Teachers and students

I did read your message yesterday but had neither the time or mental effort to reply. You must have those days too?

You said a lot of profound things in your previous message and I'm still getting my head around it. It's funny that last night I thought a lot about why my teacher gave me a cold shoulder during my presentation yesterday. Although I felt him to be overly critical of my work, I understood the reasons why as I was thinking about it. In a way it has been a frustrating student/teacher relationship. I admire him a lot and can pretty accurately guess what he might say before he says it and how he feels. If I want a good grade you have to have a clear idea of what is going to make the examiner happy to see. However, my thoughts and actions have not been aligned and it has been a battle. I want to hear his approval and he wants to give it to me, but I hold myself back from giving him what he wants. Thus we both frustrate each other locking horns. I realized I wanted him more than ever to understand what I was doing and how my approach to teamwork has been dramatically improved. He told me off much like I was a naughty child who had tendencies to reach into the cookie jar and no amount of discipline could dissuade me.

So I realized that if I want things to go well, I have to be attentive in the right ways. I thought all this time I was a model student for my understanding of projects. But the past events have caused me to re-examine myself, for I can no longer blame others for their lack of understanding and become frustrated and angry with them. It's a scary process which is why I guess a lot of people just choose to point their finger at someone else. It has been me that has been difficult and ridged in my thinking even if I have good intentions. I am no better than other people, I can only have a better learning strategy.

What is it like to be an English teacher? What would be your approach to educating the youths of society? I watched a movie called "shoot the messenger" last night and it was about a black teacher struggling to discipline black students. There was one student who was always giving him attitude and bullying other students with his peers. This student got the teacher charged with assault and he lost his job and his mind. He had dedicated his life to a mission to help young black boys be their best and was an outstanding teacher. But then he was accused of being racist and doing "white mans work". The boy turned up several times in his life and he hated the student more and more for destroying everything he had. He then turned to hating all black people. It was a really intense and moving movie. One man's struggle against himself and finding understanding and forgiveness. For he never realized that this one student's attitude grew out of his own insecurities with an angry front. Take the attitude away and he was as vulnerable as anyone else.

Anyhow, let me know what you think