March 5, 2011 9:49 AM
Taylor Mali on teaching
Inspiring perspective on teaching.
Taylor Mali: What Teachers Make
HT: Julie
Posted in Inspiration | Permalink
Comments
I'm sorry but this guy is one big loudmouth. He's very full of himself and I don't believe that he does all the things he'd like us to believe.
I've seen his type before and he doesn't strike fear into this mother's heart at dinnertime.
There are excellent teachers out there and they don't.... sound...like...that.
He's just full of himself.
By the way...I used to teach, too.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | March 5, 2011 10:20 AM
That is a bad generalization of teachers. It takes only a short period of schooling to see that excellent teachers are the exception, not the rule. This man with his boastful swagger, authoritative loud bragging, and sense of entitlement to all respect and honor is neither humorous nor inspiring to me.
Posted by: Rachel | March 5, 2011 1:10 PM
This was great! I know alot of teachers that would appreciate the entirety of this message. Too many times I hear how teachers don't get paid enough for what they do because alot of people don't realize what they truly put into their work. They obviously don't do it for the pay (except the liberal professors that are hell bent on brainwashing kids).
Sue...having gone to 13 different schools in my life, trust me, there are teachers out there that are JUST...LIKE...THIS. And I loved them for it. They helped me to realize that I am capable of more than the pansy effort I put into some of my word. They pushed me in the courses I thought was too easy so they deliberately challenged me because they knew I could work harder. They cared.
Posted by: dirtdartwife | March 5, 2011 1:24 PM
I don't know that I can agree with some of those comments. I liked it. I don't have a problem with teaching as a profession, just with what the system of public education has become. I don't think he's a blowhard. And I also hope that as a homeschooling mom, my kids can say something similar about me some day.
Posted by: MicheleMomof9 | March 5, 2011 3:50 PM
dirtdartwife, I've had teachers (especially one in college) who inspired me to be better than I ever thought I could be. None of them sounded like that braggart.
I understand what you're saying but I don't like this guy.
Posted by: Sue from Buffalo | March 5, 2011 3:52 PM
He is a poet and was performing his poem orally in front of a young audience. What you mistake for bravado and bragidoccio is simply an actor's prerogative. You should be commenting about his poetic qualities rather than his ability as a teacher because none of us have even been to his classroom.
Posted by: Kenneth | March 6, 2011 7:30 AM
I liked it. It was a performance and was a good one. The sad thing is that in the current traditional school setting, teachers are very limited in their ability to truly do what he says he does (I'm reading John Gatto's Dumbing Them Down, and I was home educated myself, so I'm biased against institutionalized education). For many kids, a teacher is the only person who will inspire them. For my kids, I hope that I'm the one who does that. Currently, I homeschool one child, one is in a charter school and one is in preschool. But all my kids know that I believe in them, I challenge them to think, I make them read, read, read and then write. But many kids don't have that and a teacher really can make a difference for a kid who otherwise has no hope.
Posted by: Lucy | March 6, 2011 10:47 PM
I agree with Kenneth,there is no way a public school teacher would even be allowed to do the things this guy says he does. No way. Once my children attended a museum talk on the scientist, Tesla and the presenter said to follow your dreams even when your parents oppose you. HA! My children all turned around and told me that this lady did not have a clue about what good parents do with their children. Teachers can never and should never replace that.
Posted by: Laura | March 7, 2011 9:27 AM
