The Classroom of our Days
There are many reasons why people go into teaching. However, I think we’ve all had inspirational teachers who have contributed to who we are today, and no matter how many years go by, we can never forget the influence they’ve had on us. I could name the most important people in my life, most of them are teachers. Who are the ones that have most influenced you?
Some have certainly left a mark and encouraged us, sometimes without even noticing it, to pursue a life in teaching, and many of us today say we want to have that same effect on the next generation.
Also, in the same way that great teachers give much to us, there are some teaching-career perks that give back to us dedicated professionals in full.
Teaching is a kind of art, a state of constant learning from both sides, and no matter what you think, you’ll also never get bored as a teacher. Every day is different, every group and every student.
A day may come when you may have your lesson plans ready, but you’ll need to be flexible enough to change the whole course of the class because really, you never know what may come up.
If you need to put the course curriculum on hold temporarily to help a child with his or her problems, that’s just part of the job and one of the things that set apart great (and compassionate) teachers from the rest.
So, I’ve mentioned the people involved, both parties who are there to learn, but where? Of course, in the classroom. It is that legendary place and non-place at the same time, where we’ve all participated in one way or another. It is a dwelling of never-ending tales, stories and even adventures.
Few other places are like these, which can hold so much wisdom, so much fun, so many different personalities, and I’m not even mentioning the huge age spectrum that you can find here.
The young and old have walked these floors with different projects and ideas, but with the same goal in mind: to learn. The magic, and also an interesting point, is that even us teachers share the same goal. It doesn’t matter what our experience has been, how many years we have taught so far, etc. Every day is a new one, a new class for me and for whoever is sitting across the table.
I suppose you have to have a certain passion about it all to be able to find the creativity to take on different classes, levels, and such. However, as with possibly everything, it’s not something that doesn’t require a certain amount of training.
You need to feed it your curiosity, your interest for the words, for the language and of course for the human interaction. There begins a delightfully entertaining cycle.
Once you start, it is quite difficult to stop. The classroom beckons you, and I suppose that’s why they say teaching is a calling. Maybe it’s the way we see our students, we recognise a bit of ourselves in each of them and think about when we were in their shoes.
Now, we are the ones in this position, yes, of power, but more importantly with the capacity and will to engage and help them. We are now the ones who will leave a mark on their memories, or not.
That defining class, moment, hallway-chat or fleeting instant that without noticing it, changes their perception of things, and possibly their lives.
So, I really do hope that if you ever find yourself wondering, thinking silently or aloud, about teaching and being part of the worldwide, universally essential domain that is teaching, I invite you to consider the idea. Think of the influence you can have on your students’ minds and add your grain of sand to this human equation we’re all part of.
Don’t get me wrong, being a teacher is not all roses, but it’s a path full of challenges that are interesting and fulfilling always, and no matter what happens, how bad of a day you’ve had, the obstacles are always far outweighed by the benefits.
By Lucas
