It occurred to me this weekend that the profession of teachers is such an unsettled profession that I’m not sure how we survive, but we do! First, it must be because we love children, and then second, we love learning. There are basic precepts that most of us follow, techniques change with the times, and with continuing research, new ideas appear that we entertain. We keep up or we don’t. There are those, especially recently, who argue over what makes a great teacher, that indefinable nugget that means success with students. It would be terrific if they would agree, then we would have a list to follow. However, they don’t.
So, great teaching to me means having a great deal of resilience and grit. And because our profession is often defined tenuously, it helps to include some things in our lives that are definite, assured, and dependable, like pickles.
I have so many decisions to weigh in my job and so many ideas wandering around in my head that keep saying pick me, pick me. It’s wonderful to enjoy the definite beginning, middle and end of something so I can relax, enjoy the process, and complete something that is tangible, like pickles.
And at our local farmer’s market last Saturday, while filling my basket with tomatoes and cantaloupes, I spied a box of small cucumbers, plenty of them. I know I needed thirty for my recipe and snapped them up. By Sunday, I had a gallon of sweet pickles sitting in a jar in my refrigerator and some smaller jars ready to fill next week to give as gifts. I am happy that the pickle recipe kept me from making any decisions. I counted, bought, sliced, soaked, boiled, stirred and cooled. Nothing to it! I have pickles!
But I’m still going to continue being a teacher!
... a great teacher - I would like to add to your last sentence. Because you are.
ReplyDeleteTerje