[Reader-list] Teaching has its rewards

[Chintan]

>From http://www.go-nxg.com/?p=7596

*Teaching is a good career option for those with a passion for creating
favourable environments for learning and growing.* *
*
If you want to be a teacher, there’s nothing wrong with you. Trust me. When
I was doing a B.A., people politely pretended to think of it as a B.E. While
I was pursuing an M.A., they thought I was kidding, and insisted that I
surely meant M.B.A. And now when I am enrolled for an M.Phil., that too in
English Language Education, I get asked about what I really want to do. The
‘for a living’ is left unsaid, but prominently emphasised through non-verbal
means. Of course, they are all well meaning people, concerned about the
security of my future life, ardently hoping that I won’t turn out to be an
utter waste. That I see little reason to worry is another matter.

*Varied options*

If you are really interested in teaching, it would be encouraging to know
that a host of options are available to you. For starters, there is Teach
for India, aiming to induct committed young people into teaching and school
reform. Teach for India offers fellowships to college graduates and young
professionals, who are placed in low-income schools to teach for two years.
All fellows go through a rigorous training programme prior to their
placement, and receive support during the course of their work. Apart from
this, there are numerous NGOs, alternative schools, and youth organisations
in India constantly on the lookout for people who can teach specific
subjects or impart skills to children.

It is true that you will probably not end up making a lot of money, but
there are other rewards. A friend who made a switch from journalism to
teaching two years ago is incredibly happy about her decision. She finds a
great deal of creative challenge in the work she is doing, and would not
trade this for anything else. She gets to be classroom teacher, syllabus
designer, event manager, and much else. Another friend works with dyslexic
children, and is ecstatic about how she learns so much each day — about
patience, caring, taking responsibility, and simply being happy. Yet another
friend is a Teach for India fellow. She finds delight in every little
achievement of the children she is mentoring, and is always finding ways of
nurturing their talents.

*Educator*

While I do enjoy teaching, and I must admit here that I have done very
little of it, I am increasingly beginning to see myself more as ‘educator’
than as ‘teacher’. It is important to clarify that the former is not
superior in any way to the latter. The term ‘educator’ draws attention to a
whole range of allied roles significant in their own right — librarian,
curriculum developer, textbook writer, workshop facilitator, school
consultant, etc.Education is an amazing field to be working in. It calls out
to those who have a passion for creating favourable environments for
learning and growing. If you find this to be your calling, much love to you.
And don’t worry about the money. Your creativity will figure out ways of
sustaining you.