"Those That Cannot Do.......

.............Teach."

When I tell people that I am certified to teach dance, that is how they tend to respond. Perhaps there is some merit in this sentiment. Many young people go to college to study what they enjoy most, only to find out that the only (attainable) application for their degree is to teach that subject, at some level or other. It's sad, but unfortunately true.

I accepted a long time ago that I don't have the talent to be a professional dancer, but that isn't why I got my teaching certificate. I did it because I wanted to. My fondest dream is to one day open a dance studio of my own, and teach dance until I'm old and feeble. If given the ability to choose my dream job, I would always choose to teach dance. I love teaching. Excepting marriage and motherhood, it's the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I have ever done.

Yes, it's true that some people fall back on teaching when they can't find their dream job within their field of choice, but some of us choose to teach, and it's unfair for us to be included in such a trite saying. Where would our world be without teachers? Are we not important? Should our position not demand respect? Whatever our reason for teaching, we are still in a necessary and difficult profession, and not everyone has what it takes to be a teacher.

Perhaps some of those that become teachers do so because they didn't have the raw talent to excel in their field in their own right, but their passion for and knowledge of the subject make them perfect teachers. The fact that I'm not a spectacular pointe dancer myself doesn't mean that I don't know what it takes to become one, or that I lack the ability to help another dancer to reach her full potential, even if it exceeds mine.

In short, the inability to "do" does not immediately qualify someone to teach. It requires a lot more than a lack of talent. I would challenge anyone who says, "those that cannot do, teach," to spend a day in the shoes of the teacher of their choice. They'll find out quickly that teaching is "do"-ing ;-)