Saturday, 23 January 2010

Why I Teach

A new term is in the offing, and I can't think of a single thing I'm going to teach my class. So, it seems timely to remind myself why I teach...

* It gets me out of the house instead of being stuck indoors all the time.
* I get to meet new people who are generally interested and enthusiastic
about my favourite subject: writing.
* I get to talk about my favourite subject and, because I'm the teacher,
there are fewer interruptions and glazed eyes (so unlike home...).
* It provides structure to my week.
* I love seeing students growing in skill and confidence.
* I love hearing about student success.
* I love the support everyone generously offers other students.
* I generally like thinking up class exercises, and seeing how they work out.
* Thinking up stuff for class stimulates me to think about the craft of
writing.
* I'm a better writer because I've had to analyse what I do so I can teach it.

Right. I still don't know what I'm going to teach next Friday, but I've remembered why I'm going to be teaching whatever it is.

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