Note: Last week, a Spanish teacher at my school and I were sitting around talking before freshman orientation. He’s super passionate about teaching. I learn something new every time he and I have the chance to talk. Anyways, while speaking with him on this particular day, I asked him if he’d fancy writing a guest post for my blog to share some of his thoughts. It was an open-ended invite and he was excited about the opportunity. In this post, he shares the relationship between his content area and his zeal for teaching.
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I learned a long time ago that my love for Spanish had nothing to do with the art of teaching. You heard me right!
Your love for math, your love for English or literature even has nothing to do with your teaching. Some of us became teachers because we saw it as a stepping stone for that next big opportunity. Perhaps we were lured into the bear trap of education because of the time off. We reasoned that we could use that time off to write that best seller or design technology to revolutionize the way we live; perhaps we became music teachers to use the time to record that next big hit. Whatever may be the reasons, the fact is that some of us are in the wrong profession and we pay dearly for it, your students pay dearly, and the system pays dearly.
But a teacher that loves to teach can teach almost anything because their passion may actually hinge on the subject matter. Instead is all about the students they teach. When you love to help others succeed, teaching the subject matter that you love is the icing on the cake.
Because of their passion for helping students, these types of teachers celebrate the smallest milestone and push through the toughest days. Every day they renew their strength and faith and face each day’s challenges with optimism and a clean slate. They have the ability to forget about the wrong students may have done and focus on their future success.
So I conclude by asking you, why do you even teach bro?