Why all this angst about a road diverging?
I am contemplating a career change. Well,... maybe more than contemplating, but maybe more on that later.
I could continue in my present career (which I enjoy quite a bit, thank you), or I could become a school teacher.
If a school teacher, then I think I'd like to teach math and/or physics, in the 12+ age group. I am not yet sure which way I am leaning - middle school, or high school.
If middle school, I'd be quite happy to teach general science instead of just physics (which is what I love). But I do not want to teach math by itself. I definitely want to teach math alongside science.
Right now I am doing everything I can to understand what a career in teaching entails. And whether I have the temprament and sufficient motivation to make a success of it.
To that end I am am visiting classrooms and talking to teachers, counsellors and administrators.
I am asking them things like
- What advice would you give to a teacher starting out? Stuff you wish someone had told you early on.
- What do you wish they had taught in your M.Ed or M.I.T, that they did not?
- When you have seen a person for two or five minutes, what do you see that tells you this person is a fantastic teacher?
- What common baggage do some people bring that makes it impossible for them to succeed as teachers?
- What are the things that grind you down? The little things that all add up and suck away at your idealism.
As you read my (hopefully not infrequent) posts, if answers to these questions pop up, please do leave them in the comments.
I am excited to be invited to read your thoughts, Santosh. I always come away from conversations with you thinking about something interesting or having my own ideas refined or shifted. My own weakness is that (maybe because I've been a teacher for so long)I usually feel I should hurry, so I don't take enough time to self-edit. Also from teaching, I think, I trust my instincts the way others always say we should, and often regret having gone with an initial reaction instead of asking more questions or finding more depth.
ReplyDeleteThat said, my respones to your questions:
* My advice that no one tells you: Love your students. When you meet them for the first time, know that you soon will love them. Maybe this is a little crazy- I have never heard another teacher say this. But the times I have felt a sense of failure with a student, it was because I had lost sight of this. Buddhist teachings repeat it frequently.
* A good listener is often a good teacher. Teaching starts with understanding what the world looks like through the eyes of the student- what their experience and understanding has been.
* Some people become teachers from a sense of self-importance rather than humbleness. When the classroom's energy goes into the success of the teacher rather than the success of the student, the teacher's success is failure.
* When my life is about learning, teaching, and communicating, there is nothing that can match it. When gossip about children or colleagues seeps in, or communication breaks down, I just want to gather my class and families around me and shut my classroom door. Embracing uncomfortable conversations to reach better communication is something I am learning from my unofficial mentors among my colleagues.
There- the world of teaching according to Margaret
I am excited that you are undertaking this amazing journey. I hope it brings you joy.