Teaching: Evolving as a Profession

One thing that struck me about our last reading in the Foundations book was when Gatto mentioned that in his 26 years as a teacher, he never experienced a conversation among teachers that consisted of ideas about the profession, teaching techniques or different teaching approaches. I find that extremely sad. Although I can understand that teachers want to get away from the job at times and unwind, teachers that are truly passionate about the job should want to engage in intellectual conversations about improving the profession as a whole.

Hearing why everyone in class got into teaching was moving. The readings were also equally moving as I found the Why Teach? question being answered on many occasions. Going along with what I said above, I feel someone should teach because they have a desire to advance the profession. Go to conferences. Get more schooling. Teaching should be a constant work in progress to improve the quality of one's abilities. To me a teacher who gets a job right out of school and teaches high school history for 25 years is not completely dedicating themselves to the profession unless they are continually working to better themselves and the profession as a whole. In practice, this means not using the same lecture for 10 straight years, but instead reviewing the material each time to see if there is a new angle that inspires you. It also means engaging in consistent conversations with colleagues about different ideas and techniques that can be used to inspire young people.

Another topic that I found interesting was the story of the girl Milagros combined with the idea that Kohl said, which was that there has to be a separation between the fantasy of teaching from the reality of teaching. All of us have a vision of what teaching will be like. How we will influence the young students, and what strategies we might use to be most effective. The Milagros story is the type of "fantasy" we all think about when it comes to teaching. Our idea is that we will have these moments that inspire us and make us know that we are making a difference. While I believe that all great teachers will have this impact on students and these type of moments, they may not come often. It is important that teachers find their inspiration, their reason for teaching in other ways. There may not always be students who come back and thank you. A teacher needs to find solace in that they are constantly contributing and improving the profession. They are exploring new ideas and engaging in further education so that the "fantasy" of teaching will become a reality.

The online reading we had a quote that I found fitting. The writer said
      "When I work with new teachers, I tell them that continually developing themselves is the best route   to becoming good teachers. Only after they understand the importance of self-development are they ready to teach." (Moss as quoted in Foster 1997, 165).