There is a great joy in being a teacher, and I have been doing it for 30 years.
One thing that is interesting is that throughout my career I have heard, "Kids these days! What the world is coming to?" I could never really see what people were talking about. Time has proven that these concerns were completely unsubstantiated. In fact, in many ways I have to admit that "kids these days" are much kinder to each other than we used to be.
Racist jokes, for example, used to be common and even acceptable during my teen years; this is no longer the case today. Initiation rites, which were once common in many high schools, have simply disappeared.
Having taught generations of children, I have seen my former students grow into responsible adults. They are the ones running the businesses, fixing the machinery, and working in the schools and hospitals. They are also the parents of many of the children now in school. They are indeed doing a fine job.
There are things that have changed since I began teaching.
Technology is infinitely more advanced than it was in the 1980s. While this does bring distractions to the educational process at times, overall it has been extremely beneficial. We are able to access information that once could be found only in large university libraries. Today memorizing facts has become much less important than the ability to access information when needed.
Students are able to do research that once would have been impossible, and my teaching style has adjusted to make use of this in order to better prepare my students for the world around them.
We have also advanced in our understanding of the brain and its development. This is allowing us to understand our students better, and is thus helping them to achieve their potential.
Research affirms that children do not normally misbehave and have difficulty learning because they are trying to drive the adults around them crazy, they simply process information differently. If we can understand this, we can work them more effectively. Students who struggle in a classroom learning environment, we are finding, are gifted in other areas. A child who seems easily distracted, for example, often has tremendous ability in "outside the box" thinking and problem solving.
Research also confirms what we have always known, that despite trends in education, good teaching is simply good teaching. Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was right when he said, "The potential of every child is unlimited". Teachers who recognize this, and who are kind and encouraging with their students, have always been the most effective.
In actual fact, "kids these days" are amazing people. They are working hard to understand their own gifts and their place in the world. It is an absolute joy to spend every day with them, and I have to admit that though I am the teacher, I too am growing to be a better person due to my interactions with them.
What is the world coming to? I am not exactly sure, but I know that it is very good.
