(A few days ago, a former student of mine asked me if she could interview me for a class project she was completing. Namely, she sent me a list of questions pertaining to two aspects of my life: as a teacher and a scholar. Her questions were thoughtful and provoking. It took me awhile to commit to some answers, but eventually I did.)
I come from a family that encouraged learning. Socially speaking, one can even say that I have an intellectual pedigree, since both my parents and all four of my grandparents hold several university degrees. Books, languages, a free exchange of ideas, logical argumentations were always a part of our dinners and Sunday lunches. Thus, going to uni and obtaining a degree, was never an issue; it was the norm. However, I never felt pressured into choosing a field that my parents would ‘approve’ of. The choice was left to me.
Yet it did not come easily; it took me a great while to figure out that I was to carve for myself a life in teaching. I had always liked working with adolescents, getting them excited about the literary arts, teaching them the value of a written discourse. Today, by vocation I am an AP-level instructor and examiner in English Literature and Composition. However, my interests have taken me to counseling and academic advising, student activism and networking. Of late, I have completed and defended my Doctoral Degree in Theatre Studies, something else that has sustained my academic interests and thoughts.
Sceptics would say - June, July, August, thus alluding to the misguided belief that breaks and (paid) vacations come as the assumed benefits of teaching. Personally speaking, what I enjoy greatly about the process is the process itself: namely, I get to help a young mind become an adult; the responsibility is enormous, the reward exceptional. If along the way, a student of mine continues to read, think, act, ethically, in the world around them, then the benefit is trice: for him/her, for our community, for the greater public.
Yet, if I were to single out any moments of inconsistency or difficulty, then I’d have to say: bureaucratic paperwork, standardized testing, limited time and resources.
More so than before, a good teacher has to practice the art of listening, open dialogue exchange, and patience. Without these three finely tuned traits, there cannot be a learning environment, one where all stakeholders – teacher and students alike – feel supported and encouraged.
I have never subscribed to the ‘what if’ philosophy, but if I had to choose something that may play out otherwise, I think in my early years of teaching I was too ambitious of an instructor: my lesson plans were somewhat unreal in terms of the 45 minute class time. I would pack them with a plethora of activities, thinking that I should shower student with all sorts of tricks so that they are never bored or passive. With time, I learnt to think and plan in smaller chunks, something I have come to realize due to practice and practice.
Yes, my beloved maternal grandmother was a teacher. For almost 30 plus years she taught at the State University, holding the fort at the department of Literary Theory. She was a life force, and someone whose teaching shoes I do not think I can ever fill.
Privately funded schools seem to understand the concept of funding in a diametrically different way than public facilities do. Namely, we look for resources that might allow our students to connect, viscerally, at all times with their peers around the world: whether it is an investment in cutting edge technology, or all-expenses-paid-for prestigious summer study-abroad programs, or hosting big events such as Model European Parliament or Math Counts. Our colleagues at public schools are plagued by the need to have a clean classroom space, useable furniture, more specialized instructors, better and less costly textbooks, a student nurse, a paid counselor. In the long run, we do desire the same thing: greater freedom of access to means, monetary, that would allow us to be better practitioners in our distinct professions.
As far as distinct experiences go, I am the person I am today due to having spent the last decade as a teacher. I am calmer, happier, more engaged, socially alive, all because the bulk of my day is spent with those who listen, learn and question.
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