Understanding Education...

For those who know me I have recently started the path to become a High School or Junior High English teacher.  It's a journey I never could have envisioned for my life.  In High School English was the class that I read great works and wrote essays.  We took time to read plays aloud, even performing some of them.  Yet what I didn't learn was grammar.  I may have had classes in grammar in elementary and Junior High, but they taught in a way that was ineffective.  If you didn't already know, teaching grammar apart from reading (books) and writing (papers/essays) doesn't work.  Countless exercises like "circle all of the subjects in these three sentences," "label the adjectives in this sentence," or even my personal nemesis, "diagram the following 8 sentences."  They were ineffective.

So... what's the point... we adjust and teach grammar differently.

Makes sense doesn't it and many schools are implementing different reforms to teaching.  But many other schools are continuing an ineffective system of education.

And that education isn't limited to English grammar...

Education is something that takes the effort and responsibility of parents/guardians, students, teachers, and the support staff of school.  It takes the unconditional effort of teachers to give quality education to their students, a relentless commitment to vastly improve their skills, and take measures to instill in their students an ownership of their education.

Sometimes ownership is quantifiable.  For example...

I pay a store $1.25 for a candy bar.   That candy bar is now mine, I have paid out something to take ownership of it.  I can now eat it or give it away, both choices are within my power.  I derive the benefit from my efforts (money).

Education is similar, yet dissimilar.  I study for my test and receive a passing grade (sometimes).  I'm not satisfied with my performance and I take steps (private tutors, personal study, parental/guardian help, use of library and internet resources, etc.)  to improve my understanding of the subject matter.  The next test I take I perform either better or I understand that my results represented my best at the time but also gave me a goal for my future.

Education is like an investment... I know this is probably cliche but it is true.  We take time to study, we wrestle with our education, we FAIL and then we LEARN from our FAILURES.

I've FAILED plenty of times in my life.  In fact it is one of my biggest FEARS.   I fear failure because I feel dumb or depressed.   I wasn't taught to EMBRACE FAILURE.

Education that embraces failure as a stepping stone to success produces effective students.  To persist in education, taking advantage of all of the resources you have at your disposal to do well requires discipline.

Persistence, discipline, ownership....   all buzzwords with huge meanings....

I'm a glutton for persistence and failure... I loath failure but I cherish persistence.

But it isn't about me... it's about others...

So that's why I'm becoming a teacher.  I want to be a catalyst of failure, discipline, persistence, and ownership for my students.

Sometimes the onus of education resides on the student and their parents/guardians.

Sometimes they don't like to hear that.  Besides don't they pay teachers to "handle" the education of their children.

Yes and no.  As a (future) teacher it will be my responsibility to teach as effectively as possible my subject matter to your students.  BUT the effort I put in to my teaching must be MATCHED by the students and parents.

Ownership in education is a two way street.  As a teacher I take personal pride and ownership of the outcome of my teaching skills and the students I teach.  As a student and parent, ownership occurs when there is a connection to REAL LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES and EDUCATIONAL INPUT.

You are what you eat.  You are also what you learn.  When you learn more you can become more.  Simple right?  Wrong!  

Learning has to be INTENTIONAL and DIRECTIONAL... at least after High School.  Yet you have to get there by putting effort into your work in High School (and every grade before that starting in preschool).

I wish I could of learned what I am writing now... I could have become a better student and not wasted so much time on video games (specifically).

COMPASSION gives me the fuel to be a SERVANT to students.

Teaching is not about MONEY although teachers like to eat and provide for their families.  We teach because we want to share to improve the future of our students and share with them our love for learning.