The many problems facing American society and the US education system can never be simplified to black and white. Unfortunately, I feel as though this post might be a little too cut and dry for some.
Do what you do best.
A very simple statement.
I am prompted to say this by many of the people I have met and I am also guilty of breaking this statement.
I believe that too often we step up to do something that we know we are not good at. Perhaps it is because at one time we were good at it or maybe someone (who wasn't really qualified to say it) told you were good at it.
If we go through with our actions we let others down because there was someone better who could have done the job.
We all can make contributions to others, both big and small, but those contributions should be with our strengths and of a quality that is unparalleled. If we can start to shift our minds to this way of thinking it would eventually lead to a lot more qualified people in professions that they can be effective in.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You make a good point - there are a lot of teachers out there who are "nice people," but not very effective teachers. But how do the people who truly possess teaching gifts find out that they have these? Through other people telling them so? Are you proposing that if we are more honest with people about what we perceive as their strengths and weaknesses that we will have better teachers? What about the people who really do have a gift for teaching but are constantly being told they do not? Personally, I feel convicted about going into the education profession for many reasons. But as we know, "good intentions" aren't good enough when it comes down to the education of a child. I am very aware of some of my own weaknesses as a future teacher, but I wonder: how will I ever know if my strengths as a teacher are enough to outweigh my weaknesses in order that I may have a positive impact on my students' learning, unless I give teaching a try? In a lot of ways, isn't life about trial and error, success and failure, and learning from these findings?
ReplyDelete