Passion

I feel passion is one of the most important elements in teaching. No one is going to want to learn what you're teaching if you're not even interested in it. But if you think what you're teaching is the coolest thing since sliced bread, other people will want to know more about it. As a camp counselor this summer, this basic idea was repeated to me many times. As a counselor, our main job was to be excited and to get the campers excited. Of course, we had to make sure they behaved, get them to the right places at the right time, etc. but all of that was made easier when we exuded passion. Even if it was an activity that we personally weren't crazy about, we were still supposed to be enthusiastic about it in order to give the kids a positive attitude about it. If there was a certain game that counselors didn't like and would sit out of, the campers would notice. But if the counselors were involved in the games, the campers got a lot more into the games. This can relate to teaching, for even if a teacher is passionate about their general subject, there will still be some things that they are less enthusiastic about or dislike. If a teacher openly shows that they don't like something, they are giving their students a negative pre-conceived idea of it.

The first teacher that comes to my mind when I think of passion is my high school band director (who I've mentioned before). He was passionate about everything he did. He believed if you're going to do something, you needed to do it 100% or not at all. His passion for music and students has affected the whole school and even the community. I don't have time to explain all the things he has accomplished, but to sum it up he has taken a mediocre band program and turned it into the best thing our school has to offer. As an '09 graduate from my high school said in her commencement speech (in regards to change), "Band has not always been cool." Band is now actually cool at our school and gives the students something to be proud of.