In this process of updating my blog, I'm posting several things I've written for other blogs. I wrote this about 9 months ago -
"What's so great about teaching?"
Gosh, I’m
not even sure. But there’s nothing better to me job-wise than walking
away from a class feeling like they really grasped the concept I was
trying to get across. The day a student told me I made a great analogy
when I had made it on the fly literally changed my day. Wait wait, start
over, maybe this is what it is.
I really love to learn. Really, really love to learn. I think learning is fascinating, exciting, worth my time. And I like teaching in a way that makes other people discover that learning can be all those things to them, too. Sometimes students need to be challenged, sometimes they need to be encouraged, sometimes they need to be taught something that will simply blow their minds. Learning takes discipline, and in this culture we don’t like discipline very much, but the payoff is incredible.
The world is the best. But seriously. There’s so much to know … see … discover. I think it’s because there’s so much to know, see, and discover about God. He’s the best. He created the world and the people who live in it. That makes sociology and psychology intriguing. That makes physics brilliant and mind-blowing. That makes history important. That makes literature expressive. That makes art creative and beautiful. That makes music passionate. That makes athletics heart-pounding. He created it all. And He is the most creative Creator there will ever be.
I think every subject studies a facet of His character. Learning about Him and His Creation (or the creations of His creation - like literature, architecture, music, etc.) is simply transfixing. If I’m not communicating that as a teacher, I’m not doing my best. Learning should not be dull. It takes hard work sometimes (a lot of times), but it should not be dull. One thing is for certain - God is not dull. It is my privilege to do my best to reflect that in every single class period.
I really love to learn. Really, really love to learn. I think learning is fascinating, exciting, worth my time. And I like teaching in a way that makes other people discover that learning can be all those things to them, too. Sometimes students need to be challenged, sometimes they need to be encouraged, sometimes they need to be taught something that will simply blow their minds. Learning takes discipline, and in this culture we don’t like discipline very much, but the payoff is incredible.
The world is the best. But seriously. There’s so much to know … see … discover. I think it’s because there’s so much to know, see, and discover about God. He’s the best. He created the world and the people who live in it. That makes sociology and psychology intriguing. That makes physics brilliant and mind-blowing. That makes history important. That makes literature expressive. That makes art creative and beautiful. That makes music passionate. That makes athletics heart-pounding. He created it all. And He is the most creative Creator there will ever be.
I think every subject studies a facet of His character. Learning about Him and His Creation (or the creations of His creation - like literature, architecture, music, etc.) is simply transfixing. If I’m not communicating that as a teacher, I’m not doing my best. Learning should not be dull. It takes hard work sometimes (a lot of times), but it should not be dull. One thing is for certain - God is not dull. It is my privilege to do my best to reflect that in every single class period.
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