school teaching question?

Question

what motivates anyone to become teachers where they are teaching a 'captive' audience trying to instruct and teach a subject that is of absolutely no intrest to some students where these students learn nothing? this is an honest queston that i have wondered about for many years.

Answer 1

Perhaps a realization that you've seen poor examples of teaching, and you know it can be done better. Teaching is clearly an art and a skill - it takes training, but then also the desire, ability and willingness to present relevant information to students in a palatable fashion, regardless of their reluctance to learn (b/c captive). Teaching has grown incressingly more difficult in the computer age with the reduction of delayed gratification, school politics, and red-tape.

Answer 2

I became a teacher because I wanted to see better instruction in the inner city then I received as a child.
I teach algebra. The subject is interesting but can also be boring. I try to spice up the subject matter so that it can appeal to the students. I am enthusiastic. Yet even with that said, some students are still not motivated. So it is my job to create instruction that will work. IT IS NOT EASY. Yet there are rewards, although small, there are rewards.
Students do learn. I work with students that are 4 to 6 grade levels below. After two years the are 2 grade levels behind. All that shows up on test they receive is that they are 2 grade levels behind. But they will tell you that they have accomplished alot.

Answer 3

I love my subject matter. I believe it is important. What motivates me is the desire to turn kids on to it like I am. Sure, I can't reach everyone, but I know I reach some of them. I have had parents come up to me in a store and thank me because their child hated my subject until they had my class. I have had former students tell me they thought they were no good in my subject until they had me. I hear from kids over the summer, telling me about something related to my subject that they found interesting. They bring me news clippings relating to the subject. They get excited and proud about new-found abilities. I have PLENTY of motivation.

I love my job.

Answer 4

Speaking for myself only, it spent 6 years teaching kids in a poor school district where there was a lot of violence. I did it because of an inner need to share knowlege and give something back to a world that has been good to me. I wanted to help young people who, whether they are willing or not, had to graduate to get ahead in life. By the way, I reached a lot of kids who walked in with the 'I don't want to learn' attitude. They did learn from me. A lot of what they learned was stuff about life and values. I wasn't just an English teacher. My football players wrote good, real poetry, my thespians performed exerpts from plays for the class in a supportive atmosphere( I trained my kids how to be an attentive audience), my technical kids fixed creative lighting for sets and my computer savvy kids did cool stuff for us on computers. My closet writers came out. My leaders motivated the others. My friendly kids went out and did surveys. The whole school was my classroom. We went all over campus to learn something meaningful. My artsy kids displayed their stuff on my walls. My shy kids were trained to give "art tours' in the classroom. My guitar players played theme music for the class. I found their talents and found ways to help them develop and discover themselves and each other. Obviously, you never had a teacher like me. Poor you. Why don't you give it a try? You sound curious about it. I'll bet you could reach a lot of kids and share what you think is important. They need people who care. And whether you know it or not, they need you.

Answer 5

The goal is to make instruction FUN. Some teachers do a much better job of that than others.