Why do you teach? When I told a friend that I didn't want to seek an administrative position, he asked me this question. All Americans are taught that they should pursue money and power when they grow up. 9 but I don't want to work towards this goal. He was puzzled.
Of course, I don't teach because I find teaching easy. I have done various jobs to make a living. Mechanic, carpenter and writer. Teaching is the most difficult one.
For me, teaching is a profession that makes people red eyes, sweaty palms and depressed. It's because I'm late. No matter how late I go to each class, I always feel that I don't have enough.
It's because I'm always very nervous before I step into the classroom. I'm confident that the students will find that I'm a fool. I said I was depressed because when I came out of the classroom an hour later, I was sure that the class was more boring than usual.
I teach not because I think I can answer questions, or because I am full of knowledge and feel I have to share it with others. Sometimes I feel very surprised that the students actually took notes of what I said in class! So why should I teach?
I teach because I love the pace of the school calendar. June, July and August provide an opportunity for reflection, research and creation.
I teach because I am trapped in teaching. It is a profession based on "change". The textbook is still the original textbook, but I have changed one by one. More importantly, my students have changed.
I teach because I like the freedom to make mistakes, learn lessons, and motivate myself and students. As a teacher, I can make my own decisions. If I want to ask first graders to learn writing by writing their own textbooks, who can say I can't do that? Such courses may fail completely, but we can all learn from failed attempts.
I teach because I like to ask students questions that I have to rack my brains to answer. Our world has endless right answers to bad questions. Besides, I sometimes think of some excellent questions in the process of teaching.
I teach because I like to find ways to get myself and my students out of the ivory tower and into the real world. I once opened a course called "how to be self reliant in an industrial and technological society". The 15 students I taught read Emerson, Thoreau and Huxley, kept diaries and wrote term papers.
But in addition, we also set up a company to borrow money to buy a dilapidated house. Through the renovation of this building, we conducted a practical activity on the subject of self-reliance. At the end of the term, we sold our house, paid off the loan, paid the tax, and distributed the rest of the income to the students participating in the practice.
Therefore, teaching makes my work process regular and makes my life rich and colorful. Teaching not only challenges me, but also gives me the opportunity to keep learning.