Modern Day Magi

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14............. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. - Acts 17:11

Sunday, August 05, 2007

I'm a teacher now, and what do I make?

I have been a high school teacher now for just over a month. People in Australia seem to think teachers are overpaid and under qualified. Usually the people who hold this opinion either have little education themselves or little respect for education as a whole. While their opinions are theirs to cherish, none the less education IS important and IS valuable.

Click here to view Taylor Mali perform this piece.

Otherwise read the following, and discover what a teacher really makes...

He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: “Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.”

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you're a teacher, Taylor," he says.
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
If you ask for it, I have to let you have it.


You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence.
No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won't I let you get a drink of water?
Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.

You want to know what I make?

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
"I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today.
Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen."

I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.

I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.

I make them understand that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart)
and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make,
you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a difference! What about you?

5 Comments:

  • At 8/06/2007 11:57:00 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Teachers are a special group of people. They genuinely have an opportunity to make a significant difference in someone's life.

     
  • At 8/07/2007 12:05:00 am, Blogger Nephos said…

    I like that!

    Whenever I hear, "Those who can't teach." I think "Those who say that have never taught." (And probably couldn't if they tried.)

     
  • At 8/11/2007 08:08:00 am, Blogger Joe said…

    Few are the teachers who do what you do.

    Kudos!

     
  • At 8/27/2007 06:10:00 pm, Blogger Theophilus said…

    Glad to see someone who loves to dig a little deeper will be influencing others to do the same.

    God bless you in one of the most important roles (outside of parenthood) in society.

     
  • At 10/22/2007 01:44:00 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Funny, I just caught a Taylor Mali clip when visiting the Pyromaniacs site.

    It was on declarative sentances, and our inablility to use one. (Particularly relevant for Christians) There is another one proving the benefits of Proofreading, but the humor is a little... shall we say... edgier.

    Just dropping a line to encourage you in what you are doing, and to tell you that you get some prayers from Canada from time to time.

    God bless you and your family, MDM.

    From Theophilus.

    Btw, on a personal note, we just found out we are expecting our 3rd child!

     

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