Lack of growth and progress scares me. It is the antithesis of going into teaching. I’m here to help! Let’s get to work.
Why am I so keyed up about this? It’s kind of simple.
I don’t want my students to turn out like me.
I didn’t want to take away from the bulk of the post – but I did want to share and clarify my remarks, for those who are interested.
This is specifically following up “10 Things I Think I Think”. You don’t need to have read that piece to understand this one, but it will put this one in the appropriate context. Now that I’ve said that, let me revisit my own past once more.
There will be no crowing about “right” or “wrong”. This is merely a follow up.
Disclaimer: I’m not an epidemiologist. I’m a former pediatrician that now teaches Chemistry, AP Chemistry, and Anatomy & Physiology. I’m also hacked off, ticked, angry. Call it what you will.
“The high school, the junior high, the elementary school, we went down six times a year. And not just me, the whole school went down to watch the National Symphony. And that’s where I learned that I had no interest in classical music. But it was an effort! It was arts in the school. And now you have to fight to get arts in the schools. Because nobody wants to pay for it. Nobody wants to pay for anything anymore. That’s the way I look at it. Nobody wants to pay to get the things that would allow to have a great education for children. And I had that education. And they were middle class. It wasn’t some wealthy neighborhood.”
–Lewis Black, April 14, 2014 at the National Press Club
I’m starting off by quoting Lewis Black. Suffice to say, I’m not necessarily in a good mood. Continue reading “Measuring Sticks”
Do fondest dreams ever come true? Most times they don’t, sometimes they do.
I’ve said it before. It’s one thing to have your brain believe something. It’s another level of belief and appreciation to have your gut believe it.
“I don’t really like math for its own sake. What I love is that it lets you take some things that you know, and just by moving symbols around on a piece of paper, you find out something that you didn’t know that’s very surprising.” -Randall Munroe (“Comics that Ask ‘What If’” – Ted Talk)
“If you love science for science’s sake, teach college. If you really like science, but you really love to work with students, teach high school.” -Dr. Karen LaFever (in a conversation with me as I was picking my path to teach high school chemistry)
“I could help you, but it’s your fight.” -U2, “Get Out of Your Own Way”
