Teaching: A Professional Vocation

"The mind," Plutarch wrote, "is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting." The teacher's job, then, is not so much transferring data about the world from his mind to the students, but leading them to fall in love with the world that they see as good. The same is true for preparing teachers: what is needed is to light a fire. There is no better man to light such a fire for the teaching vocation than Heights Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente. In this week's episode, Mr. de Vicente addresses the attendees of the 2022 Teaching Vocation Conference, introducing them to teaching as a vocation and a profession. He offers his thoughts on what it means for work to be a vocation, what it means for work to be a profession, and why it is that teachers are called to work that is both a profession and a vocation. Finally, our headmaster shares his thoughts on how we can tell whether the classroom is for us, or rather, whether we have been made for the classroom. Chapters 3:05 Introduction to the topic 4:07 What is teaching? 7:52 Out of intellectual ignorance, but also moral ignorance 12:55 Every school teaches morality 16:00 What is a vocation? 22:35 The vocation of a teacher 27:18 Not a bad audience: you, your pupils, your friends, God 29:30 The need for teachers 30:10 The field of life 32:15 The need for male teachers 32:35 Discerning the teaching vocation Also on the Forum Guidance for Aspiring Teachers with Alvaro de Vicente On Preparation for Teaching: Six Attributes of Great Teachers with Colin Gleason Why Teach? An Introduction to the Teaching Vocation with Rich Moss The Art of Teaching with Rich Moss