“Why did you became a teacher?”. It was one of the first questions you were likely asked in your first job interview and, if you were like me, you couldn’t quite nail down an answer that had people on the edge of their seats waiting to get you all signed up with a contract. I recall that my answer back in the day linked to the fact that I grew up around small children. Being the last of eight in a large Catholic family, there was ALWAYS nephews and nieces around the place. We built forts, we played tag games and I would take them to the park. Simply put, there was always kids in my life and I enjoyed being around them. That’s what I could articulate.
What I could not articulate at the time, was that I felt I had something to offer to society. I don’t think I even recognized that yet. While it was true I loved the presence and energy of children, I also felt that I had been blessed with teachers that stretched my thinking not necessarily in certain topics or disciplines but rather in my world view. Rather than look at the world through the lens of tasks and homework, these teachers opened my eyes to a larger arena, that of life.
One such example of this would be when we studied “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl. My teacher, Hugh Hanrahan, didn’t simply make this about the survival of a man in the German Extermination camps. We delved deeply into the book, uncovering the real meaning of connection and love. Victor did not write the book to simply tell his story or make money, Victor wrote his story as a gateway for the reader to explore the “why” we are here. It was life altering for me. I began to look more carefully at life and our deeper connection to it through how we live. It was transformative and I thank Mr. Hanrahan for gifting me with this. He was masterful in my eyes.
So, going back to my original question about why you became a teacher. Dig deeply for the why. Perhaps you got into teaching simply because of the summers. Perhaps you got into teaching simply because of your love of a certain discipline, Perhaps you got into teaching simply because of the HUGE checks . .. . What ever the reason, revisit the role you play in the lives of others. Look to the importance of every encounter you have. Think of the difference you can make simply by challenging kids and starting with a larger question. If your “why” was simplistic as mine was, dig deeper. What is the importance of our impact on society? Why does your job matter? Are you simply the distributor of knowledge or are you the architect of deep thinking? Are you simply filling empty heads with data or are you opening up minds that can find avenues of learning and question for themselves? Are they leaving your classroom with knowledge that they will later forget or are they leaving with an appreciation of the vastness of life and wonder of this world?
My “why” now is a little more prolific then it was when I was first asked the question – what gets me to work is knowing that our school system is graduating kind, competent, caring individuals who see the world through a Catholic lens. While we continue to offer those basic skills that all people need to be successful in this society, we do so with the understanding of the importance of developing the moral fiber we so need today. So, teach you discipline but remember why you teach it is more than just the rote memory of data and points to much more significant things – points to the values of a society and its citizens.
Our work is crucial – don’t let anyone tell you different.
Keep learning.
Dave
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