Those videos were very interesting to watch. I had seen the SNL one before but seeing it again on the cusp of actually taking on the profession set a new feel for me. Naturally, there were many stereotypes in the scene but many of them made sense to me. The running gag about France, for instance, reminded me of the line I hear every other week about History in America, "the students know the history of America but little to nothing about other areas in the world." Though I believe this thought is just a myth, people believe it and state it as fact. It's no wonder parents and politicians think teachers aren't doing a good job when they see skits like this or movies like Half Nelson and are too brain-dead to figure out that it's a representation and not the actual reality. If you weren't going to be a teacher and you saw Jerry popping pills as a teacher and giving up on his students, would you think your children were being taught well? Doubt it.
The other video was very interesting in what he was saying (though I wish he wouldn't cuss as much--"GD" offends me). It reminded me of my last practicum where I went into the teacher's bathroom and saw a paper on the wall. It had a conversation between a parent, who I believe was a lawyer or doctor, and a teacher. The lawyer, or doctor, said something foul about teaching and put it down as he asked "what do you make?" The teacher went on for a long time talking about the lifetimes of achievement teaching creates and the love of helping the students learn. It was a beautiful little tidbit and made me realize that money is not as important as changing a person's life.
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3 comments:
That is neat that you saw that paper. I have never heard that and probably would never have connected "what i make" with the question. I think i will use that when someone asks me! Also, my history teachers were alot like Jerry Seinfeld and i had a terrible time with them. I can honestly say that i did not take much away from college in any of my history classes because of the teachers.
I find it so crazy that people have this sort of negative reaction to us when we say that we are going to become teachers. I understand that money is important to make and it is nice to have but do these people really not understand that there is so much more to one's career than making money? I think it would be sad to spend the rest of my life working only for the money.
I hear ya, Elizabeth. I don't care about the money. I'm going for the happiness. Really though, teachers arent' in total poverty. Society takes the low pay a little too extreme I think. The saying is true also, "The more you make, the more you spend."
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