MY CAREER-EDUCATION 7

My teaching career has lasted 30 years now- i began at a private school in New york City -stayed there for 17 years before one more school for on ly one year then 9 years at a school in iowa and 3 more in Johannesburg south africa-over the course of my career i have taught some of the richest students in the world- on the upper east side of manhattan and some of the poorest in South africa-i have taught 3 year-olds how to swim and 70 year old how to platy tennis- i have taught on the college level and every grade on the secondary school level from 4th grade to 12th grade-i have taught many years on the east coast and almost as many in the midwest-i have taught on two continents and probably a few more before i'm through-and i know a lot about teaching as a result- but i have a lot left to learn too.The main thing every teacher learns-usually pretty early in their career-is that the teacher gets more out of it then the students-he learns more-and has more joy in the process-there is nothing more rewarding that i can think of then to help a student reach his potential-first discover it and then begin to reach it-it is a profound responsibility and a sacred trust-what teaching brings the teachers not quantifiable- but as the years go by the gratitude one feels for being a part of this profession is a constant source of strength and energy for the long haul- even when it isn't going so well- and we all have those times in our career.This book is about what i have learned about teaching students and education in general-but it is also about my life- as the two are inseparable in many ways-it offers the new teacher a direction for their career and the older teacher a frame of reference for their own-but the main purpose of the book is not tell someone how to teach - there are many ways to do it and each teacher must find their style and approach-as they make it their own- while changing and adjusting to their own discoveries and their own growth as a person-each teacher has a lot to offer a new teacher just starting out- and they also have a lot of valuable things to say to parents- but that works both ways,