Me at about 5yrs with my xmas camera. I took a whole bunch of unwelcomed photos with that camera.
I’ve always thought of myself as a teacher, for as long as I can remember. Back in the 5th grade, I remember teaching Laurie better running form and she went on the beat me, and all the other boys, in the 50 yard dash. I wish I could remember her time. Laurie, maybe you remember?
Is there anything better than teaching the love of things you love? Watching the eyes light up during that AHA moment – there is nothing better. It’s the best gift anyone can give, understanding and knowledge. I wish I could understand my wife! But I’m OK with the knowledge that I don’t understand and most likely never will! Now, to teach her to accept that….
The best teacher I ever had was my sister. She taught me almost everything I learned up until about grade 6. Not the stuff I wasn’t supposed to know, that I learned on my own. She would ask me what I had for homework and help me do it, almost every evening. She would move her dresser away from the wall and stand behind it, like a podium. She was 3 or 4 grades ahead of me in school and she used to teach me her math. I always did well in math, and after that foundation, would you expect anything different? And all the credit goes to Jill. I can only imagine how hopeless I would have been without her continuous involvement. Too bad she didn’t teach me how to read – Hey Jill – what’s the deal?
George Bernard Shaw once (or maybe twice) said, “He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” And although that is true for me now, since I can’t. I could at one point do this stuff and still chose to teach while I was doing it. I think teachers are as important a part of our community as anyone and yet aren’t accordingly rewarded.
Who is more important to you – the doofus who runs the B of A (who is about to be outed by WikiLeaks – ha!) or the person who teaches and spends everyday with your kids? Easy choice. Let this coming year, be the “Be Appreciative of Teachers Year.”
How come an Academy Award is so celebrated and the teacher of the year is not? Which is more important to the growth of our families, communities, states, countries? After all what difference does it make who wins the Academy Award? And for criminy sake – there’s a 3 hour TV show that goes over time every year. Award shows – I don’t want to get started on that crap. It seems like the more celebrated the award is, the less it really matters. I have a plaque somewhere in the garage, with the rest of my triathlon stuff, awarded to me by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for Outstanding Performance in 1990. Shouldn’t this Board of Supervisor have something better to do than to celebrate the achievements of some skinny dude running around in swim briefs? Fortunately I was out of town for the ceremony. Perhaps you got to see the telecast?
Steinbeck and Einstein seem to have much more respect for teachers than a lot of people do.
“I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” – John Steinbeck
“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” – Albert Einstein
Bring an apple to school tomorrow!