The author, ddeubel, points out that it is fine to talk about the virtues of the many expectations of teaching, but that without a central motivator, your life and work can become unguided.
Teachers should be conscientious, student centered, prepared yata yata….. (not to demean these things but they do begin to blend into each other. My students suffered as a result - I didn’t know what the priority actually was…..
The author's answer is happiness.
What I was missing and eventually gained was an understanding of what life is about. HAPPINESS. I began to ask my students every lesson - “Are you happy?” and I suggest every teacher end their day with that question. It should also inform all teaching practice.
I agree. I believe that happiness should be the primary goal of life. I try to remind myself that it is my primary goal for myself. As ddeubel suggests, teachers should make it their primary objective to have happy students. I agree. As a teacher, my main objective should be to make my students happy, show them the value of happiness, and show them how to be happy.
The term hedonism has always had negative connotations for me, raised as I was as a Christian. Even as I write this, I feel guilty and tentative about proclaiming my own selfish desire for happiness.
However, if I choose to value my own happiness, then hedonism is a good thing.
I need to make a conscious, intentional decision to value my own worth as a person, and to assert that my own personal happiness is important, valuable and a worthwhile aspiration.
Photo by icampbell.
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