In my last Context of Education class yesterday, my instructor had this stack 40 pictures and we were asked to choose one that we think speaks to us as teachers and defines us. I saw all these beautiful pictures of buildings, sports, lights, nature, and then I saw the picture that defines me. It was an instant click and I had to pick it. A book! I forgot to take a picture then but finally found it online!
My parents, especially my father and his side of the family, instilled this love for books and reading in me when I was little. I was always showered with books more than toys and I have always had a library in my house. This was my introduction to management and organization. I loved organizing and labeling and keeping track of my books. The library evolved from a cupboard shelf to a small cupboard and eventually spanned the wall of a room by the time I was in my teenage years. I could not bring my 300+ books to Canada so I restarted my collection here and it occupies two big bookshelves today.
This love for reading — not just novels but also knowledge books like Eyewitness series — did a couple of things — it made me open to new perspectives. Also, I always knew I didn’t and couldn’t know everything but I could find it if I wanted to. Before the Internet, I could ask my parents for a book. I learned to not just live the stories of the characters but eventually learn from them. We read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte at least twice in school. I loved that story and ended up getting the illustrated (in words not pictures) 500 page version of it. It is one of the two books that came with me from India. I have not read it in awhile but maybe I will pick it up over the break. Interesting that Jane was a teacher too. 🙂
My love for reading is also linked to my love for studying because studying involves a lot of reading. When I was making lesson plans for my computers class, for example, I read some online content, found a book that explained the concepts in a very easy way with examples, bought that book and analyzed it a couple times before using it for the lesson plans.
The thirst for knowledge goes without saying. I think reading makes us humble about the views of the world and tells us how creative we (humans) can be. Some of the ideas in books and the articles out there on the Internet, like here on Medium, are so unique and yet so elegant and often easy to understand. Even if I don’t teach English (and honestly, I would love to), I can still encourage these ideas and if the opportunity comes up, share what I have learned and the places where I learned it from.
In my Context of Education class, we wrote a take away for each day —
If I had to remember one important thing forever from today’s class, what would it be?
My thoughts above are what I took away from my last class and the pictures exercise that we did. In one sentence: The reason we want to be teachers is intrinsically related to our past, beliefs and values; for me my reason comes from books and reading.
Is there was one picture that resonates with you and deeply connects to what you do?
Photo on VisualHunt
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