I’ve been a teacher since 1983. I spent my first year as an elementary student at a small rural school in Texas. It was a very conservative school and taught the basics of reading and writing. It was at this time that I met my husband. We began moving to a larger school in Houston in 1980. I was so impressed by the new school I wanted to continue there the rest of my life. We moved to Austin in 1981.
I took a year off and went back to school at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1983 with a B.A. in English. I didn’t get the job I wanted that first year, so I applied for a teaching job at a large rural school in Texas. I got the job but didn’t actually teach there.
I think the biggest misconception people have about teaching is that they are not good. Teaching is definitely a job you love. If you love teaching and you want to teach, go for it. But I also think that there are some people that just dont seem to be inspired by education. I know that everyone has a different opinion, but I think that is one of those things where people tend to stick to their own opinions.
As you’ve probably guessed, I think the main reason people don’t teach is because they lack their own sense of responsibility. It’s a big misconception that we have to get rid of when we go on vacation. I find that when you have to do anything for a living, it’s not as difficult as it looks.
Although there are certainly people out there who don’t seem to care about education, you do to. I know that there are people out there who are just so convinced that they are entitled that they won’t learn anything. For example, I know that a few people in my family were sent to the public school system for the same reason.
The reason that I find this so offensive is because its not true. To the contrary, we are not entitled. You are entitled. You are entitled to make a career out of a career, you are entitled to a good education. You are entitled to knowledge and information. You are entitled to what you choose to do with your life. You are entitled to what others think. You are not entitled to have something handed to you on a silver platter for free.
Education is a very difficult thing to get, especially for those of us who are young. In a lot of ways, we are still in the dark ages, and I understand that feeling, but in a lot of ways, I am the person who has been given all the answers and is entitled to them. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that you need to take the stairs once in a while.
I have a very simple answer for this problem. It is that the only way you are going to get good answers on your education is by asking questions. You are going to get bad answers from people who think they are smarter than you. Why? Because they are not.
This is why it is so important to ask questions. You dont have to be a neuroscientist to understand that you need to ask good questions to find out how to properly study.
It’s also why it is so important to make it so easy to get good answers. Because being smart is basically just something that everyone can teach you. And the only way you are going to get good answers is by asking questions.