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I rather like this piece of youtube excellence.

Being an English teacher in Tokyo is akin to sitting on the lowest rung of the social ladder and I have been, over the years, quite amused/astonished/appalled by the number of (non-Japanese) finance/IT/law people who literally smile through their teeth and make their excuses to walk away after they've heard the answer to their question “so, what do you do?” (almost always the first question).

What do teachers really make? We try to make a difference, and I'm proud of what we do. I accept that there are some utterly hopeless teachers out there. But I am not one of them (blowing my own horn?), and neither are most of the people I am honoured to work with. It's hard work but Oh, so rewarding.

Technorati Tags: teachingenglish, TESOL

~ SPEECH ~
What Teachers Make, or
Objection Overruled, or
If things don't work out, you can always go to law school

By Taylor Mali
www.taylormali.com

He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about
teachers:

That those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the urge to remind the other dinner guests
that it's also true what they say about lawyers.

Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.

"I mean, you're a teacher, Taylor"
"Be honest. What do you make?"

And I wish he hadn't done that
(asked me to be honest)
because, you see, I have a policy
about honesty and ass-kicking:
which is, if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and I can make an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

You wanna know what I make?

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence.
No, you can not work in groups.
No, you can not ask a question (so put your hand down)
Why won't I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you're bored and you don't really have to go, do you?

You wanna know what I make?

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home at around dinner time:
"Hi, This is Mr. Mali, I hope I haven't called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son did today.
he said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?"
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are
and who they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely
beautiful
over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And then hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them realize that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
I make a difference! What about you?

Martine wrote this on June 11, 2007 6:38 PM

sushi said:

Thankyou Martine!
That loud mouth made me cry...and that is not an easy task these days. I decided 20 years ago that I was going to be a teacher and make a difference. I never once feel inadequate or on the bottom of any ladder because I know from experience that put in front of 40 energetic, attention hungry, individuals everyday most non-teachers would bomb miserably, tear their hair out, run screaming or worse > resort to abuse and violence even before they thought about making anything let alone a difference.
While it hasn't always been this way, these days being a primary school teacher is a stress- free, pleasure. If only school started at about 10:30ish life would be perfect!
I think some teachers need to value themselves and their students more - maybe they should watch the vid you picked as a reminder. I am sure it is easy for some to believe the social bullcrap and forget the real reason for doing what they do. One of the biggest downfalls in this country (and many others I am sure) is too often English speakers are doing it for the money (often out of necessity I know) and forget to see the difference they make and the joy they can get.
Thanks again...just so you know you make a difference both in and out of the classroom!

On June 12, 2007 11:40 PM,

MissSin said:

WOOHOO for teachers!!

know what you mean about the 'look' that some people give us once they've found out what we do.
no, i don't work in the corporate world.
no, i don't earn shed loads of cash.
no, i don't work in a big plush office in central tokyo.
no, i don't have cushty business trips to cools places.

but...

yes, i do have pride in what i do.
yes, i do feel a sense of achievement (maybe not everyday - but most days)
yes, i learn from my students as well as teach them.
yes, i still get tears in my eyes when my students say 'thank you, this class was so useful for me'.
yes, i am glad i stumbled upon this career path.
yes, i WILL continue being a teacher.

we rock ;)

On June 13, 2007 6:18 PM,

Martin J Frid said:

Brilliant. My father was a high school teacher. I think he was proud of it. He got a gold watch at the end, but if society doesn't value teachers more, it will be up to individuals (like you or this YouTube guy) to speak up. Cheers.

On June 12, 2007 10:41 PM,

Juggs said:

When I meet someone, I don't care what they do for a living...really I don't,..I think you realize pretty quick if a person is genuine or not and that's what matters to me. Not what you do,..but who you are.

- Juggs

On June 21, 2007 9:39 PM,

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What do teachers really make?