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Unit3WhyITeachPeterG.BeidlerEveryteacherprobablyaskshimselftimeandagain:Whatarethereasonsforchoosingteachingasacareer?Dotherewardsteachingoutweighthetryingcomments?Answeringthesequestionsisnotasimpletask.Let'sseewhattheauthorsays.Whydoyouteach?MyfriendaskedthequestionwhenItoldhimthatIdidn'twanttobeconsideredforanadministrativeposition.HewaspuzzledthatIdidnotwantwhatwasobviouslyastepuptowardwhatallAmericansaretaughttowantwhentheygrowup:moneyandpower.CertainlyIdon'tteachbecauseteachingiseasyforme.TeachingisthemostdifficultofthevariouswaysIhaveattemptedtoearnmyliving:mechanic,carpenter,writer.Forme,teachingisared-eye,sweaty-palm,sinking-stomachprofession.Red-eye,becauseIneverfeelreadytoteachnomatterhowlateIstayuppreparing.Sweaty-palm,becauseI'malwaysnervousbeforeIentertheclassroom,surethatIwillbefoundoutforthefoolthatIam.Sinking-stomach,becauseIleavetheclassroomanhourlaterconvincedthatIwasevenmoreboringthanusual.NordoIteachbecauseIthinkIknowanswers,orbecauseIhaveknowledgeIfeelcompelledtoshare.SometimesIamamazedthatmystudentsactuallytakenotesonwhatIsayinclass!Why,then,doIteach?IteachbecauseIlikethepaceoftheacademiccalendar.June,July,andAugustofferanopportunityforreflection,researchandwriting.Iteachbecauseteachingisaprofessionbuiltonchange.Whenthematerialisthesame,Ichange——and,moreimportant,mystudentschange.IteachbecauseIlikethefreedomtomakemyownmistakes,tolearnmyownlessons,tostimulatemyselfandmystudents.Asateacher,I'mmyownboss.IfIwantmyfreshmentolearntowritebycreatingtheirowntextbook,whoistosayIcan't?Suchcoursesmaybehugefailures,butwecanalllearnfromfailures.IteachbecauseIliketoaskquestionsthatstudentsmuststruggletoanswer.Theworldisfullofrightanswerstobadquestions.Whileteaching,Isometimesfindgoodquestions.IteachbecauseIenjoyfindingwaysofgettingmyselfandmystudentsoutoftheivorytowerandintotherealworld.IoncetaughtacoursecalledSelf-RelianceinaTechnologicalSociety.My15studentsreadEmerson,Thoreau,andHuxley.Theykeptdiaries.Theywrotetermpapers.Butwealsosetupacorporation,borrowedmoney,purchasedarun-downhouseandpracticedself-reliancebyrenovatingit.Attheendofthesemester,wewouldthehouse,repaidourloan,paidortaxes,anddistributedtheprofitsamongthegroup.Soteachinggivesmepace,andvariety,andchallenge,andtheopportunitytokeeponlearning.Ihaveleftout,however,themostimportantreasonswhyIteach.OneisVicky.Myfirstdoctoralstudent,Vickywasanenergeticstudentwholaboredatherdissertationonalittle-known14thcenturypoet.Shewrotearticlesandsentthemofftolearnedjournals.Shediditallherself,withanoccasionalnudgefromme.ButIwastherewhenshefinishedherdissertation,learnedthatherarticleswereaccepted,gotajobandwonafellowshiptoHarvardworkingonabookdevelopingideasshe'dfirsthadasmystudent.AnotherreasonisGeorge,whostartedasanengineeringstudent,thenswitchedtoEnglishbecausehedecidedhelikedpeoplebetterthanthings.ThereisJeanne,wholeftcollege,butwasbroughtbackbyherclassmatesbecausetheywantedhertoseetheendoftheself-reliancehouseproject.Iwasherewhenshecameback.Iwastherewhenshetoldmethatshelaterbecameinterestedintheurbanpoorandwentontobecomeacivilrightslawyer.ThereisJacqui,acleaningwomanwhoknowsmorebyintuitionthanmostofuslearnbyanalysis.Jacquihasdecidedtofinishhighschoolandgotocollege.ThesearetherealreasonsIteach,thesepeoplewhogrowandchangeinfrontofme.Beingateacherisbeingpresentatthecreation,whentheclaybeginstobreathe.Apromotionoutofteachingwouldgivememoneyandpower.ButIhavemoney.IgetpaidtodowhatIenjoy:reading,talkingwithpeople,andaskingquestionlike,Whatisthepointofbeingrich?AndIhavepower.Ihavethepowertonudge,tofansparks,tosuggestbooks,topointoutapathway.Whatotherpowermatters?Butteachingofferssomethingbesidesmoneyandpower:itofferslove.Notonlytheloveoflearningandofbooksandideas,butalsothelovethatateacherfeelsforthatrarestudentwhowalksintoateacher'slifeandbeginstobreathe.Perhapsloveisthewrongword:magicmightbebetter.Iteachbecause,beingaroundpeoplewhoarebeginningtobreathe,Ioccasionallyfindmyselfcatchingmybreathwiththem.我为何教书你为什么教书呢？当我告诉我的朋友我不想做任何行政职务时，他向我提出了这个问题。他感到大惑不解的是，为什么所有的美国人受到的教育都是长大后追求金钱和权利，而不是想要明明是通往这个目标的一个“阶梯”性的工作当然，我教书并不是应为教书对我而言很容易。我曾做过多种工作来赚钱谋生，如做机修工，木工，作家，而教书是其中最难的。对我来说教书是一件令人眼睛红肿，掌心出汗，精神沮丧的职业。眼睛红肿是因为无论我备课到多晚从未觉得胸有成竹。掌心出汗是因为在走进教室之前，我总是非常紧张，学生们肯定会发现我原来是个笨蛋。精神沮丧是因为我一个小时后我走出教室时总会觉得这节课比平常更加枯燥无味。我教书也不是因为我认为自己能够解答问题，或因为我觉得自己有非与人分享不可的知识。又使我感到惊愕不已，因为学生竟真的把我课堂上讲的东西做了笔记。那么我为什么还要教书呢？我教书，是因为我喜欢教学日历的节奏。六月，七月，八月提供了思索，研究和写作的机会。我教书，是因为教书是一种以变化为基础的职业。当教材不变时，我在变-------更重要的是我的学生在变。我教书，是因为我喜欢自由，我又犯错误的自由，吸取教训的自由，激励自己，激励学生的自由。作为教师，我是自己的老板。如果我让一年级的学生通过自己编写课本的方式学习写作，谁会干涉我呢？这样的课程也许会彻底失败，但我们都可以从失败中学习到很多东西。我教书，是因为我喜欢问学生一些需要绞尽脑汁才能回答的问题。这个世界充满了拙劣问题的正确答案。而我在教学中，有时也会发现一些不错的问题。我教书，是因为我喜欢找到一些是我自己和学生们走出象牙塔，步入现实世界的方法。我曾经开过一门叫做“在技术社会里如何自己更生”的课程。我的十五个学生读了爱默生，梭洛和赫胥黎的作品，他们记了日记，并写了学期论文。但我们也组建了一个公司，借钱买了一座破旧的房子，通过对这座房子的整修翻新，我们实践了自力更生的这一课题。学期末，我们卖掉了房子还清了贷款，交了税，所生的利润大家分了。所以教书是我的生活节奏分明丰富多彩，也向我提出了挑战，给了我不断学习的机会不过，我还没讲到我教书最重要的原因呢.其中一个原因是维基。她是我的第一个博士，是一个精力充沛的学生。他孜孜不倦地撰写了一篇关于一个鲜为人知的十四世纪的诗人的学位论文。他还写过几篇文章，并寄给了学术刊物。她独立完成了这一切，只是偶尔从我这里得到一些启示。我亲眼看到她完成了论文，并得到她的文章已被采用。我还亲眼看到她找到工作，并获得了哈佛大学的研究学员的职位，著书论述在当我的学生时萌发的思想。另一个原