I was thinking yesterday about roles and how we are all playing one or another.
It began because over this past year, I have developed the firm belief that becoming a teacher is acting out a particular persona. It is yet another role on the earthly stage of life. I have spoken before on my blog about how teaching = acting. But yesterday I realised that we are all playing different roles.
As a teacher, when I step in front of the pupils, they see me as a teacher. They see me as a dispenser of knowledge, a member of the school staff. They don't see me as a human being. Not straight away. My uncle is a doctor and it occurred to me that where I see him as a human, a family member, his patients see him as the person who is going to get them medically. If we saw people who we come across in our daily routines, as humans and not as the role that they are playing, then the world would stop. We'd accept that our food arrived late to our table because the chef was having a bad day. We wouldn't hate politicians as much because they are imperfect like us. We would not mind if that store does not have our size because the salesperson is having a hard time right now and can't afford to buy clothes. We would pay more for services because we would truly realise that the person who is providing the service needs to survive like we do. We would be empathetic and it would make us more understanding but I wonder, would things get done. Would we become too complacent? Does the pressure of fulfilling our roles just mean that we are collectively playing our part? Is this how we survive?
Part of me is realising that it is through these roles that we are productive. If pupils saw me as their equal, someone who was in pain like they are, they might find it harder to respect me as their teacher. It may seem narrow-minded but I think that throughout this year I have been trying to figure out a new persona for myself that is different from my usual 'nice' one. I can't be 'nice', 'understanding' and empathetic' all the time. Sometimes, I need to demand respect- or I will be forever trying to get kids to give in h/w and they will forever be giving me excuses. Empathy needs to come with expectation. I am not just me anymore. I am me the person and me the teacher.
As I write this, I realise how it is restrictive and draining. What if you don't like the role that you are playing? What if the role stops people from seeing who you are? Maybe kids need to see their teacher as human in order to respect them. It's a difficult question.
I have no answer for this- just pondering...
It began because over this past year, I have developed the firm belief that becoming a teacher is acting out a particular persona. It is yet another role on the earthly stage of life. I have spoken before on my blog about how teaching = acting. But yesterday I realised that we are all playing different roles.
As a teacher, when I step in front of the pupils, they see me as a teacher. They see me as a dispenser of knowledge, a member of the school staff. They don't see me as a human being. Not straight away. My uncle is a doctor and it occurred to me that where I see him as a human, a family member, his patients see him as the person who is going to get them medically. If we saw people who we come across in our daily routines, as humans and not as the role that they are playing, then the world would stop. We'd accept that our food arrived late to our table because the chef was having a bad day. We wouldn't hate politicians as much because they are imperfect like us. We would not mind if that store does not have our size because the salesperson is having a hard time right now and can't afford to buy clothes. We would pay more for services because we would truly realise that the person who is providing the service needs to survive like we do. We would be empathetic and it would make us more understanding but I wonder, would things get done. Would we become too complacent? Does the pressure of fulfilling our roles just mean that we are collectively playing our part? Is this how we survive?
Part of me is realising that it is through these roles that we are productive. If pupils saw me as their equal, someone who was in pain like they are, they might find it harder to respect me as their teacher. It may seem narrow-minded but I think that throughout this year I have been trying to figure out a new persona for myself that is different from my usual 'nice' one. I can't be 'nice', 'understanding' and empathetic' all the time. Sometimes, I need to demand respect- or I will be forever trying to get kids to give in h/w and they will forever be giving me excuses. Empathy needs to come with expectation. I am not just me anymore. I am me the person and me the teacher.
As I write this, I realise how it is restrictive and draining. What if you don't like the role that you are playing? What if the role stops people from seeing who you are? Maybe kids need to see their teacher as human in order to respect them. It's a difficult question.
I have no answer for this- just pondering...
No comments:
Post a Comment