Those who can, teach.

Some people say, those who cannot, teach.

Some people say, those who can, teach.

And then, apparently for some people, it may be that no matter whether they can or cannot, they may be told, explicitly, between the lines or maybe through inaction, that they should not. Sometimes it's because of who they are. Sometimes, it's also because of how parents can be.

In a sense, the classroom is like a stage, a stage where hopefully both the teacher and the students are equal participants. A good teacher tells the story of his subject well, and draws the attention of his students. A brilliant teacher may be expected to have some kind of stage presence. With this stage presence, she may captivate her students in the weaving of her lessons; she makes her students eager to engage with her; she makes class exciting and worth looking forward to; she makes the story of economics, eng lit, physics, chemistry .. come alive; she inspires her students to want more, more from her and more from themselves. A teacher with stage presence is probably going to be a teacher who can.

I certainly have met teachers who probably cannot. As one of them claims, he's only supposed to be a facilitator really. Well, of course teachers are meant to facilitate learning as opposed to obstructing it. But hopefully, such facilitation does not stop at mild suggestions to read 'the textbook', to read out powerpoint slides verbatim (in the direction of nowhere in particular) and to perfunctorily make red crosses and ticks on worksheets.

Well, I don't know how far I can and cannot. Unlike others, I do not think I have the stage presence. Neither am I willing, or lacking in pride, to be merely a perfunctory bum-warmer on the teacher's chair, and hide behind the clinical authority of the red pen.

I do know though that I want to give it a shot. :)