The Joy of Teaching

Recently I've talked to one of my former students from Bledsoe County.  I've asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up every year for the past five years, and up until now she's always said she wanted to be a teacher.  This time she said she wants to be a nurse or dental hygienist or something in the medical field.  Now, there's nothing wrong with changing your mind, and my students have done it often.  The difference here is that some teachers have spoken to her about their discontent with the teaching profession and have persuaded her that teaching is the last thing she wants to do.

Another really bright girl that I recently met told me the same story.  She said that her teachers discouraged her from going into teaching.

I think this is really sad.

It's not that I don't get it.  I do.

I've felt the pressure to get my students to perform proficiently on standardized tests.  I've felt discouraged because my creativity was being squelched.  I know very well the stress that is involved in teaching.

But there's something else to take into account when it comes to whatever you decide to do for a living.

You have to find the joy in what you're doing.

In the past couple of months I've listened to two comedians talk about this very thing.  First I heard Stephen Colbert when he was interviewed on Face the Nation.  He said that he has always called his show "The Joy Machine" because if you don't find the joy in each show, the machine will eat you alive. Just a few days later I heard Jerry Seinfeld say on "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" that the thing that kept him sane in a crazy business was that he found the joy in the daily work.  ( I highly recommend checking out both these links, especially if you like these two comedians.)

There's a lot of joy to be found in teaching. It comes from doing something that has impact and significance in the world.  Education is a key factor in creating a positive quality of life in the future.  Teachers make a difference in students' lives.

For me, joy is found in being with children.  Every day I get to teach, I get to interact with kids who make me laugh, who amaze me with their insight, who have great potential.  Every student has the story of their own life that needs to be understood, and I find joy in getting to know that story.  I also enjoy going places and experiencing new things with kids.  Being around young people keeps me young and relevant, and lets me see things with fresh eyes.

Since this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, I wanted to share these thoughts.  This is a hard time of year for them, and teachers need to feel appreciated.  I hope I can encourage them too to keep finding the joy that probably led them to this career in the first place.

Teacher friends, keep up the good work!
 

Teaching in Kosovo

The main purpose of my trip last month was to teach school.  My sister Penny is friends with a woman named Nadine who started a school in Mitrovica, Kosovo.  She has lived in Kosovo since around 2000 and raised her daughter there.  Her daughter married a man there and now they are all working at the school.  Nadine wanted to make a trip to the U.S. to see if she could recruit teachers for next year.  She is the science teacher at the school, and so my job was to be the science teacher in her absence.

I took some materials I had used in Bledsoe County and taught a simulation about a family lost at sea.  Each student received information on a different family, including plants and animals they had encountered, and the students had to do research to try to determine where the family was located.  The students did a great job, and they seemed to really enjoy it.

My traveling companion, Kay, is also a teacher, and she was a lot of help in the classroom.  She was so willing to do whatever I needed to make the lesson go smoothly.  She contributed many good ideas to our plans, and I'm very glad she was able to be with me on this adventure.

My favorite part of the week was on Friday.  The students, who were speaking English as their second language, all had to prepare a dramatic reading to present to the class.  I was able to watch all the 6th and 7th graders present their readings.  They were delightful.  Three girls gave a reading from one of the Harry Potter books, each one playing a different character.  The girl playing Ron got all the sarcasm just right.  Two other girls read a story called "Gloria Who Might Be My Best Friend."  It was very touching.  Another boy gave a solo performance of a Judy Moody book.  He would read a couple of pages and then pantomime what he had just read.  It was all very entertaining, and their command of the language was so impressive.

Here are some pictures from the week.

We stayed with Nadine's family.  Most of the homes in Kosovo are
multi-generational.

Kay demonstrating the concept of different
densities of salt water.

During lunch period there is always time for a little dodgeball.

The view from our classroom window.  The city
was not a very attractive place.  The building here was a car wash which
is a popular business in Kosovo.

I love teaching!

The ninth graders working on their project.

We were able to spend one afternoon doing experiments about bubbles.

One evening the whole staff went out for dinner.  They
were all such a pleasure to spend the week with.  Kay and I
are hopeful that we were able to encourage them in the work
they are doing there in Kosovo.