Wednesday, October 6, 2010

What does it mean to be genuine?

Being Authentic, showing a general sense of authenticity, or just showing a general care for the subject being taught is not an easy task for a teacher to accomplish.  As a teacher, everyday in the classroom they have to show a genuine interest and passion in the subject they are teaching because if they come off as being fake the students will loose and interest in the class and they will have no reason to pay attention to the material.  The underlying point behind being genuine as a teacehr is to intrigue the student's attention and interest to the subject being taught by showing that same interest and appreciation for the subject.
I had a chemistry teacher in high school that was totally ineffective in keeping her students on task and being engaged in class.  I always thought that no one liked her and that was why no one payed attention in her class, but looking back now I realize that the reason no one cared in that class was because she was not showing a authentic interest in what she was teaching.  She would make comments during class about how much she did not enjoy doing lesson plans and how the preparations for class were boring and pointless.  By showing that kind of interest in the subject being taught students tend to take a similar approach to that class as their teacher.    If a teacher is sarcastic during class and doesn't show enthusiasm in what they are teaching the students won't either.  An authentic teacher will inevitably create authentic students simply by the influence of enthusiasm and a general interest and appreciation for the material being taught.