In relation to teaching, learning, students and challenges;

Why teach?

As much as we teachers complain (thanks for resonating with our whines for a moment), I want you to know that many of us teach because of the love of it. The joy.

It is such joy to share our enthusiasm for learning, our enthusiasm for the doing, the topic, the discovery, the wonder. And so much more than that: the thrill of the idea catching on fire...that aha moment...when you can see in the student that idea catch hold and burn on its own.

I love it when you can see a student or a class "get it." The idea that they are not doing the assignment for me. It is so great when a student expands beyond that. Their enthusiasm and motivation are boundless; they cannot be subdued by peer pressure and the reticence to succeed.

A complaining student may drag their feet and say that

the teacher is getting paid anyway, so why should we care.

What a blessing to have a "job" you love and get paid for it too.
I revel in it when that idea catches hold in another person; their eyes are open to the wonderous possibilities in living, learning, discovering. Recapturing that fantastic wonderment and amazement of life that we have as kids and somehow might have forgot and put away as "not adult?"

Unblocking their potential once again. And for some darned reason, a lot of education out there unfortunately contributes to the blocking and closing off that blossoming potential. Probably all in the process of making a group of "undisciplined explorers" more easy to control...

 A lot of us good teachers were wild explorers who were injured by structured teaching methods that tried to control our wild passion of learning and wonder. And for some reason, we regained out passion for learning. And that is why I became a teacher. I loved reading, learning and exploring. About 2nd to 4th grade, I was confused and turned off from learning in school environment. A few chance encounters with inspired people out in the world, people learning, loving, living....

my fire for learning kindled up once again.

I sure do love helping others to have that fire catch hold.
PollyAnna attitude, yeppers, okay with me. This is my joy of teaching.

~VRocK~