This is the first post, of what I suspect will be the first of a few posts in answer to what I would call the MTBoS (newbies) challenge. Check it out here if you're interested.
Mission #1 Blog Prompt: "Who are you? Introduce
yourself to the MathTwitterBlogosphere! How'd you get into teaching? What do
you like most about your job?"
Ok, this was one of the prompts for people who didn't already have a blog, but I couldn't think of a good answer to the other prompts, and I don't think I've really ever answered this question on this blog. So here goes.
I'm a pre-service student teacher, so I don't have a classroom. But I'm not letting that stop me for taking up this MTBoS challenge! Why would I think I would have anything valuable to add to the MTBoS? Well only a student's perspective on teaching really; a pre-service teacher's perspective on what it is like being a student, which may be a little different from that of a general student's perspective.
Why did I decide to get into teaching? Like everything, it's a long story. When I was in primary school I wanted to be a veterinarian (cats and dogs, not horses and cows etc), when I was in high school I wanted to be a dog trainer and a dog groomer, then an artist, then an auto mechanic, then back to wanting to be a veterinarian, then a physicist, then a geneticist/microbiologist, then back to physicist, then a philosopher, then maths/science high school teacher (years 7 - 12).
Lots of things influences my decision to get into teaching; all of my teachers, the good, the awesome, the bad and the terribly mean; my experiences as a student from primary school until now; being student rep for my first year maths and physics units at uni. There is something about it all that makes me think to myself, "Let me try, I want to see if I can do this, let me try something". The deciding factor was the time (albeit short) I've spent tutoring high school students - I've enjoyed every single tutoring experience I've had with these kids, even the ones who hated school and their parents were just dropping them off at the centre for "free babysitting".
What do I like most about teaching? I could say something corny like "changing kids lives" and in a way that's probably true, but there is more to it than that. From my tutoring experiences, I found that, yes, the kids learnt stuff, but also I learnt a lot as well; about myself, about human beings, about teenagers, about teachers, about the subjects being taught, about teaching, about psychology, about ethics and philosophy. Yes I want to help the kids, but I also want to do this for myself. To me, life is one giant problem solving project, a challenge to be accepted. I have a passion for maths and science (well mainly physics and biology), and I like sharing that.
Tegan
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me a bit of how I got into teaching. Not as convoluted a path, but I went to university expecting to be an engineer. Had no real idea what engineers do, but was good at math(s) and science so I thought that this was the life for me. Second semester chemistry beat this out of me. I had lunch with an advisor to discuss this crisis of confidence and he asked me to go home with the course catalog and circle the classes that looked interesting. After a long lunch the next week looking through a jumble of math, physics, psychology, philosophy courses I came to the realization that what I liked was school. I like being around interesting people and learning. I like sharing ideas. I like the rhythm of school. 27 years later - far longer than I thought I'd last - I still like these things. I'm excited to hear the voices of beginners and soon to be beginners. Keep it up!
Thank you for your comment mrdardy. I can relate to your experience with university chemistry. My final degree looks nothing like what I had initially envisioned, but in many ways I prefer how it has become broader. For example, I never envisioned that I would be taking ethics courses, but I'm glad I did.
DeleteHi Tegan! Welcome to teaching, and to the MTBoS!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you're going to jump in. I've worked with many pre-service teachers, and I've found that I can always learn something from people who are new to the profession. I really value the openness, curiosity, and creativity of "beginner's mind", as it's called in Zen Buddhism.
I can absolutely relate to your feeling that teaching changes both the student and the teacher. I started in the profession with ideas about what "good teaching" looked like. These images were informed mostly by my experiences as a student in grade school, and as a student in a teacher preparation program. Then, as I actually did the work of teaching, I grew into a different teacher (a different person, really). It has been a more challenging and rewarding journey than I could have expected. :)
I look forward to hearing more from you!
-Jason
Thank you Jason! I can imagine with all the self reflection involved in becoming a teacher it would change who you were - hopefully in a good way. I'm really looking forward to teaching and continuing to reflect on my experiences and how those teaching experiences relate to my experiences of being a student.
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