Teachers get a bad rap; from parents, from news media and society. What most people don't understand is what one must do each day to BE a teacher. So, in efforts to support the survival of the teaching profession, I wish to share a daily blog of my life as a teacher. I hope to challenge those pre-conceived notions of teaching so many everyday folks unwittingly subscribe to. And, of course, I will use this blog to vent a bit too.
Let me begin with why and how I became a teacher. I love to learn! An extension of this love is the love of learning how others learn. Does that make sense? To me it does. It is fascinating to watch the discovery of new realities in another person. Its as close to magic as I've ever experienced. My father raised me with this sort of infectious curiosity. That is my answer to "why". "How" is not so straight forward. In high school I wanted to study anthropology. I did and while studying at the U of M among great scholars of the field I found most drawn to ethnography: writing and recording human cultural systems. Then I tested into a third year Spanish course and, flattered, began to contemplate a career within closer reach: to teach Spanish!
My teaching coursework was interesting but very theoretical, not practical. I found myself aware of multicultural issues in public schools, yet tripping over extension cords connecting the overhead projector to the outlet. Four months of student teaching later and I was sold... on the students. Teaching would always be new, because the students brought new life to each lesson. At that point, teaching was an art and I practiced my technique.
After my first year of teaching in California, I realized that schools don't always support the basic needs of teachers but that the ones that do, have amazing programs and results. (Check out Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA for an amazing school!!!)
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