Wednesday, 02 September 2009
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Career Paths and Making a Difference.
As some of you may know, I am currently an English and Secondary Education major. My ultimate goal is to become a high school English teacher.
I have always had a love of books. My mom worked to get me to start reading before I was even in kindergarten, and I could read a few short children's books on my own at that point. As I worked my way through school, I had a few teachers who nutured that love of books. The librarian would let me check out books from a section with a higher reading level, even though she generally looked down upon this. My second grade teacher read us a few chapters from various books each day, to calm us down after recess. My fourth grade class had BookIt!, with which you could get free pizza from pizza hut just for reading a certain amount of books in a set period of time. In middle school, I was able to take a class solely devoted to reading and found myself working with books, thinking about them and analyzing them, in ways I never had attempted before. Through high school, I read the classics and a few up-and-coming novels that really got me thinking about the world and how it works. Books have always guided me, and I've found that comforting.
It's been the same way with writing. As evident with this blog, I love to write just for the heck of it. I don't ever need to be a published author making money, as long as I have somewhere I can express myself with words.
When it came time for college, I had to settle down and decide what direction I wanted my life to take. It was almost effortless. I knew I wanted a job where I could share my passion with others, where I could possibly inspire another to find a love with books similar to mine. Teaching offered this. Hence, I went forth down the educational track.
Now, though, as I sit in college classes reading Beowulf, Native American creation literature and adolescent lit, like Twilight and Speak, I wonder if this career path is going to be as rewarding as I hoped. I see others pursuing degrees in Engineering, in Medicine, in Law, in Criminal Justice, all careers that will offer a direct impact on the outside world.
With English, there's not much room for an impact. Literary canon hasn't changed for years, aside from a few modern works being incorporated in with curriculum. Reading books isn't going to make daily life easier for the average American, as engineering would. I'm not going to be saving a life, as a doctor might. I'm not making the streets any less full of crime.
I'm beginning to wonder why, if I have always wanted to impact someone or something's life, did I not choose a career where this impact would be certain.
Because making a teenager love books in an age when information is available in just minutes via television, video and the internet is going to be a difficult task.
I don't think I will ever change majors or switch my plans. I'm just going to have to work that much harder at the task I've set myself to and hope that I fulfill my original intentions.
And still, after all this thought on the subject, I know I will be happiest spending my days reading and writing, and I suppose that is the most important thing. If I, myself, am not happy, I can't expect to do much good for others anyway, regardless of any degree I may have obtained, so I'll just keep going with my instinct here.
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Comments (19)
well, if you can't have an impact, then counter-impact this Twilight nonsense. you may not have an impact on all of English, but you certainly will impact your students. don't forget that.
Good to see your Plugz. Hope you will enter a story in my Halloween contest.
Write on... write on!!!
PS. Bill the college for the bottle of water your jerk prof stole.
I actually just graduated from the University of South Florida with my English-Literature degree. So I completely empathize with every sentiment you expressed in this entry. I'm planning on continuing on to Law School, but at the beginning of college I did have ambitions of being a teacher or something of the sort too.
But you're 100% right about this post-modern soceity we live in today. Information is so accessible that critical thinking and analyzing is becoming less and less of a necessity to establish oneself in adulthood. But keep fighting the good fight, because the minds that you will spark will bring about more pride and fulfillment to your life than any lucrative income could.
I have great respect for teachers.
and even though we have much easier access to information it doesn't mean that's it's going to be good information. I think teachers help us make more better decisions on what information to look for and what to discard or ignore.If you love what you do you will be that much more happier doing it- which means your students will thus enjoy and learn betterEven of the HS teachers I remember the most fondly, I barely remember anything I learned in their classes, and I would guess I'm not the only one. Being a teacher isn't just about teaching facts and literature, it's about teaching values, teaching skills (e.g. critical thinking), and getting kids excited about school. Therefore your impact on your students, community, and world really have very little to do with whether or not your students enjoyed and were moved by reading The Iliad or Antigone. It has everything to do with the skills and values (e.g. work ethic) you help to instill in them. In that way, their accomplishments are, in a way, your accomplishments.
Will you save anyone's life? Perhaps, I know I'm not the first person to attempt suicide in highschool and some of my teachers were kind enough to listen to me talk about my depression, but in the same way physicians do? No. Will you clean crime off the streets? Not in the same way as a DA, no, but you will likely teach aspiring DAs about critical thinking and increase your students social awareness and sense of social responsibility. Will you make you students' lives easier? Well...certainly not since homework is difficult :P, but you will likely help to make their lives more meaningful (since that's what literature can do) which is more important than easier.
The role of the teacher is not a terribly glamorous one in terms of changing the world, but even though you may not see the end result, you are the grassroots of world change.
I hope that's encouraging in a realistic sort of way...
and I second TheBigShowAtUD's sentiment about twilight...teach your female students that boys breaking in to watch them sleep is NOT romantic, but rather f***ing creepy!
muchlove
Oh boy....this may be the dumbest thing I have ever read on xanga.
As a teacher you can have the BIGGEST impact! You can fight crime, stimulate the economy, and save lives.
You can get kids to THINK !!! They in turn pass that on to their kids, as well as to their friends. If you impact just ONE student, the waves of that impact can go on for decades, and generations.
You have a passion....EXCELLENT! Few teachers do it seems.
Don't doubt your passion, your career choice , or your ability.
I can think of virtually nothing more important than a good, devoted ,passionate teacher.
@Bricker59 - How can a teacher fight crime?
The amount of time teachers spend with students, in comparison to the quality time students spend with the family, is quite a difference. You will have as large a responsibility as a parent would with his/her child. With that said, two of the most important jobs in this world are parenting and teaching our progeny. : )
@Uek - By preventing the kids from becoming criminals.By getting them to THINK.
@Bricker59 - Thanks for the reassurance. =)
@sheepthatsblack - well, at least if I do nothing else, which hopefully will not be the case, I suppose I can rid the world from the Twilight phase and consider myself a success. Although a bunch of young girls may hate me for bursting their bubbles. ;P
@afadedphotox - haha, totally worth it!
@Bricker59 - Because High school english really makes you think about the consequences of your actions. Before I pick up a gun I always ask myself what would Henry David Thoreau do?
@Uek - Hey, Hey, Hey. I happen to really like Henry David Thoreau. And I think if more people thought like him, fewer people would pick up guns. Just sayin'.
You have to remember that a lot of doctors don't go into med school for the "good of humanity." They go in for the money that they will earn. For a lot of people, that is the primary reason. Which is kind of sad in a way.
And there's just something else to a real human teacher that a virtual teacher will never have. Reading up stuff and learning things via cyberspace isn't always effective.
And besides, being a teacher is a noble profession. =)
@afadedphotox - Hahah, I do to. I really think WHERE you teach will be a bigger determining factor for you then WHAT you teach. Do you want to babysit delinquents?
I actually think teachers make some of the biggest impact of all. They help shape people into who they become. And on the whole English not making an impact next to law, medicine, engineering, etc....I'm always reminded about the value of liberal arts from The Dead Poets' Society (paraphrased): "Science and the professions help keep man alive, but the arts tell man what to stay alive for."
Ah, a fellow English major. I went into Professional and Technical
Writing, which means that I make my living by selling pencils from a
mug out on the street corner (I thought my teacher friend was kidding about that). It's always nice to meet other
English majors though.
Reading through your post, I remembered a book where a guy had reached the point of near-death
after living a long life of frustration and he thought "what if my life
has been wrong?" The point that was made at the end of that story was "don't die with your music
still inside you". You have music inside you; let it out. If it has to do with helping others find a passion or even just an appreciation for reading and/or writing, go for it. Columbus
didn't set out looking for America. If you had asked him when he set
sail on that "new route to India", he would've said that he wanted THAT
result to land in India. He failed in his goal, but he succeeded in a way he probably never imagined.
To jump from point to point here...something I think the kids
of today miss out on (and my gosh, I feel
old saying that) is how wonderful time can be. If they don't have something in 3 seconds,
they think the world is coming to an end. They miss out on how great it
can be to savor something, not just enjoy the end result, but the
process going into it. Books are a classic example. How many times have
we heard the phrase "the movie was good/bad/okay/etc. but the book was
better"?
Your quote, "With English, there's not much room for an impact," I totally disagree
with. English encourages creativity. If you don't have
creativity, you don't have inspiration. You can't make progress if you can't see past what you presently have. Everyone needs to be encouraged to think "What if...".
Books like "Beowolf" or "Twilight", in and of themselves, may not
change anyone's life, but they're not supposed to. It's the impression the book leaves on the reader that makes the difference.
To throw an analogy at you...getting bit by a snake has never killed
anyone. It's the poison that goes into the victim's body that kills
them.
In a considerably nicer way :), I think it's that emotional ride that a
reader gets from a book that can affect their life. Of course, it's nice to know what kind of a ride you're getting into. So on that note, I too will ask you to do what you can to make Twilight go away. Please. I beg of you. :)
I'm fairly sure that the Twilight trilogy comprises three of the greatest works in the history of the written word, ranking right up there with my personal favorites, "Yertle The Turtle", and "Choose Your Own Adventure: Prisoner of the Ant People". Yertle sure was one badass turtle. And no books made such an indelible mark on the young adult fiction genre, as did the legendary 'Choose Your Own Adventure' series.
On a more serious note, good luck with the path you're on. I think it's great that you have a solid and achievable career goal. But I would advise you to not stick to the road you have in mind too strictly. If college does what it's supposed to do, you will change and grow a lot in the next few years. You may find that your interests change, and things that never really mattered to you before become the focus of your being. And vice versa. It's good to have a definable goal in mind, but don't be afraid to improvise or adapt if and when life throws you curveballs. I can almost guarantee that 5-10 years from now, you'll be in a much different place than you ever expected. But you'll be where you're supposed to be. It's late and I've had a few drinks; a surefire recipe for inane ramblings. I hope you're not too sick of round two of 'urtoasted life advice'. Anyway, I hope your first semester is going well. Take care.
I considered changing my major while in college as well but am SO glad I didn't. Even if your students don't love writing or reading, the impact you can make on them is phenomenal. There really is no other job like it. If you want to make a huge impact on someone's life, you've chosen the right field. You may not know it for a long time and sometimes they'll never tell you, but you can really change a child's life by being a teacher. I'd say stick with it and you won't regret it.