"A love for learning" is not realistic

"Anyone who begins to call himself a realist is prepared to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing" 

-Sydney Harris

Imagine if real learning was both the teacher's and student’s first and only priority. Imagine if teachers could pursue their passion for teaching and learning in a way that allowed students to get swept up with a love for learning.

When most teachers get into teaching, they imagine the pursuit of a love for learning as not only a possibility but as their destiny… and yet, how many teachers fall victim to the grind of the system and lose sight of why they became a teacher in the first place? Many teachers fall victim to the bureaucratic friction of the system, allowing the kids’ needs to become a distant second to the system’s needs.

In fact, some teachers become so disillusioned (and lost) that they scoff and shrug at the idea that children should be nurtured and inspired to further their love for learning. In other words, these cynics see “a love for learning” as not only corny but wholly unrealistic.

I would rather be corny or utopian than a realist who is prepared to do something he is secretly ashamed of doing.