When I first started teaching I thought that there couldn't be that much to it.  It didn't think that there was really that much to know about teaching.  After ten years of teaching however, my attitude has changed a great deal.  I have acquired a great reverence for those who teach well.  I have come to view TESOL as a very complex and demanding profession.  Sometimes I am amazed at how much I know about teaching, but sometimes I am just amazed at how much more there is to know.

First of all, there is always more to learn.  When I first started, I couldn't imagine that there was any reason to observe other teachers, go through training sessions, attend conferences, or take classes.  After observing some other teachers I found that there was indeed a lot I could learn from observing a good teacher, or even a bad teacher.  Later, after receiving some training, I couldn't imagine how anybody could teach without it.  Later still, when starting my MA in pursuit of a piece of paper, I found that there was much more to get than just a degree.  The more I learn about teaching the more I realize how much more there is to learn. 

When I first started teaching, I didn't put much into it.  I guess that I didn't really know what I could put into it.  Since then, I have started putting more into my teaching.  And, I have found that the more I put into it, the more I get out of it. 

The time, money, and effort I put into my education, for example, has really paid off.  It made teaching less stressful by helping me to better understand what I was experiencing in the classroom.  It also validated some of what I wanted to do in the classroom but was afraid to try.  Besides taking away the stress, it also took away the tedium.   Teaching is much more interesting for me since I got an education.  It gave me more to think about and gave me ideas about new ways of teaching that I could try.  It is a constant challenge for me to apply what I have learned. 

The time I put into planning my lessons also pays off.  Planning lessons carefully makes them more interesting for both the teacher and the students.  Planning is an opportunity to be creative and think about trying new ideas.  Best of all, the students usually notice and appreciate it.  This in turn makes for a better classroom atmosphere and a better relationship with the students.  Although I have a lot of experience, it still takes me a long time to plan a lesson.  Perhaps it is because I am aware of more choices than I used to be.

Finally, although it is very important to do a lot of work in preparation for teaching, it is also very important to be flexible.  The education we teachers receive shouldn't become lead shoes for us in the classroom.  We shouldn't get dogmatic about methods.  We must adapt to the situation.  This includes being willing to throw away the "perfect" lesson in order to take advantage of teachable moments or let the students lead the way.  Furthermore, we teachers don't operate in a vacuum, and we never will.  I have come to expect the unexpected as well as the disruptive and inconvenient.  It makes my job more challenging though.  It's what makes teaching so special.

I hope to be an expert on teaching someday.  But, for now, I feel that I still have much more to learn before I can call myself an expert.  I am looking forward to ten more years of professional growth.