I Want To Be A Teacher

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I believe teachers are the backbone of an economy. They form the building blocks that make up the support structure much like the skeletal system or the foundation of any infrastructure. And similar to the bone marrow, they are instrumental in providing new blood to the economy.

Teaching is a very noble profession, an ancient craft. There are those with the gift for teaching and those with the passion for it. Whoever has the gift should refine it. While those who have the passion should invest time in learning the craft.

I say teaching is a craft as much as it is a skill because I believe teachers create new ways to pass on information to others. One needs to evolve not merely to stay competitive, although it does give them an edge. Rather innovation in teaching should be done for the sake of the changing times and culture that shape the students of today.

I have had many credible, reliable, and excellent lecturers and instructors. But I believe that for one to be considered a teacher, one must go beyond the lessons, lectures, and other classroom activities.

A teacher is not just a person who simply feeds information to others. Otherwise, why should students bother listening to them? They would probably be better off reading books and researching online to find the information they need.

Instead, I think teachers help students understand the value of the information they give. And they make complex concepts seem like a piece of cake. They bring life to the words that they utter and give meaning to the ideas they impart by making them relevant to those who listen.

Neither does a teacher merely give exams to determine a student’s grades or progress. But I think a teacher is one who challenges students to surpass them. They encourage students to find new ways and to come up with new ideas that would improve on old ideas and pave that way for development of life and society.

There must be an innate compassion within teachers, a desire to bring out the best in their students. Other than a child’s parents, teachers should be able to recognize children’s strengths and weaknesses, their limits and potentials, and guide them to fully realize it themselves.

While pondering about my desire to teach, I remembered what Shino in Naruto said regarding one’s dreams. He said that the first step in reaching your dreams is to express it verbally. Other than writing, I have a dream to teach along with many others. Though this doesn’t mean that I want to pursue all of them at the same time or as soon as possible. At least for my teaching dream, I need to better equip myself first with as much experience, knowledge, skill, understanding, wisdom, and compassion as I can.

I don’t want to face students with arrogance just because I know more than they do. I don’t want to lord my experience over them. And I don’t want them to think I’m better just because I stand in front.

Rather I want them to know that I’m honored to stand in front of them and that I will love my job because I care. I care for the future of my country and my people.

You can say being a teacher is a noble profession or a great gift. But I think more than that, being a teacher is an awesome calling. Some people are called to be musicians, writers, artists, ministers, doctors, lawyers, and what have you but being called to teach is simply amazing.

Out of all the teachers I’ve had, there was one who stood out the most for me. She was my PI 100 professor and she taught about Rizal’s life and works. She wasn’t the easiest professor to deal with. Often, we find ourselves being criticized and put on the hot seat during our reports or recitation.

She never took things easy with her students. I should know since I was her student twice, the first time for a course in Philippine Literature, focusing on gender and sexuality. It was a handful but at the end of it, I felt that I learned the most in that subject.

Anyway, you might think because she often turned our ideas down, that she was closed-minded. But I believe that was her way of challenging us to think critically and analytically with as much focus as we can. And she does know her subject matter thoroughly and comprehensively so she can back up her pointed remarks.

Turning our ideas down didn’t mean that she wasn’t open for discussion or discourse on those matters. But in order to do that, you needed to be methodical in your approach and logical in your reasoning. Basically, you need to know what you’re saying and back it up with evidence and references.

I learned a lot from her. More than the theoretical frameworks, literary analyses, and other “above-the-belt” information on Rizal, her approach to teaching gave me great insight. I don’t completely agree with all her methods or ideas but I believe she gave us a good foundation as we go out of college and into the “real” world. She may not show it but I felt her compassion for her students and for her country.

I believe that course prepared me to face the world outside college. It allowed me to see with a sober mind the realm of politics and economics. The world of various professions, of society at large, the mundane and the momentous. A world within which the historical forces are at work to shape and change the flow of history.

I want to be a teacher someday because I want to pass on everything that I know to the next generation. And leave them with the task of using that knowledge to make things better. I want to be able to make learning fun instead of being a chore as I sometimes felt before.

Hopefully, no matter how difficult studying can be, students would treat it with vigor and excitement. I hope that I can instill in them the mindset that grades are not the ultimate objective. Rather, with much effort and perseverance, I hope that students would find a better motive for learning. I want to inspire them to learn for their own sake.

Different people have different interests, skills, and passions. I hate the fact that students who don’t excel or show as much academic aptitude get branded as delinquents or mediocre without getting to the heart of the issue.

I believe those students only need somebody to listen to them and be there for them. As much as I wished that somebody would have recognized that in me, I hope to be the one to do that for the next generation.