Some days, I think I’ve finally gotten a hang of teaching. And then the class reacts completely differently, or it seems like they all got kidnapped and replaced with the same faces but different persons. I wonder if experienced teachers face the same problems. I wonder if I stay on in the profession for ten more years, would I just roll in and out of class without any hassle.
Critics often point out that two years is short. What can we achieve in two years? Will we even master the art of teaching within these two years? Or will we still be struggling to keep afloat and leave without any impact? And they have reason to worry. The fact of the matter is two years is short. And we are still testing the waters, unable to say for certain this works and that doesn’t. But then I came across this beautiful quote:
Your inexperience is an asset and will allow you to think in original and unconventional ways. Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset. I know a famous violinist that told me that he can’t compose because he knows too many pieces so when he starts thinking of a note, an existing piece immediately comes to mind. Just starting out, one of your greatest strengths is not knowing how things are supposed to be. You can compose freely because your mind isn’t cluttered with too many pieces and you don’t take for granted the way things are. The only way you know how to do things are your own way.
If you felt that was too long and didn’t bother reading, it can be summarized by the William Wilberforce quote: ‘We are too young to realize that certain things are impossible... So we will do them anyway.’
And so, through our naivety, our trial and error, our lack of experience, we may discover new paths, we may be able to see things people have been blinded to, or break through routines that have long past their due date.
A car may be able to run just fine for 30 years, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t time to change a new car. Maybe we should change it, maybe we shouldn’t. But we’ll only know when we get behind the wheel.
And so, our journey continues.
