On parents

Finishing my 14 Fl. Oz chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream with warm Lipton tea. You would think it would taste nasty, but it's quite delightful.

The week that passed has given me insight on what parents, particularly Asian parents, want to see from their kids. I realized during parent and teacher conferences that most parents just look at grades. At first, I allowed the parent to look at the grading sheet I had, thinking they were mature enough not to look at other students' grades. Of course, I was wrong. All Asian parents have this need to compare their students to others; they want their daughter or son to be smarter than everyone else. While other ethnicities have a tendency to be concerned only on how their children are doing.

However, as a teacher (at least for the summer), I realized that this isn't a competition as most people make it out to be. Yes, if you excel in class, it means that you're smart, but it isn't about that; it's more about the learning experience.

I rather have all my students earn 90s and higher as long as I know they're learning rather than give them hard tests to have some fail and some pass. That is not the purpose of a teacher. Grades aren't for the student, it's for parents.

Additionally, I didn't even realize it, but I fell into the norm. Teach directly and not interactively. I'm scared that I am the first of many standard teachers, pushing the idea that learning is boring and that there is only one answer to everything. I rather promote divergent thinking and creativity; I rather be an aberrant teacher.

....maybe teaching isn't so far off my radar after all.