"Giving Opportunity"

In this months issue of TIME Magazine, TIME's 2009 Person of the Year, Ben Bernanke, was interviewed and his answer to this question validated the reason that I want to be a teacher. Hope this intrigues you as well!

Q: On 60 Minutes, you acknowledged the growing income inequality in this country. What are ways to close the gap?

A: Income inequality is troubling because, among other things, it means that many people in our society don't have the opportunities to advance themselves. The best solution to income inequality is providing a high-quality education for everybody. In our highly technological, globalized economy, people without education will not be able to improve their economic situation.

While the "idealistic" teacher (to students) is fun and easy, teaching is not an easy job. To me teaching is telling the truth. Example... "This is where your child is at and this is where your child needs to be at." There are standards, and I will not be part of the trend that passes along students for the sake of passing along. In the long run it would be an irreversable sentence. I am not saying that this is the only reason for poverty and economic inequality, but from what I've seen it has a lot to do with it.

In response to the article in September entitled "A Call To Action for Public Schools," one reader wrote this: "We no longer teach students how to think or learn; we teach students to take tests." I agree, and the traditional way of teaching has to stop. We need to help make students critical thinkers and problem-solvers in order for them to succeed. Feel free to leave any thoughts or comments!

- love, briana -