The answer is that good teachers are in the success business. Their main goal in life is to help students succeed. They get a real sense of reward from helping other people gain knowledge and skills and get ahead in the world.
That may seem strange, in our modern, selfish, money-grubbing USA, where many people seem to worship celebrities just because they are rich. But it's true.
For the past five years, I've taught junior and senior English at Los Angeles Community Adult School. Before that, I taught part-time at junior colleges, mostly freshman composition. So I knew how to prepare my students.
Often my students would come back to visit, and they would tell me how well they did on the college placement test. When they could skip remedial classes and go straight into freshman English, that was a big victory, for them and for me. It made my day.
One of my favorite students was Alejandra, a 40ish lady from Latin America, with an IQ I'd estimate somewhere around 140. She made a living cleaning houses in Beverly Hills, but she should have been a doctor or lawyer or engineer.
A brilliant student, she could learn anything you asked her to, in about one-fourth the time of an average student. The night she graduated from our high school, she came to my classroom wearing her cap and gown, shook my hand, and thanked me for helping her and for being her teacher.
That made my day, and it made my year.
That is why teachers put up with such low pay.
Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle
2 comments:
Roger, another great post!
s a private music instructor, I get inspiration as I watch my students grow. I often discuss their challenges and accomplishments as musicians as reference points in their lives in general.
The way people like us approach teaching is a spiritual activity!
Oops, I deleted the "A" in "As!"
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