It’s been almost 4 years since I started teaching officially. There are good students, there are rioters, and there are indifferences. Some students ask great questions, but the question that I get a lot from them is: “How do you know you are suitable for teaching?”. Well, that’s an interesting question. Shouldn’t I say it’s because of my guts, or because this industry is hot and I don’t know if it’s suitable?! Absolutely not. I found the answer for myself a long time ago.
From a young age, when I was aware that my mother had to go teaching to earn money to support me, aware of what it was like to be in class, I tried it. I remember that was when I was in 4th grade, my cousin was in 2nd grade, and along with my neighbor who was also in 2nd grade, I set up a class at home. Borrowing my mother’s whiteboard – sometimes used to write notes, I taught basic math to the two kids at home. At first, when I heard that they were confused because they did not understand what I was saying, I was also very upset. But once I saw them nodding, eyes with an A and mouths with an O, I knew that this profession had chosen me. Gradually, from simple calculations, when I went to higher grades, I switched to teaching them English, even after finishing my class, I rushed back home to call them to lecture. My passion for sharing knowledge also started there. I read somewhere, they said that if you have knowledge but keep it to yourself, what you have is not called knowledge (don’t know if it’s correct but something like that). It’s true to me, every time I learn something new, I want to share it with everyone. If that is not shared, it will drift into oblivion, and will no longer be called knowledge.
On the contrary, I also enjoy listening to others. Many people say that to be a teacher, it is not necessary to have listening skills because they are the ones who impart knowledge? No, they were wrong. Every profession needs to know how to listen, and so does being a teacher. Listen to suggestions from superiors, feedback from colleagues, listen to absorb new knowledge, and listen to your students. I once studied a teacher with a very good way of teaching, she didn’t talk much in her class and most of her time was spent listening to the whole class. Before the school day, she instructed the class to read books and learn about that topic in advance. The next day when going to class, they would take turns sharing their feelings, strangely enough, then I was able to look at that topic in many different aspects that I didn’t know before. Learning from that, I try to make my class as multi-dimensional as possible, so I can both know how students think and they can also practice their critical thinking skills – a very important skill in this day and age.
Being a teacher is like that, you must know how to give and receive:
– Give knowledge, give love, give tolerance.
– Get knowledge, get understanding, get sympathy.
So, to the above question, I always give my students a straightforward answer: For me, to know if you are suitable to be a teacher or not, you have to see if you can both give and receive. If you can give but don’t want to receive, or you don’t want to give and just want to receive, then I think you should consider whether you are suitable for this profession. Moreover, no profession is born right or wrong for you, only when you find a job you love. At that time, you must strive to do your best with your decision, always improve and share knowledge to get better and better. There is no such thing as a smooth road, as long as you work hard, you will succeed. I believe so!
Good luck on your career path, and once you’ve found your passion, keep working hard!
Bui Thi Anh Thu, MA
