Why do I want to be a teacher?

For today--answer this question:


What are your three (3) most important reasons for wanting to be a teacher?


This is from a job application. An on-line job application. With a *character* limit of 300. What's next--Twitter job applications?

This question demonstrates my general frustration with job applications. I've been a teacher for 20+ years, but the applications assume everyone is a new/recent graduaate. The question is "why do you want to be a teacher?" but that is irrelevant to me, at the moment. A better question is "why do you *still* want to be a teacher?"

The question of why I still want to be a teacher is probably worth thinking about. Teaching is hard work with demanding people. When things go right you get little credit (societally) but when things go wrong you get heaps of blame. The salary is decent, but not spectacular and the working conditions are much less flexible than many others. (Yes, I know, you get the summers off--that doesn't help scheduling plumbers in October.) So why haven't I found something easier to do? Good question!

Back to the application: (I'm applying for jobs in both math and science so I have to cover both in the 300 characters.)

Three reasons why I want to teach:

1. Science is fascinating and I want to help students develop an apprecaition and understanding of science. (This is good--short, to the point and addresses the audience appropriately)

2. Math is extraordinarily useful but students don't always appreciate or understand the connections between math and life. I want to help students learn math in a way which makes sense to them, so they view math as a positive force in the universe and feel encouraged to pursue topics which require facility with math. (That's probably more than 300 characters right there. I'm not a mathematician so I don't really seem to appreciate math for it's own sake. That's true--at the college major level and beyond, math gets too abstract for my concrete mind, but in HS--and through the first two years of college, math focuses on developing critical problem solving skills as well as the tools needed to study science or engineering as well as math at the college level, so maybe I'm ok)

3. I enjoy working with people. (True--but not really specific enough for teaching. One must be careful with this type of statement because it can get creepy, pretty quickly. I try to use students, rather than children, for that reason. But, it really is all about the kids. Watching them develop is so satisfying, But does that seem to self-centered?

4. Students need to become self-directed learners as adults and I enjoy facilitating this process. (True, but sounds a little odd and need to somehow connect with 3, since this makes too many reasons)

OK--at least that's something. Next step, edit it down to 300 characters.

Jello: Thinking and writing

Michelle, at The Culture of Chemistry, is teaching a science writing course and has invited readers to play along at home.  Sounds like fun!

First assignment--Write for 5 minutes on the topic of Jello

Jello

Jello is among the most repulsive food substances known to humanity.  As Jello is allowed to be ingested on the day before a colonoscopy, it cannot quite qualify as food.  Jello is often made even more repulsive by the addition of chopped up bits of fruit, thereby combining its unpalatable, slimy texture with actual foods of differing textures.  As any picky eater knows, these combinations are unacceptable; more unacceptable than other food sins like foods touching each other on a plate.

Jello is not without utility.  Because of its common use in public school cafeterias, most chemistry students are familiar with it and its tendency to jiggle.  The image of Jello jiggling is useful when explaining why atoms and molecules with large numbers of electrons tend to have stronger induced-dipole attractions than those with fewer electrons.

Reflection:

• I managed to stay on the computer for 5 minutes and not check Facebook
• I cheated a bit because I read the post yesterday but didn't actually write until today.  But, the two ideas expressed above are my true first thoughts about Jello.  (Geek evidence apparent)
• I spend too much time thinking about the precise, correct, bestest word to use instead of just getting ideas down.
• Having a time limit really helped me focus on the writing and less on everything else going on in my head.  My head is never a lonely place.

What happened?

Gah! It's been a long time.

For most of the time (like the first three months) I have a good excuse. I was busy. Really busy. But since then....not so much.

It's hard for me to pick up something that I started, but then stopped.

When I'm super busy, I have ideas, but no time, now I have time but no ideas. Well, no good ideas. I have some bad ideas. For example:

Why did the term housewife fall out of favor? Much of the time, I do feel married to the thing. It always needs attention. I know that homemaker (the PC term that followed it) was supposed to be more famiy focused, but I think it just serves to make everyone forget all the tedious, annoying and time consuming things that have to be done (by men and women) to keep hearth and home functional--whether they "work" or not.

Why do suburban school districts assume that every student has at least one parent at home, waiting to do the teacher's/administration's bidding? Even stay-at-home parents have lives, you know!  My favorite is the invitation to come to the classroom, during the day, at some random time, but "please leave younger children at home so they don't distract from the program".

Why do teaching applications assume the applicant is young/fresh out of school?  Many programs exist for career changers but school districts seem unaware.

All these things lead me to unproductive whining.  (enjoyable, yes, but not productive)

Minivan Mom Superpowers: Seeing the Hidden

Minivan mom may seem ordinary, but she has superpowers.  Evil household items (like dust-cloths and cleaners) are have the ability to become invisible to teenagers.  They can't finish chores because some critical piece is "not there!".  ("There" being defined as "jumping off the shelf and attacking me!")

Minivan mom can swoop in, and find the misbehaving item.  In 30 seconds or less.  

I used to get frustrated.  Now I just Embrace the Power!

writing

I don't like writing.  I don't like *my* writing.
My writing won't get better, if I don't keep writing.
Therefore, I must keep writing.
But I don't wanna!
But I have to.
So, I won't do anything else, until I write something.  Lame, horrible, it doesn't matter.

Gah.  Being a grown up really is the pits.

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of Food Shopping

• The more complete your shopping list, the more likely critical items are unavailable at the store.
• The larger the store inventory, the more likely the shopping list is incomplete.

Δ(list)Δ(inventory) ≥ # people to feed

My secret disguise works!

I think I always look like a geek, but apparently my secret disguise is working.

Scene:  The supermarket, Thursday at 1:30 pm
Cast:  Me, Random woman
Setting:  Cereal aisle, Kelloggs section

RW:  Oh my G-d, we are dressed exactly the same (black V-neck tee, khaki shorts, sandals, backpack used as purse, no makeup or jewelry, hair au natural) and we are looking at the same cereal!

Me:  Haha

This would have been an unremarkable encounter, except that Random Woman decided to follow up with various questions ("Do you have kids?", "How many?") to find other amazing similarities (Yes, We Both had Kids.  Yes, We Both Drive Minivans).  It got a little strange.  It wasn't as though we were the only ones dressed that way.

But, it's good to know that I blend in!  I wonder if RW would have been shocked by my true identity...