What does a teacher make ?

shekhar

this was sent to me by Kiran karnik and given the campaign everywhere on teaching and teachers, is worth a read.

A Teacher Answers…

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.
One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with ?education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a?teacher?”

To stress his point he said to another guest; “You’re a teacher, Bonnie. ?Be honest. What do you make?”

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied,

“You want to know what I make?”
(She paused for a second, then began…)

“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their
parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an I Pod,
Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make? (She paused again and looked
at each and every person at the table)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them how to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God
given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything
they need to know about English while preserving their
unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to
say the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ to the Flag,?One Nation Under
God, because we live in the United States of America .

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they
were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

( Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?”

His jaw dropped; he went silent.

Even all your personal teachers like mothers, fathers, brothers,
sisters, coaches and your spiritual leaders/teachers.

A profound answer!!!

30 thoughts on “What does a teacher make ?”

  1. That’s a true reply and shows, we have given ‘money’ so much importance which it doesn’t deserve.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  2. Sir,

    What a piece of writing by Mr. Kiran Karnik. Very true and wonderful.. A teacher should be like what has been interpreted above.. Great.. Although this piece is the outcome of creativity but portraited very truly.

    Thank you Sir for putting this on your website and bringing the same before us..

    Minakshi

  3. Well said, well said!!
    .
    Yet I feel there is a terrible gap between students and teachers in todays date
    .
    the Respect, both ways, the gravity is getting luke warm!
    and many more factors….
    .
    Cheers!

  4. i must say that it was awesome reading this……changed my views about teachers somehow

  5. am a teacher 🙂 , and i do know how this profession always gets demotivated, or looked down upon, although if u are a teacher you know” what u do”,”where u stand” and “What You Make :)”

    i am proud to be a teacher, and happy that i didnt chose any other profession.

  6. Very thoughtful..

    But the worst thing is that in this rat race hardly people have time or depth to think on such subjects.
    Any day teaching is the best profession, but its hard to find teachers!

    Love your links, please keep posting…

  7. Someone said it right ” It is all about attitude”. loved this post and love and respect all the teachers around the world who make difference and wished they made little more money

  8. Oh ! only in America ! What about the IIT entrance scores? What about the SAT scores? In my school if the syllabus was not completed the school is bad. where is the time to wonder and think ?

    Its a rat race out there ! thats the reality ! My teachers made a lot as they had special tuitions for the same kids at a different price and for a different result. They also knew how to make them come to tuition classes.

    That was how I learned. Wish teachers were like what is in the post ! But the reality is different.

  9. yes, we have to admit that there is a difference in what is said and what is reality. But we do not think on the cause..how many teachers have the liberty to teach what they want to teach..none..
    Teachers job is the most des-respected job in this free independent India since independence, they are treated like beggers, collies, hourly paid slaves..
    Congrejis (I am holding congress as responsible because they are ruling the nation from a longer time, with the useless and baseless idelogy they belive in ) do not have any authority to blaim about the mess in the education when many of the congrejis are ‘Shikshan Samrat’, there are laws, system and they have power to make the difference.
    Still we use bank employees or teacher for sensus, voting realted activites instead having our own staff or recruting manpower for this work..this underlines how we look at our own resources and how conjrejis expect forced sacrifice(naked words expolotation) from the nation.

    A common agenda of the congrejis is if a person is worried about his/her own existence and he/she is busy in getting day-today needs then he/she will not think about the nation.he/she will not come to them, will not protest them. These vampires knows it this the key to drink the blood of creatures (we the common man are the creatures in their idelogy) like us to quinch the thrust of power.

    Subodh

  10. hats off to Bonnie’s response..and not to forget, teachers make CEOs too!
    and teachers ARE “like what is in the post.”..at least in the schools that i know in kathmandu, nepal. so let’s not generalise!

  11. By the way, I still remember a korean movie (some where of 1995 movie do not remember the name) in which the teacher could get an appointment of the president of the nation just in a single visit and she (that teacher) could put her views to the president and president also listens to her.

    Abharam Linkon could bow down in front of a teacher and writes a historic letter to the principal, and in India, let my son could come from any of university gate he must find the car.

    Now, tell me where are we..and are we changed…no
    Traditional Gurukul (boarding school) method is not bad but it should be made affordable to all, which has power to unify the nation and which can eliminate the disadvantages of our caste-based social system and will allow parents to concentrate on their own path of ‘Austerity’ (I think austerity is nothing but practicing any field with ethics and truth) , if not austerity but atleast on the their career, profession, job, education etc..and their kids will be protected and will get good education in good schools.

    When I say ‘Gurukul’ many of the people will remember Guru Drone and Eaklavya..but belive in me I am not talking abour promotion of ‘Brahmnical Culture’, despites of odds (Drona was the first Guru who forced to sell his knowledge) he presented not just a pupil Eaklavya but a great ‘Teacher Eaklvya’..It depends on how we look at..

    Subodh

  13. Eye opening 🙂
    There is world beyond just making money. There are various achievements beyond being Rich. There is great self satisfaction if “You Change Someone’s Life”. Which noone can buy or count in terms of money.

  15. Loved the description and since I am a teacher I can relate to every word it said… and it said enough I have nothing more to add except appreciate it with whole heart…

  18. ‘m living in a shell, uff I couldn’t have looked teaching from this point of view. What mind, what thoughts, marvellous.

  19. at one point of time I used to work in a call enter & ppl have this obnoxious opinion abt callcenter. it’s taken for granted that the gals who work ther are nothing less than a call gal, & it explains workin in night shifts. it’s not jst the outsiders but when I met a project manager from an IT department (Information Technology) at the company party, he started blabbering abt how his colleagues got him offers from callcenter gals to sleep with him. All i could reply to him was, atleast in our floor there’s no room for such crap and asked d u sure you work with IT dept and not somewhere else.. it’s been years, but i never mention to outsiders abt my work in callcenter instead I say i worked in IT.

  22. hmmmmmmmmmmm …. I AM A TEACHER AND CAN CONNECT TO IT but MORE THAN THAT the way its has been put is JUST AMAZING.. 🙂

  24. Can I copy and send this article on my email circulation list with the source site? This is one great article which must be circulated to a larger audience.

  27. Indeed an awesome reply by a “TEACHER”.I guess people will now have some respect for TEACHERS.

  28. Wait a minute there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I make them pledge for an imaginary unit called nation?????????????????????????????????????? Kind of cocky, ignorant, and narrow-minded for a ‘teacher’. I will buy the rest, but No sir. Please.

  30. Wonderfully said..I’ve always believed..any society that does not take good care of its teachers and defence officers is doomed to mediocrity.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.