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Every teacher probably asks himself time and again: What are the reasons for choosing teaching as a career? Do the rewards teaching outweigh1 the trying comments? Answering these questions is not a simple task. Let's see what the author says.
Why I Teach
Peter G. Beidler
Why do you teach? My friend asked the question when I told him that I didn't want to be considered for an administrative2 position. He was puzzled that I did not want what was obviously a "step up" toward what all Americans are taught to want when they grow up: money and power.
Certainly I don't teach because teaching is easy for me. Teaching is the most difficult of the various ways I have attempted to earn my living: mechanic, carpenter, writer. For me, teaching is a red-eye, sweaty-palm, sinking-stomach profession. Red-eye, because I never feel ready to teach no matter how late I stay up preparing. Sweaty-palm, because I'm always nervous before I enter the classroom, sure that I will be found out for the fool that I am. Sinking-stomach, because I leave the classroom an hour later convinced that I was even more boring than usual.
Nor do I teach because I think I know answers, or because I have knowledge I feel compelled to share. Sometimes I am amazed that my students actually take notes on what I say in class!
Why, then, do I teach?
I teach because I like the pace of the academic calendar. June, July, and August offer an opportunity for reflection, research and writing.
I teach because teaching is a profession built on change. When the material is the same, I change —— and, more important, my students change.
I teach because I like the freedom to make my own mistakes, to learn my own lessons, to stimulate3 myself and my students. As a teacher, I'm my own boss. If I want my freshmen4 to learn to write by creating their own textbook, who is to say I can't? Such courses may be huge failures, but we can all learn from failures.
I teach because I like to ask questions that students must struggle to answer. The world is full of right answers to bad questions. While teaching, I sometimes find good questions.
I teach because I enjoy finding ways of getting myself and my students out of the ivory tower and into the real world. I once taught a course called "Self-Reliance in a Technological5 Society." My 15 students read Emerson, Thoreau, and Huxley. They kept diaries. They wrote term papers.
But we also set up a corporation, borrowed money, purchased a run-down house and practiced self-reliance by renovating6 it. At the end of the semester, we would the house, repaid our loan, paid or taxes, and distributed the profits among the group.
So teaching gives me pace, and variety, and challenge, and the opportunity to keep on learning.
I have left out, however, the most important reasons why I teach.
One is Vicky. My first doctoral student, Vicky was an energetic student who labored7 at her dissertation8 on a little-known 14th century poet. She wrote articles and sent them off to learned journals. She did it all herself, with an occasional nudge from me. But I was there when she finished her dissertation, learned that her articles were accepted, got a job and won a fellowship to Harvard working on a book developing ideas she'd first had as my student.
Another reason is George, who started as an engineering student, then switched to English because he decided9 he liked people better than things.
There is Jeanne, who left college, but was brought back by her classmates because they wanted her to see the end of the self-reliance house project. I was here when she came back. I was there when she told me that she later became interested in the urban poor and went on to become a civil rights lawyer.
There is Jacqui, a cleaning woman who knows more by intuition than most of us learn by analysis. Jacqui has decided to finish high school and go to college.
These are the real reasons I teach, these people who grow and change in front of me. Being a teacher is being present at the creation, when the clay begins to breathe.
A "promotion10" out of teaching would give me money and power. But I have money. I get paid to do what I enjoy: reading, talking with people, and asking question like, "What is the point of being rich?"
And I have power. I have the power to nudge, to fan sparks, to suggest books, to point out a pathway. What other power matters?
But teaching offers something besides money and power: it offers love. Not only the love of learning and of books and ideas, but also the love that a teacher feels for that rare student who walks into a teacher's life and begins to breathe. Perhaps love is the wrong word: magic might be better.
I teach because, being around people who are beginning to breathe, I occasionally find myself catching11 my breath with them.
NEW WORDS
administrative
a. of the management of affairs 行政的，管理的
administration
n. 管理（部门），行政（机关）
puzzle
vt. fill with doubt and confusion 使迷惑
step (-) up
n. promotion; increase in size, speed, etc.
mechanic
n. skilled workman, esp. one who uses or repairs machines and tools 机械工；机修工
sweaty
a. covered with sweat, sweating
palm
a. 手掌
profession
n. occupation, esp. one requiring special training, such as law, medicine, or teaching
convince
vt. make (sb.) feel certain; cause (sb.) to realize
compel
vt. force (sb. or sth. to do sth.)
pace
n. rate or speed of development, or in walking, etc. 速度；步速
calendar
n. 日程表，日历
opportunity
n. favourable12 occasion or chance
reflection
n. careful thinking; consideration 深思；考虑
reflect vi.
stimulate
vt. encourage; excite 刺激；激励
freshman
n. student in his first year at a college or university
failure
n. a person, attempt, or thing that fails; lack of success
ivory
n. 象牙
ivory tower
n. place or condition of retreat from the world of action into a world of ideas and dreams 象牙塔
self-reliance
n. ability to do things and make decisions by oneself 依靠自己；自力更生
reliance
n. trust, confidence; dependence13 信赖；信心；依靠
technological
a. of or related to technology 技术的
corporation
n. (AmE) 有限公司
run-down
a. old and broken or in bad condition
renovate
vt. restore (old buildings, oil paintings, etc.) to a former, better state 修复，修整
semester
n. (AmE) either of the two periods into which a school year is divided; term 学期
repay
vt. pay back (money, etc.)
loan
n. sth. lent, esp. a sum of money 借出的东西；贷款
distribute
vt. divide among several or many; give or send out 分发；分送
distribution n.
variety
n. difference in quality, type or character; a number of or a collection of different things 变化，多样化；种种
challenge
n. the quality of demanding competitive action, interest, or though 挑战
doctoral
a. having to do with the university degree of doctor 博士的
energetic
a. vigorous 精力充沛
dissertation
n. （学位）论文
poet
n. one who writes poetry
learned
a. showing or requiring much knowledge 博学的
journal
n. magazine or daily newspaper 杂志；日报
occasional
a. happening from time to time, not regular 偶尔的，间或的
nudge
n. (fig.) words, actions or feeling that stimulate 启示
vt. push or touch slightly, esp. with the elbow to attract attention; (fig.) stimulate
fellowship
n. position or a sum of money granted to a person for advanced study or research 研究员职位；研究员薪金
switch
vt. change or shift; turn
urban
a. of a town or city
civil rights
n. the rights of a citizen without regard to his race, religion, sex, etc. 公民权
lawyer
n. person who practises law 律师
intuition
n. (power of) the immediate14 understanding of truths, events, facts without reasoning 直觉
analysis
n. the separation of a substance into parts for careful examination and study 分析
creation
n. act of creating; sth. created 创造（物）
clay
n. 粘士
point
n. main idea or purpose 要点；意义，目的
pathway
n. path
rare
a. unusually good; distinctive15 稀有的；杰出的
magic
n. mysterious charm; strange influence or power; art of obtaining mysterious results by tricks 魔力；魔术
PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS
stay up
not go to bed until after the usual time 不睡觉，熬夜 take notes
记笔记
build on
base on; use as a base for further development
keep a diary
记日记
leave out
fail to mention or include; omit
send off
post; dispatch
work at/ on
give one's attention to doing or trying to do
catch one's breath
rest and get back one's normal breath, as after running; stop breathing for a moment from surprise, fear, shock, etc.
PROPER NAMES
Emerson
爱默生（姓氏及男子名）
Thoreau
梭洛（姓氏） Huxley
赫胥黎（姓氏）
Vicky
维基（女子名，Victoria 的昵称）
Harvard
哈佛（美国大学名）
Jeanne
珍妮（女子名）
Jacqui
杰基（女子名，Jacqueline的昵称）
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outweigh
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| vt.比...更重，...更重要 | |
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administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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freshmen
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| n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 ) | |
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technological
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| adj.技术的；工艺的 | |
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renovating
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| 翻新，修复，整修( renovate的现在分词 ) | |
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labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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dissertation
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| n.（博士学位）论文，学术演讲，专题论文 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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