Teaching for Hope

By Aparna Mishra

---

For me it started with a desire to make the world a better place to live: safer, healthier and more educated. I also love working with children and adolescents, so teaching seemed to be an occupation that I would enjoy that encompassed both of these aspects. - author unknown.

For many, the dream to become a teacher begins with thoughts of hope for the future such as this one. My own feelings about teaching are similar. They emerge from a desire to give to others what life has given to me; a sense of privilege, security and worth.

Once one enters the school however, the hopeful dream of teaching becomes this stark reality: One of overcrowded classrooms lacking in resources and education personnel to cope with the mounting social concerns that overwhelm even the most experienced teacher. The teacher is left to tend to all of this with a smile and determined effort. Teachers are a stoic bunch. They are also the silent martyrs of our society, alienated in institutions long outdated and unable to respond to the basic needs of student s. On top of this there is growing criticism towards classroom teachers forcing more and more teachers to feel powerless about their practice.

Not having yet held a permanent job in the real world of school and teaching affords me the luxury of this critical reflection. In the eyes of working teachers there is little time to pause let alone ponder what has become of their practice, what is becoming of their students' learning.

On my practice teaching rounds, teachers, noticing my smiling, excited eagerness, shook their heads knowing that it wouldn't last -- that eventually the constraints and pressures of teaching would wear me down. Experience tells teachers this. Experience also tells teachers what they do so well; in the singing voices of children in school assemblies, in the exuberant Monday morning arrivals of students, in the heartfelt "I love you teachers" ringing through school hallways. These are the things that often go unnoticed by parents and administrators. These are the things that the media fails to report. These are also the things that cannot be measured by anyone other than the classroom teacher.

The problem then becomes a question of proof. What teachers are lacking is proof, proof in black and white, because our society requires this - accountability in writing. In Tom Russell's Action Research class I have learned that when I eventually do teach that I must pay close attention to write down all that happens within my teaching and my students learning to be reflected upon later. I must keep a record affirming the things I've done so well as well as one confirming the things I need to work on . My motivation for this is for my own growth as a teacher.

So much of teaching is done for others; for our students, for the benefit of others in the profession, for parents and administrators. As a result, we often forget the reasons why we chose to be teachers in the first place. I never want to forget these reasons. They must be a conscious, tangible intrinsic part of my teaching. In teaching for oneself as well as for others the experience becomes infinitely more fulfilling. This fufilment can not help but be recognized by those we teach.

Presently, in my one on one teaching with a young man in primary school, I am continually filled with joy. Not only is the joy reflected by my student's progress but also by my ability to understand the important role I play in his learning. My writing reinforces this process. It allows me to articulate and share my joy with others. It also continually reminds me of the vulnerable and influential position that students are in.

Despite the odds, I am confident that once teachers realize the power and voice of teaching, that active critical reflection affords, we will pave the way to change in our society. If education is the only way to ensure the progress and well-being of a society then it makes sense for society to support classroom teachers. With an increased self-awareness and appreciation of the vital roles they play and proof to back it up, the voices and strengths of teachers will emerge. Teachers will then be able to op en their doors and approach their practice with the initial vision and hope for the future they once held. Hope that is often forced deep into hearts in the face of adversity. In teaching for hope teachers will ultimately become more effective. With a new awareness and collaborative spirit amongst all those involved with education, teaching will change. It must change. For the good of the profession and for the future of humanity, reflected in the faces of the students we meet along the way.