On Sunday I watched this great French documentary, "Être et avoir: To be and to Have." It is about a teacher in rural France and the 12 students between the ages of 4 and 11 he teaches in a one room school house. The film follows them throughout a school year, documenting the events that some would call mundane, but I think provide great insight to the the value of education and the dedication of teachers around the world. Monsieur Lopez, the teacher, not only helps the children learn their numbers and letters, he teaches them life lessons, for example, the value of hard work, that are perhaps more important than algebra and spelling. He is stern yet loving in his teaching approaches and always treats the children in such a way that encourages them to stretch themselves and reach the potential that the students themselves may not see, but he certainly does. My mother is a 5th grade teacher and, despite being severely underpaid and overworked, I have seen the effects she has had on the lives of her students, and not just in the world of academia. Teachers are powerful influences, for good and for bad. I suppose this is why was led by the man upstairs to switch majors to teaching, French teaching to be exact. I want to be able to influence kids for good and to be able to teach them the priceless lessons I learned from the amazing teachers I've had. I will be perfectly honest, I never saw myself as much of a teacher. I always wanted to work in some international or humanitarian organization in Africa and save the world that way. But I have realized that there are few jobs as important as the occupation of teacher because few other jobs allow you to have such a powerful influence on people. Teaching, perhaps more than any other job I could have, will in fact allow me to change the world, not by saving a continent, but rather by instilling in students the knowledge and qualities that will in turn allow them to change the world. I only hope I can be as good a teacher as those who have taught me not only the calculus or the history, but also those who influenced me for the better and pushed me to reach my own potential. What a power for good teachers possess.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Être et avoir: To be and to have
On Sunday I watched this great French documentary, "Être et avoir: To be and to Have." It is about a teacher in rural France and the 12 students between the ages of 4 and 11 he teaches in a one room school house. The film follows them throughout a school year, documenting the events that some would call mundane, but I think provide great insight to the the value of education and the dedication of teachers around the world. Monsieur Lopez, the teacher, not only helps the children learn their numbers and letters, he teaches them life lessons, for example, the value of hard work, that are perhaps more important than algebra and spelling. He is stern yet loving in his teaching approaches and always treats the children in such a way that encourages them to stretch themselves and reach the potential that the students themselves may not see, but he certainly does. My mother is a 5th grade teacher and, despite being severely underpaid and overworked, I have seen the effects she has had on the lives of her students, and not just in the world of academia. Teachers are powerful influences, for good and for bad. I suppose this is why was led by the man upstairs to switch majors to teaching, French teaching to be exact. I want to be able to influence kids for good and to be able to teach them the priceless lessons I learned from the amazing teachers I've had. I will be perfectly honest, I never saw myself as much of a teacher. I always wanted to work in some international or humanitarian organization in Africa and save the world that way. But I have realized that there are few jobs as important as the occupation of teacher because few other jobs allow you to have such a powerful influence on people. Teaching, perhaps more than any other job I could have, will in fact allow me to change the world, not by saving a continent, but rather by instilling in students the knowledge and qualities that will in turn allow them to change the world. I only hope I can be as good a teacher as those who have taught me not only the calculus or the history, but also those who influenced me for the better and pushed me to reach my own potential. What a power for good teachers possess.
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1 comment:
You will be an amazing teacher Kirsten! Your students will be very lucky.
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