The Academic Path

On deciding that teaching is the proper path, a student begins to explore what it means to become a teacher. Pursuit of their own education has always been a priority to the individuals who enter this field. It is a profession fraught with rewards and punishments to those who do not explore its requirements. In the desire to teach others the teacher must in turn be constantly seeking understanding of the world around them as well.

It has been said, that a good teacher is one who considers the mind of the student as though it were their own. Many mediocre students have gone on to become mediocre teachers, and the reason was simply a lack of interest in learning. Consider Aristotle, the student of Plato, and the teacher of Alexander the great. He was a man who truly loved knowledge and even more he loved passing that knowledge onto his students. The result of his efforts to be the greatest teacher was evident in the greatness achieved by his students. This should be the teachers principal goal in entering into the hallowed halls of education.

There will be teachers who desire to teach at the highest level that is possible, and there will be others who choose to educate small children and those with learning disabilities, the difference is not in the level of knowledge or in the quality of the student, but rests within the passion of the teacher themselves. Teaching a student who has been in the education system for a long time can be a taxing endeavor. It is a little like teaching someone who has been driving a car for long time without a licence, there are a lot of bad habits which may have been incurred along the way. Helping those students to get back onto their path can be one of the great rewards for a teacher.

To rescue the minds of those who would have become lost in the system, is an achievement for which only the teacher may realize. On the other end of the scale is the imbuing a young grade school mind with the skills and tools which they will need to become the best students that they can, and should be the goal of every grade school through high school educator. By permitting themselves to be perceived as teachers of good conscience, responsibility and concern for the student, will go a long way to fostering a desire for education and knowledge within their students hearts and minds.

Many educators who started out on a successful career in education have become victims of a system that does not offer them rewards as perceived in other occupations. Without a burning desire to teach and to learn, the teacher who rests upon the curriculum of what is expected, will never surpass the teacher who thrives within the classroom filled with eager minds. There are those who would become complacent in their own understandings, and then wonder at the lack of interest in their students. To be a teacher is to be a student at heart.

The burnout ratio of teachers is fairly high. Unfortunately as with other professions, teaching is a quagmire of politics and complaints. If school halls could echo back the words of bygone days, it would be most likely the words," if only I had the tools to teach then I could have taught them better." Mistakenly the notion that it takes a box full of gadgets or the very finest of education materials to teach is wrong. Today's educators rely far too much upon the importance of tools and technology to educate their charges, and do not rely enough upon their own abilities and desire to learn themselves.

The expectations of a teacher providing a course of training is to have all the books and computers at the ready in order to complete the lesson, is a tragedy. By storing the lessons within their own heart and reciting it however imperfectly to their students, will provide the student with much more useful perspective than merely copying notes to their iPad or netbook. The distinction is in the passion. If the student can feel that the teacher truly knows and cares for the subject at hand, then they assume that it must be worth learning. As well a student who experiences just one teacher, who truly loved doing what they do, this will promote the possibility that some of their students may eventually wish to pursue the noble profession that is education itself.

Education is a path that should not be entered into lightly. The irreversible damage that can be caused by just one teacher who "doesn't care" can have a rippling effect that follows and plagues the student for a lifetime. On the other hand, it only takes one good teacher to repair those damages. The education system needs more good teachers!