Holy crap. I HAVE SURVIVED MY FIRST YEAR TEACHING! Okay fine, I still have 2 more weeks but it consists of reviewing for finals and then the actual final exams (easy peasy…for teachers!). Here are the 3 main things I’ve learned:
- There ARE stupid questions. Some stupid questions are due to laziness, and that is sad for obvious reasons. But the stupid questions that actually make me deeply sad are rooted from the school system’s failure. Failure to create learners that have the crucial skill of figuring things out when directly given the information or resources.
- An overwhelming amount of American teenagers are self-entitled. I can only speak for my school so I don’t mean to generalize, but from what I see, this is partially due to the fact that way too many students are pushed into “Honors” or “GT” classes when they simply don’t have the skills. There is nothing wrong with having “standard” ability in any given subject, but it’s as if anyone who passes with anything higher than a D is labeled an “Honors” student. This label should be, well, an honor, and it’s a dangerously deceitful title for students who don’t qualify. It causes them to think they are naturally gifted and don’t have to try as hard, and it causes them to think their teachers are unreasonable for challenging them.
- I will always want to dedicate my life to education. Despite the stress, anxiety, and freaking shingles that this job has brought into my life, there is nothing I am more passionate about than helping the future engineers, accountants, politicians, custodial workers, psychologists, salespeople, entrepreneurs, doctors, and everyone else that makes the world go ’round.
Teaching and Learning in the Journey of Life 