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BRIAN JOHNSON NAMED AGF TEACHER OF THE YEAR

AGF Teacher of the Year Brian Johnson comes from a little further afield than usual this year, all the way from Punahou School in Hawaii. The school has an illustrious list of famous attendees, including Barack Obama, and rates its own Wikipedia page of notable alumni. "I just finished my 21st year of teaching English at Punahou School in Honolulu,” Johnson tells the Journal, "so that would mean 16 years of teaching the class I created called Buddhist Philosophy and the Game of Go. When it started, I had four sections of 18 students, and that has grown into ten sections, so I have the opportunity to introduce Go to about 180 high school seniors each year. Honestly, without this class, I don't know if I would have lasted in education as long as I have.”  In 2011 students at Punahou made a video about the go club that can be seen on Youtube. Clubs dropped off after the pandemic says Johnson, but are starting to make a comeback.

A peak at the course description from Punahou hints at its appeal “Buddhist Philosophy and the Game of Go: Patience, humility, resilience, tenacity, awareness, focus: these are the defining characteristics that mark successful Go players and Buddhists. Developed in China somewhere around 4,000 years ago, Go is arguably the most fascinating and strategically sophisticated game ever created. The rules of Go are very simple and players can learn the basics in a matter of minutes. However, to play well requires a lifetime of devotion and patience. There are strong parallels between Buddhist philosophical concepts and successful Go strategies. Even though the two developed independently from each other, the overlap and insight provided by coupling the two are quite extraordinary. The game provides a valuable physical metaphor for understanding Buddhist philosophy in action; similarly, applying The Four Pillars of Buddhist philosophy (Impermanence, Nothingness, Interconnectedness and Non-attachment) leads to improvement as a player as well as a comprehensive outlook on ethical decision-making and self-reflection."

"I'd also like to add,” says Johnson, "that this class owes its entire existence to Professor Cobb [Bill Cobb, publisher of Slate and Shell - ed] who was my teacher when I was an undergraduate in philosophy at the College of William and Mary. He introduced me to Go and contemporary Japanese philosophy. His writings in his column The Empty Board were invaluable in shaping the class that has defined my teaching career. Go can be a metaphor for many things: non-attachment, war, interconnectedness, creativity... the list is as varied as Go itself. But, what I've found to be the most compelling is the ability for Go to build relationships between people, and attending the Go Congress in Portland will be the perfect opportunity to do just that.”  Johnson will be talking about his work with kids at a round table for teachers, and the general public, on Thursday July 18th at 5pm.  Check the congress schedule for the location.