fulfillment of teaching

i just finished a class. I was approached by one student. He profusely congratulated me for the way the class was being conducted. He said that he was already bragging about the class to the others who didnt enroll.

I accepted his remarks humbly, graciously. I felt so elated.

I'm really just a part-time teacher, only one class, an elective at that. But i still put in as much effort. I feel so strongly that the students must get the value from my class, that somehow, it would be practical enough for them to use in the real world. I enrich the course discussions with true-to-life examples, which i see the students enjoying.

i started my career as a teacher, actually, right after graduating. i was enjoying that but i felt that i couldn't live substantially off a teacher's salary. so after 4 semesters, i moved to the industry. though i never regretted the move, i knew that i would eventually find myself back in the academe.

teaching again after twenty years was so intimating for me. and i knew i had to prepare for smart, nay, brilliant students. but now i feel so much more relaxed and in control. and with the paradigm that i could learn as much from them as they could learn from me, im no longer intimidated. im getting to know my students more, seeing that yes, they seem to be participating and learning.

teaching really is a noble profession.