Good point - why am I a teacher?

I have been struggling to begin this blog for a while now. Having been inundated with requests for a blog, but unable to find the time amongst assignments, the busy social calendar of a tiny outback town, and the general craziness of teaching, I have been ashamedly lax in commencing regular updates. Or any updates, as yet. My hope is that this blog will become something of an outlet to communicate the intensity, hilarity, frustration, and rewards that are the rollercoaster ride of teaching.

As well as being limited by time, I must admit that I have been at a loss as to how to begin. I'm a whole term into teaching. I'm "settled" into the community - or at least somewhat settled. I don't think I'll ever be entirely settled anywhere, and I have to say I like it that way. While there are brand new experiences every day, none seemed poignant enough to start from.

But the perfect opening presented itself to me today. I stood at the front of the room as my class chattered happily away, oblivious to my attempts for their attention. After a few doses of the silent llama and some playful admonishments, I finally got them settled down and (for the most part) listening. And then one boy, in the front row, the most talkative of the bunch, asked me, "Miss, why the hell are you a teacher?"

To which I replied, startled, "What??"

"Well," he answered, "You're a zoologist; you did Masters; you lived in Melbourne; you were set up, man! Why would you come to a shit-house town like this and become just a teacher?"

I stared at him, speechless, for a moment (only slightly due to the surprise that he'd taken all that information about me in). Then I got my voice back - but with it came my passion, and my indignation.

"Because I think teaching is the most important job in the world."

Blank stares. They're in for it now. For possibly the first time since I started teaching, I had the undivided attention of every student in that class as I gave them an onslaught:

"Guys," I began, "Education is the most important thing that you can acquire in your entire life. It's the gateway to everything the world has to offer. With a good education, you can become the doctors and vets and engineers that I know some of you aspire to. With a good education, you can choose any path in life you want, and then you can change your mind halfway down that path and take the left-hand fork, or switch direction at the crossroads, or even turn around and come back the way you came. With a good education, you can have the power to think big, dream large, and shoot for the stars. But without an education, these visions fade. Because education is not about sitting quietly and copying notes off the board. It's not about knowing the first fifty elements of the periodic table. It's not about getting a pass grade on your report. A good education is none of these things. Education is a means to a whole wide world of ends.

It involves developing a diverse skill set that you can draw upon in any situation, and prepares you to take your place in society as an informed, reasonable and respectable individual. A good education is learning to see the world in different lights, to remove the blinkers and rose-coloured glasses, to envision a life away from your own. It's about curiosity, inspiration, discovery, of both yourself and the world around you. It's about learning that the world is not just the thing that we live on, but is an ever-changing, elusive, transient system of relationships and societies and interactions, all of which affect us in ways that we can't even imagine. A good education is not about following orders obediently, but about thinking outside the square; considering each and every action that takes place; analysing every viewpoint available before making your decision, because how else will you know it's truly your decision and not one that has been imprinted upon you? A good education is about broadening your mind - which doesn't mean simply remembering different things from textbooks, but means developing and growing and being exposed to different situations and perspectives and ideals, and embracing them. It's about learning to question, and criticise, and appreciate the world. It's about asking, "why?" and genuinely wanting an answer.

Ultimately, a good education is about discovering who you are and what you are capable of. I won't say it's about finding your place in the world, because that will constantly change. But it's about developing yourself to be the best person you can think of being, and to provide you with the opportunity to do anything, go anywhere, and be anyone you please. It's about realising who you are, and who you can be.

As a teacher, I am privileged in helping young, talented people achieve this aim. I get to influence lives, every single day. It's my job to provide you with those skills, and to motivate you to aspire and dream of a world outside school. It's my intention, not to convince you, but to show you just how capable you are, how amazing you can be, if you are dedicated to yourself. I can show you love, pain, sorrow, hope, strength, laughter, anger, justice, peace, inequity, passion from around the world. I can hand you your potential on a golden platter if I can teach you to believe in yourself as much as I believe in each and every one of you. A single person has the power to change the world, no matter how small, no matter where you come from.

So I don't want to hear your excuses about how living in this town means you can't be smart, or you can't learn, or you can't to go to university. Bullshit. You have no less potential than anybody else in Australia - in the world. If you have the dedication, the motivation, and the willpower to apply yourself and push yourself to the limits, then you have all the tools you need. Location doesn't matter. Ethnicity doesn't matter. Every single person is born with the same potential, the same rights, and the same chance to learn.

I see the evidence of this every single day, so don't tell me it isn't so. I get to see students' laughter as they develop their social skills and work like clockwork in teams. I see misconceptions turn into startled understanding as minds are deepened. I see kids trying so hard there's sweat on their forehead, and I've seen students turn from apathetic and self-doubting into perfect examples of self-belief and dedication. I've seen the shyest kid in the class fly as they stand up for themselves. I've seen students deal with more crap than I can comprehend, and still they come to school with a smile and a kind word; and I've seen better displays of work ethic than I'd have believed possible. I've seen things that are touching, disturbing, saddening, and utterly awe-inspiring. I've seen the "wow!" moment of comprehension. Every single day, my students teach me far more than I can teach them. Because that's truly what education is: it's a constantly evolving, ongoing process that we need to embrace and continue throughout our entire lives. It's my job to try to provide the means for education to thrive in young people, to help them see how brilliantly they can shine. What an immense responsibility.

So why did I become 'just' a teacher, Year 10s? I challenge you to find a job that has a better cause, challenges or rewards than this one."