A Lot Is Often Not Enough Amongst professionals, educators form a unique subset. Like other professionals they find satisfaction in playing with ideas, challenging old beliefs and moving into the rarefied air of the new. But what distinguishes teachers from the rest is the two-fold nature of their enterprise. Not only are teachers expected to have a wealth of knowledge within their discipline and to stay abreast of all that is new but they must also have the skill to inspire students, to transmit information, as well as to encourage critical thinking - in short, to teach. It's a given these days in faculties of education that knowing the content and teaching the material are distinctly different activities.
Most instructors have a firm grasp of the content but have a less firm grip on teaching skills.
Many are flung headlong into the classroom as teaching assistants with the briefest introduction to instructional methods. Against all odds, some become good teachers. Others become merely adequate teachers and find little satisfaction in the task. Frustration and, worse, boredom begins to haunt the classroom. For enquiring minds, boredom is like a little death.