Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Reflections - How much is enough?

"Think for a moment that you are a student," she asks at my interview.
"That's easy," I think.
"What is the one thing that you would want from your teacher?" she asks plainly. 
"Knowledge," I say without hesitation. That's what all students want. Stepping into the shoes of  a student I then recall the many wonderful teachers I had in school. Were they all knowledgeable? Am I knowledgeable? Why does that term sound way too idealistic? Soon, my teacher self kicks in. 
My heart is now beating fast and all of a sudden my mind is shrieking, "disclaimer, disclaimer!" What if she asks me something about Current affairs? Calculus? I'm panicking now. Beneath a calm outward, my brain furnishes reasonable excuses. "I'm an English teacher. I can't expect myself to be perfect at sll subjects, can I?"
   
"Subject knowledge!" I blurt out. I sit relieved with a convincing answer. 
I am greeted with a rewarding nod. A completely unjust question follows,
"Now, think that you are an English teacher. What would you know about Shakespeare Sonnet 130?"


Reflections - To start with ...

I am going to start simple. I hope to be objective and concise. I don’t want my thoughts meandering as I write, or answers limiting my thirst for knowing and 'learning to know', unless they are creating lines of questioning and deeper inquiry.
I am now on board a raft that will hopefully take me to the deep end of the talent pool and help me stay afloat over the waves of time and experience. It’s nothing short of an ordeal, though, and I will explain why later.... But for now, without allowing my thoughts to digress, (and that will be challenging), I must move on and not really wallow in self-pity for not having done this earlier. I must instead shout aloud: “Onward through the fog!”
It is beginning to emerge that climbing aboard a raft is one thing, but rowing to its destination is a different ballgame altogether! So well, I am venturing to practice a few basic rowing exercises on a bold, independent journey!