticed himself to a tradition he knew little about, working beside children as young as 5 years old. Writing with candor, respect, gratitude, and bemusement, Kohl shares the invaluable lessons gleaned from his immersion in a venerable tradition that awakened a fresh sense of life's wholeness, humankind's resiliency, and the beauty found in contrast and contradiction. For Kohl, ‘learning has always been a form of healing as well as an incentive to growth. His generous, meditative, and lyrical memoir will inspire readers to ‘jump into something new.”—Donna Seaman, Booklist

“Educator Kohl returns to the classroom, this time as a student of Chinese landscape painting. Approaching his seventh decade, the author realized that the impression he had of himself as a ‘middle-aged guy was at odds with society's perception of him as old. He was feeling tired and vulnerable, worn down by his battles with the University of San Francisco administration over his social-justice program. As he wandered Clement Street in a predominantly Asian area of the city, Kohl noticed a storefront art school and decided to enroll. He hoped to learn more about landscape painting, which he had long admired; he also anticipated finding a fellow student who could teach him Chinese chess. When Kohl arrived for his first lesson, however, he discovered that all the other students were children, ages four to seven. Over the course of three years, the author learned the rituals and techniques of brush painting, moving from sketching monkeys and pandas to rendering graceful forests of bamboo. ‘I soon discovered that it was very difficult to breathe life into a bamboo, he writes, ‘to have it move with wind, to have it serene on a quiet day, to have it bursting with leaves or barren or budding. As the author relinquished his need to teach and learned to relish his role as student (albeit one who stuck out), the class served as a template for aging with enthusiasm and grace. The conclusion shows Kohl leaving the university to rebuild his professional life, re-energized by his experience and eager to embrace whatever time is left to him. Moving and perceptive-a delightful, engaging memoir on aging.”—Kirkus Reviews

Now, after three years of study, Kohl tells us what he learned from them. He shares the joys of trying to stay as fresh and unafraid as his young classmates and the wisdom he unexpectedly discovers in the formal tenets of Chinese landscape painting. As he advances into classes with older students, he reflects on how this experience allows him to accept and find comfort in aging. For anyone who feels stuck in the wearying repetition of everyday life, Kohl's adventures will clearly illustrate that you can never be too old to grow from new experiences.