We Will Use ALL We Learn

Many time through my life of teaching, both in the class and out of the class, a simple quesation would always arrise.  It is the most importaqnt question to a student, and it should be the most important questioonb to the teacher as well.  But, inastead, it is the most dreaded, and to many ediucators, most anoying. 

This dreaded question is: When will we ever use any of this ion opur real life? 

Does bother the teacher because a student questioned her validity?  Or maybe, it’s because it deviates from the prescribed lesson plan.  In fact, it could even be because that would cause them to have to actually see where this will get them, and for most teacher’s that is a dark hole that they don’t know, nor have they ever thought to find out.  For this is the same question as, What else could you do with that degree than teach?

     I begin with a story to answer this dreaded question.My story, to be precise.  When I was in high school the absolute number one thing I wanted to do was to be a airline pilot.  I needed a certain GPA so I got it.  If I didn’t think I’d need the information I’d dump it as soon as I could.  English and writing had always come easy, so anything else they said, I deleted out of my memory.  I sucked at math, but I knew I had to do a lot of it as a pilot, so I took every math course I possiblyly could. I also maxed out my schedule with sciences, taking both physics and biology at the same time.  Then, I got into the school and found out that it wasn’t what I thought it was.  

     So I jumped into a degree with what I liked to do, Write.  BUT, all that brain dumping I did left me severely behind.  Everyone else learned about sonnets and iambic pentameter in high school, and now in my 3rd year, I was learning it again. It was horrible.  I took tutors, friends help, everything I could to get the “high-school” education”and the “college education”.  So here I stand, an English professor.  In high-school, I wrote one my essays on how much “it would suck to be a teacher, and if I ever become one hang me.” You never know where you life will take you.  You never know what you’ll suddenly need to know at that moment. If you’re not actually learning, whatever you’re going to do in the future is dependent on your ability to pastrami those things you’re qualified to do since you were taught them.

     I hope that everyone ever learning something can look at this little note and agree that no matter what everything has the possibility of being used.  Our education and the knowledge that we receive is so important, we can not afford to pick and choose.