This is my seventh year teaching. Teaching is my passion, my joy, and my world. Without it, I would be lost. But what scares me the most is the reality that the vast majority of American youth have no desire to be educated and see no importance of it in their lives. I have completely embraced the idea that the role of the school has changed changed dramatically since the 1950's. The shaping of values, reinforcing core human interactions that used to be done at home now have to be done in our schools.
Not too long ago, while in a state of utter frustration over the gargantuan challenge of teaching my disinterested students. What type of jobs would they get? Would they complete college? Who would hire them with such poor social skills? And worse - my gosh, are these kids really going to "vote"? I worried over their futures - what will become of them? I arrived at an amazing conclusion.
My job is to plant a seed in each child's mind. All of the seeds may be different. Since it isn't within my capability to solve all the problems and challenges for the rest of their lives - (I haven't figured that out for myself!) I need to address the potential for success in each child, here, now, today. That's it. If I do that well enough, then maybe, just maybe, years from now it will effect some change in their lives.
1 comment:
Diane,
I understand and share the frustration of staring at a sea of blank, bored faces sometimes when I am in the middle of a lesson. I often wonder how I could make helping verbs at the least, tolerable! Then there is the major stuff like persuasive writing, finding your audience, etc.
Technology is pretty foreign to me, and I sometimes wonder how I even came to choose this major, but after reading the resources for this week, I am convinced I made a wise choice. The most difficult part for me will be to learn it first so that I can teach it.
After participating in some of the blogs on-line, I realize how far behind I am regarding the use of technology in my classroom. There is so much to learn but I am excited to think about all the possibilities!
Jane
Post a Comment