Teachers?

Are most teachers teachers
or mere teaching machines?

Do they see students as independent learners
or just objects to be lectured to
& injected with ideologies?

Do they view classrooms as places for discovery
or worker training factories?

Do they regard errors as interesting conjectures
or aberrations to be covered with ink?

The next time you enter a classroom
take a moment to think:
What do you care about –
rituals fostering mediocrity?
standard tests measuring trivial things?
or perhaps helping others
discover their dreams?

Satoru:	These are questions all teachers should ask . . .
Melissa:	Perhaps, but maybe we need to accept the fact that nearly every lesson is less than perfect, and in a sense that's perfectly okay.
Satoru:	(raising his eyebrows) If you're content with mediocrity, yes. Yet if you believe education is the most important human endeavor, how could we be less than conscientious?
Liao:	(clearing his throat) Well, I think we often over-estimate the role of teachers. Our parents and peers are more important.
Melissa:	There is a paradox at play: we must regard ourselves both lightly and seriously. On one hand, students will learn despite our infelicities. On the other hand, we're responsible for everything that we do . . .