Passion changes everything

If you were to give people three qualities to describe their ideal teacher,  I’m not sure passion would rate very highly on most people’s lists.

While passionate people have oodles of drive and enthusiasm they can also be tough to work alongside.

They have little tolerance for activities that take them away from doing what they love.

Moreover setbacks are never minor.

Passionate people can be euphoric one minute and plunged into the depths of despair the next.

Yet the best teachers I know are always passionate about their subject, learning of for life.

I’d also wager a bet that many adult passions have their roots from formative experiences in childhood. Sketching, model airplanes, building stuff out of cardboard. I’d love to know how many childhood obsessions end up evolving into what we love doing as adults.

The uncle obsessed with taking apart engines.

The aunt with 100 cookie cutters in her baking equipment.

The eccentric music teacher who hums on their way to class and accepts nothing but the best. Every. Single. Time.

How many of those obsessions start as a result of an interaction of passionate adult in a child’s life?

Because can’t expect kids to grow up to be interesting adults if those charged with teaching them don’t have at least a touch of the crazy.