My grandfather as well as both my parents were teachers, so I always have a healthy respect for people who choose to teach. Teaching is a very difficult and often thankless job, with low pay and much unpleasantness. The teachers of today must deal with –
- Motivating the young and impatient, amid a buffet of distractions, including web browsing, Facebook, parties, online games, shopping at the mall, and much more.
- Over-protective or uninterested parents.
- Students who have no interest in learning, and who have no respect for their teachers.
- School politics and jumping over many bureaucratic hurdles.
In the meantime, teacher unions keep losing their power, pensions become a thing of the past, and pay scales stay stagnant.
Good and Bad Teachers
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
~~[George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman]
Of course, not all teachers are exceptional or even good. Indeed, I have come across some teachers who do not know the material they are teaching, do the least amount of work possible, and worst of all, use their power and authority to put down or otherwise bully their students.
However, most of the teachers in my school were really just trying their hardest to do a good job, and give their students a good head-start in life. My favorite was my Chemistry teacher. She was very tough, independent, intelligent, and a single mother. Most of all, she was a great role-model, at a time where there were few strong women that I could look up to.
From her example I learned that girls can also grow up to rule the World and make a difference.
Teacher Pictures
Often, teachers are pictured to be spinster old ladies with tweed clothing that smell like mothballs. I suppose this projects the old-fashioned image of a serious educator, and reflects the usual myth that beauty does not mix well with brains.
Clearly, this caricature bears little resemblance to reality. In fact, many of my teachers in college were quite dashing and caused many of us to pay special attention during class.
In my teacher pictures I wanted to create an idealized version of the stylish teacher. She is modern, beautiful, confident, and not shy of her sexuality. She has no need to hide behind tweed or mothballs, and can command respect despite her obvious good looks.
Barbie can be good at math, Barbie can teach well, and Barbie can do whatever she sets her mind to!
