On teaching

Respect is one of those curious emotional constitutions that are sought after by the teaching community. Teachers by and large seek it as a form of recognition & acceptance that their profession is taken seriously by all those involved in the teaching community. Teachers, students, administrators and society at large.

This sought after respect manifests itself in many ways.

One way is to seek unquestionable attention at what one says with little questioning or room for discussion to what it is being imparted. The teacher is omnipotent in its field & therefore to question it is to disrespect the authority behind the knowledge.

Another way is to demand absolute silence because silence is the realm of the teacher and once silence is in place what it is said constitutes an unquestionable truth.

Other forms of respect are used as well.

Teachers tend to flash credentials to ascertain that they are licensed to impart and hence possess an authority which must be given deference and secretes out of the innocent passerby a spontaneous reaction of either awe or awkwardness.

Others dress in a fashion that ooze a cry for authority & if you don’t dress as a teacher ought to well then you fall from the grace of the teach clique.

The common thread here is authority. Respect is in essence an authority craving.

I too suffer the crave of authority but I don’t seek respect by imposing credentials or clothing nor by exacting certain behaviors from the teaching community.

I don’t really care what my peers think about me as a teacher, nor what administrators or society at large think. I do care, however, about what my employer sees in the form as results and most importantly what my students do to show me respect.

For me, respect is when the student gives me his or her wholeheartedly and unabated, genuine attention to what it is being imparted.

I have seen this several times & that gives me strength to keep on teaching.