tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post5045606966799062266..comments2010-12-02T16:52:07.103-05:00Comments on Mercurial Musings: Substitute Teachingcastlerookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04180546720296788315noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-30742599808225928582009-02-23T09:48:00.000-05:002009-02-23T09:48:00.000-05:00Interesting perspective. So, can you make a living...Interesting perspective. So, can you make a living as a substitute teacher? That's the unfortunate reality of the need most of us have for a job - the need to at the very least make ends meet.<BR/><BR/>It took me a few years before I was willing to give up the security of an accounting job for the joy of being my own boss and a professional organizer. I wouldn't quit the one until the other could replace the salary.Nodressrehearsalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16231287075280455381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-25916946473419330262009-02-21T10:32:00.000-05:002009-02-21T10:32:00.000-05:00Wow maze. Thanks!Ruby, no, I don't think that all ...Wow maze. Thanks!<BR/><BR/>Ruby, no, I don't think that all teachers share my experience. I suppose there are a couple ideas getting conflated here: one, that theatricality is often an integral part of good teaching; two, that the role of a teacher is somehow a self-denying one. I think the first is true in general while the second is true for me in particular--which is a simply a complicated way of saying that full-time teaching is not for me.<BR/><BR/>I will say this, though: at the institution where I taught full-time, relatively few teachers who had been there for more than a few years seemed to like what they were doing. Then again, that may well be true of people in general.castlerookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180546720296788315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-79895323525739794172009-02-21T09:41:00.000-05:002009-02-21T09:41:00.000-05:00Interesting. I hope it's not generally true, thoug...Interesting. I hope it's not generally true, though, or at least not especially true for teachers. One of the things I have learned with a grown-up job is that every single one I can think of--even the coolest--involve a lot of repetition and sameness, so it's always a struggle to keep one's interest, if one is the sort of person bored by repetition.<BR/><BR/>That aside, I was an adjunct faculty member at a local university. I taught one class and, like you, thought, "I'm good at this and I love it; why not try full time?" I had roughly the same thoughts you did, plus university teaching requires all that PhD and writing and publishing stuff that doesn't interest me. Teaching is hard to do well, like I imagine it is hard to give a great performance every time you do a show that has been running for years or something.Ruby Apollinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14597627449919946143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-64144329210482832722009-02-21T02:52:00.000-05:002009-02-21T02:52:00.000-05:00"I know that as soon as it ceases to be a role and..."I know that as soon as it ceases to be a role and becomes a defining feature of my existence, a vital part of myself is lost."<BR/><BR/>This right here easily would have made my "best lines" posts I did monthly (for a few months) on TIBU.mazehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01312521619646247745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-83897505368456124932009-02-20T16:19:00.000-05:002009-02-20T16:19:00.000-05:00I wasn't either, at least not consciously. That pa...I wasn't either, at least not consciously. That particular theme emerged only through the process of writing this--which, of course, demonstrates why the act of writing is so important.<BR/><BR/>And you're right, the nature of mathematics (or at least, the nature of a typical mathematics curriculum) makes continued theatricality particularly difficult to achieve. But if you remind me next October, I'll see about coming up with a logarithmic Halloween costume.castlerookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04180546720296788315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1142569919196917789.post-33678327214937919852009-02-20T11:40:00.000-05:002009-02-20T11:40:00.000-05:00When we were talking about this the other day, I w...When we were talking about this the other day, I wasn't thinking of it quite this way— with the idea of the "role" vs. the "reality" being what helps some people to retain their spark and purpose. It makes sense when I think of the few teachers I had who really kept themselves (and us) interested. One was Bonnie Hibbard, whose approach to teaching was riveting and theatrical... and another was Ms. Berkman, the A.P. Euro teacher who came to school dressed as everything from a Russian peasant to a Franciscan Friar to Karl Marx.<BR/><BR/>Of course it's more difficult to dress convincingly as a logarithm.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08927801100313802654noreply@blogger.com