Interesting article June 6 2013

I believe all teachers go through bouts of not liking teaching just like a lot of professionals from other industries. I enjoyed reading this blog.

“I Don't Like Teaching. There, I Said It”

By Sidney Perth

“I will never forget the day. I was in my third year of graduate school and had reached a point where I was comfortable discussing things with a faculty mentor. Perhaps letting down my guard too easily, I told him that I was not so sure I liked teaching”.

“That was an understatement. My admission wasn't because of a bad episode. And it wasn't that I was experiencing my first taste of burnout (that would come later). Rather, my discomfort with teaching stemmed from the broad experience I was gaining in the classroom. My Midwestern state university required teaching assistants to lead four 50-minute tutorials each week for a large introductory course. I had four semesters of that behind me, and two small courses that I taught on my own during summers”.

“I had become aware of just how repetitive teaching can be, of how few students had much interest in the topics to which I wanted to devote my life, of how universities thwart learning in various ways, of how sometimes I was too tired to enjoy a class or was just not in the mood to teach, and of the many pedagogical failures and disappointments that I would face if I continued. The list of cons has multiplied since then”.

“The mentor to whom I spilled the beans had won teaching prizes and honors at college, university, and even national levels. His response? He didn't like teaching, either”.

Read the rest here: http://chronicle.com/article/I-Dont-Like-Teaching-There/139623/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam