A person very close to my heart recently surprised me by saying, "What a beautiful life you live..." upon hearing about my teaching and my commitment to global education.
I found it surprising to be the focus of this simple, almost magical bit of praise. I had, of course, thought about the intrinsic value of teaching and the personal rewards of my involvement in global education many times during my 30+ years of global teaching -- but I had never thought or heard words that touchingly simple: "What a beautiful life you live." Taken aback by the simple power of those words, I was forced to focus on them and ponder their implications.
We teachers who wake-up daily before the end of our dreams, who "punch-in-and-out" the bureaucratic clock on the way to and from educating others, who are typically immersed in paper and paperless work, parental contacts, lesson plans, test preparation, homework correction and classroom discipline, may be easily distracted from our real jobs: we are global educators. we intend to create a better world through the agency of our students.
We welcome young, eager, sometimes immature students -- ordinarily the products of our cultures' narrow-minded conditioning -- and take steps to help them develop their global vision, their human sensitivity, their intrinsic humanism. We attempt to nurture their potential and enrich their very being. We hope that they will become the masters and mistresses of their chosen professional futures and use their expertise and commitment to create a better world for all humanity.
Is there a better way to spend our years on this living planet? Is there a more noble or more powerful undertaking? Is there a more worthwhile and rewarding professional pursuit?
Let us at least occasionally look beyond the daily tasks and toils of daily schooling. Let us at least occasionally ignore the incongruity of society's limited material rewards. And during those moments, let us instead revel in the intrinsic value of our own efforts -- imperfect as they may be at times -- and look anew, freshly and hopefully at what we really do: we educate global citizens; we empower the princes and princesses of tomorrow; we endeavor to create a better world.
How many professions can claim that as their over-arching goal? How many industries contribute in the same measure? None that I know of. None. Not one.
So, fellow global educators, rest assured that beyond the daily tasks and toils, beyond the bureaucratic trivia and the occasionally overwhelming demands, your work has value that others cannot claim. Your work perdures beyond your life and grave. Your work is noble, beautiful and long lasting. And when someone at some future time approaches you and says, "What a beautiful life you live," you will perhaps be a little less surprised than I was.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I am a firm believer that teaching is the most noble profession there is. Virtually every human being has been impacted in some way by a teacher or mentoring figure of some sort. Teachers are the very reason that people are able to function in society.
ReplyDeleteWithout them, how could there be growth and progress?
It would be impossible.
Who from an early age planted the first seeds of knowledge in our minds; and began the lifelong process of education?
Teachers.
I believe teaching and learning has always been an essential part of nature. Both in animals in the wild, learning to live and survive, and in humans, to learn to survive, but in our more complex way of life when surviving sometimes means more that eating, drinking and having shelter. In our society, we learn not just that but the stories of those before us to help us prevent future mistakes, or to do as they did if they succeeded; we learn of art and math and psychology and of the tongues of others. Teaching is the tree that branches out to the entire world so it learns and develops students to create a new world.
ReplyDeleteMany say, “Those who can’t do teach”. In a way, this statement is true, at least from my experience, because some teachers I have come to know became teachers because they didn’t have the time or ability to study more to do whatever profession corresponds to the subject, but not all have this reason. In the United States education is something that is essential, yet the most unappreciated, unthought of career is teaching. In other countries teaching is a privilege, an honor; it is thought that you are leading the future; you are a means to the future world, to teach students, to give them knowledge is not something to be damned, but something to be glorified. To finish, for those who do think that those who can’t do teach, maybe this is so, but to teach is to guide many more than one to do that which you would have done if you didn’t teach.
-Dayana
Every day, people go on living in their own little world, (school, practice, work, etc.), and make living an attempt just to survive in our society. As a due result of this, we sometimes forget the bigger things in life, like how we are a part of something so much superior, and the reality that what we do does not only affect us. For a person to acknowledge the beauty of educating is so astonishing, yet heartwarming. I believe that this shows that past all the global issues occurring, there is still good in the world.
ReplyDeleteFrom what this article has shown me, teachers are the key basis in order for us and our future lives and generations to grow. Without them, how would we be able to do something in life? From start to finish, they have always been there from simple thing such as teaching us our alphabet into preparing us for the real world outside of school. A teachers work is definitely priceless and never ends. Teachers have always been there for us and we need to see that they are what help create this world of empowered leaders and they are who help us become leaders of the fields we would one day love to be in.
ReplyDeleteEducation is critical to man kind. If we students aren’t education on what is occurring in the world, that we will won day have to make important decisions for, then how will the world function? Students should feel honored in receiving and being passed on education from professors who have learned from experience and other educators. One day we will be the ones passing on our knowledge to students so they can do the same we are trying to do: Overcome our potential to make a difference. We need to learn right from wrong to live a beautiful life.
ReplyDelete-Arion
First, I would like to congratulate you for your accomplishments in your profession and the professionalism that you use and as well thank you for providing us with such a great philosophy of what a better world can be and how to make it that way. Me, as well as you, believe that teaching is a very important profession that must be present in every generation and it is a beautiful, long lasting, and noble career. I personally want to be a teacher and I will prefer the global teaching method over any other because I believe that by doing that I will prevent future generations from causing or not stopping global issues. I definetly think that global teaching is a way in saving the world and a very rewarding method since as a teacher you are creating world savers that will stop any issues presenting unjustice.
ReplyDeleteTeaching is a magical thing. It does not necessarily have to be the teachers doing the teaching. It could be family, friends and even strangers doing it. The important thing is the education and knowledge being passed on. When knowledge is being passed on, the student is filled with information and ideas to be aware of things and things going on around the world and with life itself. Also, it's passed on to be a better person and not to do the same mistakes as previous experiences. It helps to live a better world on a better planet. The thing is, how can the students not be ignorant and disobedient to education that is being told to them?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome post. it really makes you think about the kind of life you really are living. teaching is such a magical thing. sometimes the teachers themselves learn from their students, instead of the other way around. global education is so important because we, as student and as adolesents, need to be aware of our surrounding and do something about the evils of our world. as we get older, people arent afraid to tell us the truth about whats going on because they expect we are mature enough to take it, and that is completely true. sometimes we are deprived of world knowledge solele because other people dont think we need to know. of course we need to know. our own lives depend on this. they say we are too young; they say we cant do anything; they say our voice wont be heard; i say their wrong. one person can change the world with the help of others. we need to be aware of our great potential, not deprieved of it. as a global teacher, the author is making a huge difference in the lives of the Cambridge students because they are being informed of their potential and encouraged.
ReplyDeleteLike a previous commenter said that people say "Those who cant do teach", its a pretty liberal term because thats not true. people who teach are doing more that anyone else. they are the ones that inspire todays (and tomorrows) doctors, lawyers, fire fighters, police men, and many more that are constanting making a difference in a community. without teachers, there are really no other achievers because education is the most powerful thing anyone can have. their clothes can be taken away, their cars, their money, their house, but no one can take away their memories or their knowledge. knowledge is trully powerful and its important to have people to orient a growing, maturing brain in the right direction, whether its one way or another, and thats where teachers come in. we need to KNOW and to experience in order to truly live a beautiful life. i really do feel that so far my life is beautiful. What about yours ? :)
-Ilsy
Teachers are the true heros and heroines of the world , however they dont get the recognition they deserve. This post however has made it clear that some people do appreciate the efforts teachers make. They dont just teach a certain subject they are , educaters ,parents, philosophers and most importantly they provide the knowledge that will help mold us to " be the citizens of tommorow." These teachers deserve all the good that comes their way and many other wonderful things because they help mold the future.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that teachers don't just teach science, english, social studies or history. Well most of them are teachers that actually teach us how to progress in life, how to recognize what we have in our surroundings and adapt to our society. Some people don’t appreciate our teachers how their supposed to be appreciated. Our teachers are the ones that gives us that extra boost that we all need to be successful in life. Many of which encourage us to reach our full potential and not settle for less. We need to grow and make a change. Teachers are like parents who do more than "parenting".
ReplyDelete