On Teaching...

Please read.  The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do.

Dennis Hong got it right when he said:

• Teaching isn’t just “making it fun” for the kids. 
• Teaching isn’t just academic content.
• Teaching is understanding how the human brain processes information and preparing lessons with this understanding in mind.
• Teaching is simultaneously instilling in a child the belief that she can accomplish anything she wants while admonishing her for producing shoddy work.
• Teaching is understanding both the psychology and the physiology behind the changes the adolescent mind goes through.
• Teaching is convincing a defiant teenager that the work he sees no value in does serve a greater purpose in preparing him for the rest of his life.
• Teaching is offering a sympathetic ear while maintaining a stern voice.
• Teaching is being both a role model and a mentor to someone who may have neither at home, and may not be looking for either.
• Teaching is not easy. 
• Teaching is not intuitive. 
• Teaching is not something that anyone can figure out on their own. 

     And furthermore, if you have great ideas about what your teacher friends should try in their classrooms, please, by all means, write them down.  Make a list on yellow-lined paper.  Number them in order of most important to least important... and then crumple your list up and throw it out the window.  Ask before bestowing your "real-world" knowledge onto your exhausted, real-teacher friend.  And, finally, offer your advice knowing that we have probably tried this very idea, if not something similar to it, and it either works or doesn't work, and don't be offended if we become defensive or even enraged at the idea of "showing our students that new show about Science on TV" or finding that interview on the NPR website that you heard last Tuesday but don't remember the name of, but seriously think we should spend our time finding because it was just "so relevant to students today." 


     If, on the other hand, you REALLY want to help your teacher-friends, here's some ideas that teachers would actually appreciate:

• Buy them pencils, stamps, poster board, and other classroom supplies, just because you were thinking about them and you know how much of their own money they spend on school supplies.
• Offer to help them decorate their room on a weekend!
• Bring them used/old books, dictionaries, magazines, or any other items that might be useful in a classroom (of course, ask before dumping them on their doorstep).
• Offer to come present to their class about the importance of education or how their class is relevant in the real world.
• Go to a school function with them (think high school basketball, choir concert, or school play).
• Volunteer to help drive during a field trip.
• Get your office to sponsor a club or classroom that your friend is involved in -- some organizations offer to pay for technology in classrooms, class sets of books, redecorating a room, or scholarships for students.  Be creative!

     Establishing a tie between the family and the school is essential, but building a connection between community and school is also important so students realize that society cares about them and that their education and participation in school functions can get them places, jobs, scholarships, etc. in real life.