An urban
myth tells us that if you dare to become a teacher, like Ms Black, you'll be
doomed …
- to commute long distances every day.
- to carry a back-breaking load of books and
papers everywhere you go.
- to walk, trip, skip, hop and other kinds
of ‘workout activities’ in crowded
classrooms.
- to try to remember
hundreds of different names every year.
- to miss most weekends doing PC (preparing and correcting).
- to work in the hottest and coldest
classrooms on earth.
- to persuade 'I-couldn’t-care-less’ people
to provide a decent a budget for education.
- to be an amateur therapist to parents,
students and fellow teachers.
- to constantly have to explain to people
that being a Teacher of English is more than just having a good command of
the language.
- to doing useless paper work rather than
educating people.
However...
aren’t teachers the happiest professionals who walk
the streets today? Most people look drained of energy and hopeless; but
teachers are still enthusiastic and have fun planning and organizing events in
hopes of making learning enjoyable for students.
Why?
Teachers
like teaching because, unlike accountants, they are in contact with kids and
young people who still believe the world is a wonderful place with a good
future to come. It’s the teacher’s job to help them communicate with that
world, opening doors to learning about other cultures, entertainment, places in
the world, people, better job opportunities, just to mention a few.
So, by being a teacher, you’ll be given the opportunity…
- to live in contact with ‘the future’.
- to have fun with your students.
- to experience a feeling of renewal
when discovering the world with your students every day.
- to see the world in terms of
building and creating.
- to have the honorable job of
giving people the tools to become better individuals.
- to do real teamwork with other teachers
even if not demanded by the authorities.
- to learn from your students as
much as they learn from you.
- to be invited to birthday parties,
weddings and family reunions, just because your students love you.
- to find pleasure in simple activities like
reading a good story or cooking a good meal.
- to have a smile on your face because, in a
money-oriented world, you know how to live without it!
So maybe...
we need to
scream louder sometimes just to get what we deserve in order to make of this enriching job a profession
respected by everyone.
What do you think?
