11/19/2015 0 Comments WORKing Towards a Brighter FutureWhen I came to college, I was positive that I wanted to be a teacher. After all, I had been spending years buying teacher planners at Barnes and Noble and forcing parents to play school with me. It was pretty obvious what I was going to do with my life. But as things like this always seem to work out, I changed my mind...and my major...three times. I mean, how am I supposed to know what I want to do for a living when I can't even decide if I want to go out tonight or binge-watch Aziz Ansari's new show: Master of None? I started working for an organization called THINK Together last year, in which I volunteer at a nearby elementary and help a class of kindergarteners and first graders with their homework, read to them, play outside, etc. etc. Originally I chose this sort of a job because I felt it would be beneficial since I wanted to eventually teach. But since I changed my major, I've been pondering if this is the best way to spend 10-12 hours a week of my time. I love the kids. I love the flexible hours. But I hate the pressure of feeling like I might not be making the right choice. After struggling with this dilemma for a little while (and sticking with my job) I have ironically come back to a desire of teaching. Who knows how long this career choice will last, but as of now I have begun researching PRAXIS tests I'll have to suffer through and other fun things like that. But all joking aside, education matters to me and it always will. I strongly believe that teachers are one of the most important professions and that the education system can make or break a person, a society, a nation, or even a world. I decided to interview one of my coworkers on his thoughts of education. Read the interview below! What is one change you would make to the education system? As crazy as this might sound, the one change I would make would be to make all education free. Education would be free for everyone including at the college level. This would give people who cannot afford college the equal opportunity as a student who is able to afford one. Why do you teach? I teach because I feel that education is one of the most important aspects in life and that everyone should have the opportunity to an education if they desire it. Besides gaining knowledge, what is the main purpose of going to school? A main purpose of going to school is to interact and socialize with other people. Being able to be around other people that are the same age as you helps you to develop social skills that will be useful in meeting new people. If you had to choose would you rather not be allowed to ever punish/reprimand your students or not be allowed to ever praise/compliment them? I think I would rather not be allowed to ever punish or reprimand my students because I find that praising and complimenting a student is much more rewarding. Although there will be students who misbehave and need to be punished, nothing is more powerful than when you praise a student and see them motivated to continue their good habits and behavior. How would you bring education to be more about learning and less about getting good grades/doing what society has planned for you?
I feel like grades place a lot of pressure on students, which in turn causes them to be more concerned about getting the grade they want instead of really wanting to learn the subject. If we could get rid of grades and make the class a pass or fail, then I think a lot of the pressure will be taken off from the students. Students would have the liberty of actually wanting to learn the subject and not be pressured to get the grade needed to pass the class.
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