Why.
Someone today asked me why on earth I would want to be a teacher after college, let alone one who taught English. I've heard these types of questions before, typically followed by something like this..."But teachers get no respect, and no money-and think of all the misbehaving kids you'll have to control!!" Okay, the money thing I agree with...but nothing I do is ever about money. It's not something that acts as a driving force in my life. No respect? I call bullshit. I looked up to and admired a lot of my teachers for what they did, for what they brought to my life. True, there will always be people who don't give a crap...but our lives are full of people like that-grown adults even.
And it's English because writing and reading is a HUGE part of my life, always has been. I know that there are scores of people out there who can write better than I can, and understand complex literature a lot faster than I can...but I enjoy challenging and expressing myself through it all nonetheless. I want to be the type of teacher Ms. P was-tough, demanding, but brilliant...and not in the sense that she knew everything. Because she didn't...but she was able to change my outlook on the things that I read. I know that I didn't love every book I've been forced to read for school, but she taught me to appreciate them. I want to be able to share that with others, to help them discover for themselves the awesome feeling I get when I read something written decades or centuries ago that rings true today, when I look back on my past writings and can track my improvement, when I can see myself in a character so clearly that it scares me and leaves me up at night thinking about my own life.
Yes, that's why.
A teacher affects eternity:he can never tell where his influence stops. -Henry Adams
And it's English because writing and reading is a HUGE part of my life, always has been. I know that there are scores of people out there who can write better than I can, and understand complex literature a lot faster than I can...but I enjoy challenging and expressing myself through it all nonetheless. I want to be the type of teacher Ms. P was-tough, demanding, but brilliant...and not in the sense that she knew everything. Because she didn't...but she was able to change my outlook on the things that I read. I know that I didn't love every book I've been forced to read for school, but she taught me to appreciate them. I want to be able to share that with others, to help them discover for themselves the awesome feeling I get when I read something written decades or centuries ago that rings true today, when I look back on my past writings and can track my improvement, when I can see myself in a character so clearly that it scares me and leaves me up at night thinking about my own life.
Yes, that's why.
A teacher affects eternity:he can never tell where his influence stops. -Henry Adams
posted by haze at 1:04 AM
1 Comments:
One day...
while you're teaching a class, talking about Shakespeare and whatnot, I'm going to randomly appear at the back of the class. I'm going to take you by surprise, and then a smile will appear across your face because it would have been years or months that I had seen you. You will run to the back and give me a hugg and then you'll continue lecturing. later we'll have lunch, and it will be the best lunch everrrr.
=D
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