Discussion Circle Question

Chapter 13 – Eros, Eroticism and Pedagogical Process

Main ideas and theses:

Chapter 13, as the quote shows, discusses the issue that many higher education professors today lack passion for teaching the subject. Though professor once held, and may still hold passion for the subject that they teach, they no longer strive to involve the students and develop their passion as well. Unfortunately, most students need inspiration to find a love of learning. Chapter 13 instructs teachers to always teach passionately and never lose the love of knowledge; if we, as teachers, are excited and involved, then our students will be too.

Consistent/ Inconsistent with Experiences as a Student/Novice/ Teaching Associate.

As a student, I could not agree with the ideas presented in chapter 13 more. My best teachers were those who never stopped growing in their own education. My kindergarten teacher was always on the lookout for new concepts to teach us; because of her devotion, we learned sign language and even cooked in our classroom if it related to the book we were reading. In high school, however, I had a chemistry teacher who, in fewer words, told the class he hated his job and his life. He did not care about the class, let alone our interest in the subject. I lost all motivation even before second semester began.

As a Novice, I must say that I am concerned as to how teachers lose their passion. When I found out that I had to tutor at 8:00am in the morning, I was discouraged; I immediately thought I would hate it after a week or two. As soon as I met my student, however, and began to work with him twice a week, I could not wait to find new ideas that I knew he would enjoy. I loved when he got excited about a book we were reading or an educational game we were playing, and I still can’t wrap my mind around the idea that I could ever lose that excitement.

Consistent/ Inconsistent with Teaching Beliefs & Practices

Chapter 13 basically spells out my teaching beliefs and practices. I feel that, if you lose the passion to teach, you should not be allowed to. Children need role models who display that it is fun and exciting and completely acceptable to learn. If I slack off as a teacher because I don’t care, then my students will think that it’s okay for them to slack off as well. The more they slack off, the more likely they are to slip in their education, and when children slip in their education, they begin to lose their chance at a comfortable, happy life. I believe that, as a teacher, it is my job to increase each student’s chance at a good life, and for that reason, I must instill the idea of passion into, and not only display it to, each student.

So what? Impact on Future Professional Development

I feel that, because I have been forced to look at the impact of teaching with passion, I have been enabled to realize that I can never lose my fervor. Perhaps so many teachers lose their love of teaching because they never took the time to step back and observe what a great difference it makes in their students’ success. By reading the books for this class, however, and analyzing what the teacher’s attitude in the classroom does, I feel that I have been compelled to take into account that I must never lose my passion. I realize that if I ever feel that I am losing my love of teaching, I cannot give up and let my students slip; I must not only challenge them, but challenge myself as well to always keep my students engaged and enlightened.