Tuesday, September 3, 2013


As stated in the video “The Passion Project”, there is a lack of passion in the profession of teaching. Everyone is required to go to school. Some of us spend most of our lives until our twenties in school. Those employed in educational institutions are expected to have great enthusiasm, charisma, and passion for their job. However, even if present, it isn’t always apparent. Being the future of not only the nation, but the world, is a big responsibility and the bigger responsibility is readying those people for the world and life. The importance of passion is emphasized in Protecting the Passion of Scholars in Times of Change. In the journal article Anna Neumann encourages faculty of schools to ponder the question “What is it about the academic career as a continuing profession that is worth maintaining?” (Neumann 11). By asking this question she inspires teachers and other faculty to recall the passion they had when in the educational system themselves. She herself had professor and teachers that compelled her to excel in school and push herself further. She says “I honed in on professors’ work and explored what they learned during this career period. A number spoke of feeling compelled to give up personal time and time spent with spouses or partners, families, or communities in order to keep up with growing professional obligations” (Neumann 12). This will to sacrifice is manifestation of passion in my eyes. The compulsion to grow and adapt to your growing and changing career is what we need in educational institutions today. In “The Passion Project” one of the students says that there is a “lack of raw passion and there is a raw lack of wanting to explore each child’s mind”. I found this passion and mental exploration in the field of psychology. I believe it’s the future of teaching because in psychology scientists examine conditioning and learning. Their efforts bridge the gap between basic research and applied research in the classroom setting. For example, basic research says that visual art can stimulate the memory. Psychologists can transform this into applied research by incorporating art and aesthetics into their curriculum and teaching others to do so. In this field you can clearly see the passion for learning about learning. Although I disagree with Samira on the latter point she made, I believe there is a call for more passion in education. The more we learn about different learning styles the more the world calls for passionate teachers who can meet students’ requisites for encoding and spanning their minds.

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