I don't disagree with this. That is, a salary that reflects--truly reflects--the hours we work and the value of our work would be nice.
But as for variety...while I appreciate that, consider the teachers who only teach Biology or Chemistry? I mean, I'm sorry, it's what you sign up for. And if you are creative, you are not restricted--only if you allow yourself to be restricted.
I can't imagine that any course I will ever teach will be the same as what I taught the previous year. I experiment with different things, try new approaches, have different assignments. A course is only boring if you allow it to be boring.
There are plenty of jobs in this world outside of teaching where you really have boring stuff to do, boring, repetitive stuff with no creativity necessary--let alone the fun of working with young people.
And I doubt that there is anyone out there who teaches--even up through university--who hasn't taught courses that weren't there favorites, but who taught those courses because they needed teaching. And perhaps they tackled their favorite author in a conference course or something.
Unless you are in a private school, unless you can be isolated and do whatever you like, in all likelihood you will be part of the public education machinery, which for better or worse, is the backbone of this country. We can make the most out of it and put our all into it, or we can abandon it and abandon the majority of Americans who wouldn't be able to afford private schools.
But then, when I taught English, I could never understand the teachers who said things like, "I can't teach sophomore English! I just HATE Animal Farm!" How can you be a teacher and lover of literature and not be able to admire the book for what it is? Or Lord of the Flies? Or Fahrenheit 451?
I can understand the "I couldn't stand to do the same thing every year" only to a certain point. But for me, it's always about, "ok, how can I do it even BETTER next year? How can I work in more writing, more oral, maybe some TPRS, or something?"
I dunno. I never feel like I'm stepping in the same river.
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rosecarmine
(no subject)
Date: 2008-06-23 11:33 pm (UTC)But as for variety...while I appreciate that, consider the teachers who only teach Biology or Chemistry? I mean, I'm sorry, it's what you sign up for. And if you are creative, you are not restricted--only if you allow yourself to be restricted.
I can't imagine that any course I will ever teach will be the same as what I taught the previous year. I experiment with different things, try new approaches, have different assignments. A course is only boring if you allow it to be boring.
There are plenty of jobs in this world outside of teaching where you really have boring stuff to do, boring, repetitive stuff with no creativity necessary--let alone the fun of working with young people.
And I doubt that there is anyone out there who teaches--even up through university--who hasn't taught courses that weren't there favorites, but who taught those courses because they needed teaching. And perhaps they tackled their favorite author in a conference course or something.
Unless you are in a private school, unless you can be isolated and do whatever you like, in all likelihood you will be part of the public education machinery, which for better or worse, is the backbone of this country. We can make the most out of it and put our all into it, or we can abandon it and abandon the majority of Americans who wouldn't be able to afford private schools.
But then, when I taught English, I could never understand the teachers who said things like, "I can't teach sophomore English! I just HATE Animal Farm!" How can you be a teacher and lover of literature and not be able to admire the book for what it is? Or Lord of the Flies? Or Fahrenheit 451?
I can understand the "I couldn't stand to do the same thing every year" only to a certain point. But for me, it's always about, "ok, how can I do it even BETTER next year? How can I work in more writing, more oral, maybe some TPRS, or something?"
I dunno. I never feel like I'm stepping in the same river.