Tread softly

My lecture on Monday was on 'Becoming a Teacher' and I loved it for a number of reasons, chief among them the cool software the professor used to give his presentation (check it out: http://prezi.com/).

The theme was how the different 'beginnings' of a career in teaching could end in very different endings. The key to success, and serenity, is having the ability to experiment, diversify and change your approach to your work. Interesting and I hope that I end up in the 'serene' camp.

But it was his thoughts on everything between the middle and the end of our careers that I will remember. He reminded us of the huge influence that teachers can have in a child's life and shared an anecdote about a boy who had grown up to be a fireman. He had always wanted to be a fireman, ever since he could remember. But one of his teachers had strongly counselled him against it, telling him he would be throwing his life away. Luckily he ignored his teacher and fulfilled his ambition. And when this teacher and his wife were involved in a serious car accident, he was at the scene and was able to give both of them life-saving treatment. The teacher looked more kindly on him after that.

The point was, every day children come to school and they lay their dreams at your feet. As a teacher you have to be careful where you tread. As Yeats said:

But I [...], have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.