MY DUTY AS A TEACHER:
I have already been informed that I am selfish for taking time off to pursue self discovery intead of diving headfirst into the classroom career. Yet, I have made this decisions for reasons other than my own self interest and realize that this information is pertinent to all prospective employeers in my future as both an artist and a teacher.
To begin with, I have realized that I have spent 17 of my 24 years in the education system. That is 70% of my entire life thus far. This number is not vastly higher or lower than any other average person my age. Still, such knowledge comes with the realization that I have very little to offer my prospective students as I have such a limited experience of the world outside of the classroom. I have no more knowledge than any other 24 year old who has completed a degree in any other field, and yet, we would not allow them to teach in a classroom on the pretense that they do not have the knowledge to do so. This leads me to question my own ability as a portion of my education was on education itself rather than any of the other myriad of subject matters.
I am capable, that is true, but what do I truly have to offer? How can I inspire a new generation of creative problem solvers if I have not even experienced that world which they will live in? I cannot in good judgement think to instruct a student on matters of life outside of education if I myself have not experienced the world outside of that system. While I do have a passion for teaching and fully intend to pursue the career in the future, I am choosing to be selfish now so that I will have that much more to give later.
Teaching is not meant to be a safety net of a job with benefits which you can plod through until you reach the golden gates of retirement. It is meant to be an honored tradition in which we pass on knowledge to a new generation. One of the flaws of our education system is the number of teachers who know nothing outside of the same lessons they have given for the 10 years since they graduated and cannot offer their students anything beyond an administration provided curriculum. Education is meant to be a form of evolution, but we cannot evolve if our teachers never have an opportunity to learn and only regurgitate the same information they were spoonfed through their own elementary, secondary, and college education.
In conclusion, yes, I am selfish. I am selfish with the self-interests of others at heart.
I have already been informed that I am selfish for taking time off to pursue self discovery intead of diving headfirst into the classroom career. Yet, I have made this decisions for reasons other than my own self interest and realize that this information is pertinent to all prospective employeers in my future as both an artist and a teacher.
To begin with, I have realized that I have spent 17 of my 24 years in the education system. That is 70% of my entire life thus far. This number is not vastly higher or lower than any other average person my age. Still, such knowledge comes with the realization that I have very little to offer my prospective students as I have such a limited experience of the world outside of the classroom. I have no more knowledge than any other 24 year old who has completed a degree in any other field, and yet, we would not allow them to teach in a classroom on the pretense that they do not have the knowledge to do so. This leads me to question my own ability as a portion of my education was on education itself rather than any of the other myriad of subject matters.
I am capable, that is true, but what do I truly have to offer? How can I inspire a new generation of creative problem solvers if I have not even experienced that world which they will live in? I cannot in good judgement think to instruct a student on matters of life outside of education if I myself have not experienced the world outside of that system. While I do have a passion for teaching and fully intend to pursue the career in the future, I am choosing to be selfish now so that I will have that much more to give later.
Teaching is not meant to be a safety net of a job with benefits which you can plod through until you reach the golden gates of retirement. It is meant to be an honored tradition in which we pass on knowledge to a new generation. One of the flaws of our education system is the number of teachers who know nothing outside of the same lessons they have given for the 10 years since they graduated and cannot offer their students anything beyond an administration provided curriculum. Education is meant to be a form of evolution, but we cannot evolve if our teachers never have an opportunity to learn and only regurgitate the same information they were spoonfed through their own elementary, secondary, and college education.
In conclusion, yes, I am selfish. I am selfish with the self-interests of others at heart.