Teaching, and Making Kids Learn

i was in the midst of a conversation today, which happens so very often, and my profession came up as part of the discussion... as most of you know, i am a teacher... there are many things that are included in my job description, but first off, we will start with a general definition according to dictionary.com

teach·er

   [tee-cher] Show IPA

–noun

a person who teaches or instructs, esp. as a profession;instructor.

ok, so the basic of my job is to teach... wait, what does it mean to teach??? lets look that up why dont we...

teach

   [teech] Show IPA verb, taught, teach·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.

to impart knowledge of or skill in; give instruction in: Sheteaches mathematics.

2.

to impart knowledge or skill to; give instruction to: Heteaches a large class.

–verb (used without object)

3.

to impart knowledge or skill; give instruction.

ok, so by the basic definition of my job, i am to impart or provide knowledge to the kids that are under my instruction... now of course, districts give me additional responsibilities, like lesson planning, curriculum writing, morning duties, tutoring, etc... all of those are reasonable responsibilities, essentially necessary for the machine to run properly...

i have no issue with this... these are not irrational demands of someone whose soul purpose is to provide knowledge... the problem lies in the misunderstanding of the job....

there are parents, and administrators, and even state entities that have mutated the definition of a teacher, and misconstrued what it means to teach... what these parents, admins, and lawmakers expect for us is simple, yet reasonably insane... their definition of teacher looks something like this...

teach·er

   [tee-cher] Show IPA

–noun

a person that makes students learn.

and their definition of teach looks like...

teach

   [teech] Show IPA verb, taught, teach·ing, noun

–verb (used with object)

1.

to make someone retain knowledge.

2.

to create learning.

–verb (used without object)

3.

to make learn.

this is not reasonable at all... i can impart knowledge... i can present information... i can simplify difficult concepts... i can explain, and give real-world examples, and demonstrate, and design intricate labs... i can create the most inviting environment, capable of making every child in my class feel comfortable opening up and discussing all sorts of topics...

but i cant make kids learn... none of us can...

that responsibility should not be ours... unfortunately that responsibility fall on no one else but the student...

the key is this... parents must create a desire to learn in their children... one that can be fostered by us teachers in the classroom, with knowledge and good grades... those things should be rewarded... and there should be consequences tied to a lack of desire to learn...

i have more to say, but i want to know what you think... feel free to comment...

a grown man's thoughts on fights and fighting...

some of you may know that i practice martial arts... well there's a part of martial arts called sport karate, and i greatly enjoy this part of it all... so much so, that i have traveled near and far to participate in tournaments...

well this weekend was the US Open, likely the largest sport karate tournament in the country. Teams from all over the world showed up to participate... Germany, England, South Africa, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico just to name a few... this thing is such a big event, that it usually takes two full days to get through the entire competition... camera crews from websites, various blogs, and even ESPN regularly show for this event...

ok, so now that ive put down enough of a backstory, i have a few things that i wish to talk about... i guess my biggest thing is this... sport karate is just that, sport... its not for a large purse, like boxing or mma... if you wanted to fight for real, pursue kickboxing, which is pretty lucrative...

its funny, because this weekend i ended up with 3 fights, the most fights ive had this year in a tournament, and each one of them was a good fight against a tough opponent... although i do have to say, interesting...

the first guy was about my size, maybe a little bigger, but slower... he wanted to fight... the first break he punched me square in the face, and i could tell he wasnt holding back... i dispatched his attempt to intimidate me, and mustered on...

the second fight was by far my favorite... it was against a Venezuelan gentleman, and it was a GOOD fight... we went back and forth trading points, and were tied until the last moment...

the final fight is what had me puzzled... it was against a puerto rican guy nearly half my size... normally fighters are separated by weight, but for some reason this day, that was not to be so... if it had been, we would have both had the opportunity to be named world champion, but unfortunately there would be only one this day... dude was fast, but predictable... after the fight, he came over and proceeded to tell me that he was initially intimidated by my size, thinking that i would just wail on him, and that i fought with great control... im no stranger to this comment, but it still has be befuddled...

the purpose of pointfighting is to do just that, score points... the objective is to score more points than your opponent before time runs out... it isnt a contest to see who can hit harder, those people do breaking competitions... it isnt to knock the other person out, those people box, do mma, or kickbox...

one of the the keys to becoming a blackbelt is being able to control your body in all situations... as you rank up, you should be able to control yourself more... if these other fighters arent willing to use the control, then they shouldnt be ranked up... the last thing that i would want is a bad reputation from judges and officials from being to wild and crazy in the ring... as it stands now, ive only been in sport karate for a short time on the national level, but people seem to recognize and remember me, even going so far as to give me tips and pointers for improvement... and i take them willingly, knowing that everything they show or tell me will make me better...