Vince Pitelka on fri 5 apr 96
Linda -
Regarding your question about why teaching requires courage, I have always
taken this for granted, but I've never stopped to really think it out. I guess
that the concept of becoming a university teacher was the most frightening
thing I ever decided to do. The amount of responsibility, if you take it
seriously, is enormous. The rewards of doing it well are great (I don't
mean financially!!!), but conversely, the implications of any failure are almost
too much to contemplate. There are few things more tragic than a bad teacher,
as their failure is in some way passed on to all the students, who are
deserving of the best we can offer. I guess that is the crux of it. When you
teach at any level, you are placing yourself in a position of power and
influence, which can be easily abused. All of us have endured bad teachers at
one time or another (maybe I had more than my share), and some have been
scarred by it. The challenges of being a good teacher are the greatest and
most rewarding of anything I have done. I am not trying to hold myself up as
any kind of example, but you asked online. I would love to hear some other
opinions on the issue of teaching and "courage."
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - wkp0067@tntech.edu
Appalachian Center for Crafts - Tennessee Tech University
Smithville, TN
LBlos72758@aol.com on mon 8 apr 96
Hi Vince,
I hope you did not think that I was disagreeing or criticizing the use of the
work courage as it relates to teaching. I was looking for further
clarification. I think there are different kinds of courage. There are some
high school teachers that I consider courageous because their physical safety
is at issue. There are shy people for whom teaching and any work in front of
others is an act of courage. I was really trying to understand more precisely
what you were saying, since it didn't fit either of the two types of courage
I mentioned.
Linda
Ithaca, NY
| |
|
