Editor #14
My goodness, if you cannot even teach a parrot to say “hello,” how do expect to teach children subjects such as trigonometry and physics?
I’ll tell you how this is possible: go to college. That is where you learn how to teach—yes, there are special techniques.
Let’s get one thing straight: teaching is not the same as training. Usually, domestic animals are trained to obey commands through conditioning and repetition. You can train a dog to roll over, a cat to leap through hoops and a parrot to speak by using a reward system. Humans are more complicated. You can give a child a cookie every time he or she correctly says the ABCs, but once the child gets tired he or she knows that you will stop your persistence if they cry unbearably.
If you truly wish to pursue a teaching career, then consider to what degree you enjoy sharing information with clueless and sometimes ignorant individuals. This is what teachers do every day; they enlighten the masses. Being a teacher is more than just synthesizing information found in a textbook into a powerpoint. You aim to be an inspiration to your students; you aim to develop in your students a deep appreciation for learning and knowledge regardless of whether math, literature or P.E. are their favorite school subjects. Is this why you want to be a teacher?
Training a parrot to speak is different than teaching a child how geysers create heat. Who knows, you may inspire the next great geothermal physicist who will make a breakthrough in electrical power generation.