Prospect of being a teacher

[TH2008]

And remember that an education is what you've given them after they've forgotten everything you ever taught them from a formal lesson plan.

School was never for me. I ended up dropping out and going to work, which I enjoyed much more. But I went back years later as an adult and I worked hard and scored an A and A+ on every test I took. I saved my own money to do it, as there were no student loans available for adult basic education programs in Nanaimo. Probably just as well!

There were some excellent teachers at Malaspina. David Muirhead, Anne Ingles, Larry Stone and a math teacher named Paul (cannot remember his last name).

I found out I enjoyed math a lot, even though I was really slow at it. And English was something I enjoyed a lot, as well. Anne wanted me to go "up the hill" and take courses related to journalism. However, I went down the hill to the trades

Anyway, I found out I was not "stupid" and didn't have "half a brain" as one teacher said I did. But he was right, at the time, because I often behaved like I had half a brain. Basically, I was bored and I didn't fit in to the schools I was in, at least education wise, and I never did. The curriculum drove me crazy. I am more of a hands on learner, I guess. And paper chases drive me insane.

I'd sooner have a 2-stroke Husqvarna!

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TH

[bamboo]

Nostradama has the t shirt as they say and how good you were able to teach in the same area. You had to go to Victoria for some final year(s) to become a teacher then, Malaspina being a college for most of its existance.
bambbo has already suggested he really likes young people, but what his experience and knowlege of them in reality is I am not sure. They are shipped to you already formed and especially with subjects like math and science I imagine you will run into both great resistance to the subject from young people who have decided they cannot get the dryer subject matter, and that it is too much hard work, and then there will be those like bamboo who can, and find it to be their chocolate. I think an enjoyment and natural ability in the ABC's is a plus, but the real challenge is in passing it all on to all attitudes and personalities to the best of your ability.

Thank you for your kind words, those are exactly my challenge I expected to face during my future studies.

Most of stuff I have done, if I looked back and think again, those are miracle to me already. I have never expected I would live here when I was kid, never expect to do stuff like flat my lot, grow kitchen vegetable, or lost everything in a house fire and recover from nothing.

Confront a person with the danger of death and he will fight to live, I always believe this quote.

Love to be around children and to be a part of their maturation. Children are so uncanny and naïve that it helps me to remember that life does not have to be completely serious. I cannot imagine another job that would keep me young at heart. Not only do I like the fact that children keep you young, but a career in teaching does not end your education.

Talking about subjects like math and science, I think as long as I can teach with passion, I should be ok, encourage rather than say:” you will never learn!”

I think my teaching style probably will be east meets west, balance between yin and yang, learning with kids together, enjoy the joy of growing together and appreciate each others.

Talking about location of teaching, I don’t even mind to teach in Queen Charlotte, I think I am the only Asian who is into native art and culture. I found a lot of similar between traditional Chinese mythology and native stories.

Ps: I often joke that I am Inuit just to be buddy with fellow crab fishermen…

[bamboo]

School was never for me. I ended up dropping out and going to work, which I enjoyed much more. But I went back years later as an adult and I worked hard and scored an A and A+ on ever test I took. I saved my own money to do it, as there were no student loans available for adult basic education programs in Nanaimo. Probably just as well!

There were some excellent teachers at Malaspina. David Muirhead, Anne Ingles, Larry Stone and a math teacher named Paul (cannot remember his last name).

I found out I enjoyed math a lot, even though I was really slow at it. And English was something I enjoyed a lot, as well. Anne wanted me to go "up the hill" and take courses related to journalism. However, I went down the hill to the trades

Anyway, I found out I was not "stupid" and didn't have "half a brain" as one teacher said I did. But he was right, because I often behaved like I had half a brain. Basically, I was bored and I didn't fit in to the schools I was in, at least education wise, and I never did. The curriculum drove me crazy. I am more of a hands on learner, I guess.

--
TH

Don’t get me wrong, I think North American education system created whole sub-prime mortgage fiasco, guess what? Subprime or credit crunch will never happen in Eastern Asia countries like Japan or China, because their kids math skills were so good, highschools have already taught them asset can create capital, where liability drove you into debt.

Here in North America, kids are not financial literacy or math literacy. We taught kids to use creditcard, while Japanese kids were taught save your first pay cheque for raining day..

People like us, have obligation to teach kids literacy, doesn't mean you could read balance sheet or numbers, rather have passion of learning and solve your own challenge

[Nostradama]

Any teacher who tells a student that he has "half a brain" should be stood up against a wall and shot, as far as I'm concerned. Certainly fired. I have pretty violent reactions to things like that--obviously. In my experience, unless there are some obvious challenges, every kid can learn. It's part of a teacher's job to discover exactly how each kid learns best. We all learn in different ways. And fairly often a kid who is doing nothing in class is just plain bored, or there's something else going on in the kid's life that needs some attention. For some kids, life is so tough that it's a miracle that they even show up at school every day. I've read this over and I can't believe that I'm still such an idealist after all these years! I suppose that's why counsellors used to appear at my classroom door with goofy grins, begging me to take a kid whom everyone else was refusing to teach. I remember Larry Stone from many, many years ago. One of the nicest guys I ever met. I'm glad to hear you did well. And I share your problems with math. Put any list of numbers down you want, put an equal sign between them, and it's going to take me hours. But eventually I'll get there.

[Nostradama]

Then how do you explain the fact that the Japanese government had to prop up its corporate world for five years? Check recent Japanese economic history. Two different courses in how to work yourself through personal finances, etc., used to be offered in schools here, and a student had to complete either the Grade 10 level course or the Grade 12 level course in order to graduate. Then the course was eliminated by the Ministry of Education. But it certainly used to happen.

[TH2008]

Don’t get me wrong, I think North American education system created whole sub-prime mortgage fiasco, guess what? Subprime or credit crunch will never happen in Eastern Asia countries like Japan or China, because their kids math skills were so good, highschools have already taught them asset can create capital, where liability drove you into debt.

Here in North America, kids are not financial literacy or math literacy. We taught kids to use creditcard, while Japanese kids were taught save your first pay cheque for raining day..

People like us, have obligation to teach kids literacy, doesn't mean you could read balance sheet or numbers, rather have passion of learning and solve your own challenge

bamboo, what you saw during the last 10, 20, 30 and 40 years was greed, plain and simple. They gave up on religion in the USA many years ago. They still say, "God bless America", but they don't mean it. That was replaced with the "American Dream", something that cannot be sustained, at least not for all. The real danger is, people in the USA have lost their American Dream and they have nothing left to strive for. It's not about "God" in the USA. It's about "stuff", or rather the collection of stuff. And working hard to collect the "stuff". Without the "stuff" that's it. It is over.

In the USA, the American Dream is more powerful than "God". They'll fight harder to keep their American Dream than they would for Jesus. And when they have discovered, en masse, the American Dream has gone bust - then you're going to see some fightin'. I think that is coming, sadly enough.

Just my opinion above.

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TH

[TH2008]

Any teacher who tells a student that he has "half a brain" should be stood up against a wall and shot, as far as I'm concerned. Certainly fired. I have pretty violent reactions to things like that--obviously. In my experience, unless there are some obvious challenges, every kid can learn. It's part of a teacher's job to discover exactly how each kid learns best. We all learn in different ways. And fairly often a kid who is doing nothing in class is just plain bored, or there's something else going on in the kid's life that needs some attention. For some kids, life is so tough that it's a miracle that they even show up at school every day. I've read this over and I can't believe that I'm still such an idealist after all these years! I suppose that's why counsellors used to appear at my classroom door with goofy grins, begging me to take a kid whom everyone else was refusing to teach. I remember Larry Stone from many, many years ago. One of the nicest guys I ever met. I'm glad to hear you did well. And I share your problems with math. Put any list of numbers down you want, put an equal sign between them, and it's going to take me hours. But eventually I'll get there.

Thanks, Nostradama. And I forgot to add - welcome to the board! It's nice to have you here. And I hope you will stick around and give us your valuable input!

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TH

[bamboo]

Thanks, Nostradama. And I forgot to add - welcome to the board! It's nice to have you here. And I hope you will stick around and give us your valuable input!

--
TH

exactly, you could be our mentor..... as i am very new here..

[kickidee]

You must have been the one out of a few. Many of my teachers wrote what pages to read in the text book and the assignment on the board and sat at the desk reading. The student took on the responsibility of chosing to do what was up there or socialize and get poor grades. I will never forget a socials teacher in grade eight who spoke to us and history became important live and a passion that still continues for me. He attended all school events and was the most popular person there. I am glad you were here teaching the teens. The fact that you had to earn your way was only the start of the dedication you poured into your job. That would be my prime definition of a high school teacher. Thanks for sharing.

[Nostradama]

There was an old time movied called, I think, "Teachers," and in the movie Mr. Ditto would be sitting at his desk when the kids came into class, reading a newspaper. Kids were expected to put their homework into his inbox, and pick up the work for the class out of another box, and then sit down and do it. Finally, students discover that Mr. Ditto has been sitting at his desk, dead, for two or three days. And there sure are some "Mr. Dittos" in the system.

Something I learned from a shop teacher I worked with was "Greet them at the door" and it was good advice. Beginning of each class, there I was at the door, saying Hi and also keeping an eye on what was going on in the hallway.

And then one year I had to hand my classroom over to another teacher during my spare block. Any time I had to go into the room to pick up something I'd forgotten, he'd be sitting at his desk, reading a book, while the kids seemed to have no interaction with him at all. Complete silence. He ruled through fear. That wasn't a possibility for me. I was female and pretty darned small and hated yelling at kids, which I did maybe three times in my career. Who's gonna be scared of me?

I used to say to friends "XXX is already retired. He's just drawing his pension cheques at his desk." When you reach that stage, you should retire and make room for some young gun with new ideas and a better attitude.