It is a good message. As human beings we often get bogged down in everyday life and forget there are people in the world who are inspired to do something great and there are also those who are inspiring others to do something great. As teachers we have a unique opportunity to inspire our students to go beyond the ordinary and achieve great things.
I recently became quite interested in the Burj Dubai which is currently the tallest structure in the world at over 707 meters. However, it is not yet complete. It will be 818 meters tall when it is completed in September 2009 and have 160 inhabitable floors. At one time I wanted to be an architect and was inspired by the great achievements and dreams of many great architects. In 1956 Frank Lloyd Wright envisioned a building the Illinois, a skyscraper that, at 1609 meters, would be the world’s tallest building and have 528 floors. The technological problems that would have to be overcome to build this building were enormous and daunting. As such it has not yet been built. But the Burj Dubai will be nearly half as tall and will really represent a great achievement when complete.
Burj Dubai Official Site (Go to the site and scroll over the building and click on “compare”)
Projects like the Burj Dubai or the International Space Station remind us that we can achieve something really great if we strive to do so. As teachers we have a great opportunity and even perhaps a responsibility to inspire our students to strive to achieve great things in life. But great things do not have to be on the scale of the Burj Dubai. They can be much smaller things such as to achieve a score above 800 on the TOEIC or to get accepted to study abroad at a foreign university. What we must always try to do is to inspire our students to make gradual steps toward mastering English and becoming fully able to live and communicate in the English language. Mastering spoken and written English can be a very important step toward working on the world stage to achieve much greater things. Citing such great dreams and achievements by people around the world can really make a difference in your students’ lives. So be inspired to do your best to help your students and inspire them to always do their best and I am sure that your life will be fulfilling. I know that mine will be.
Al Bartle
I checked out the site. It’s truly an amazing accomplishment in modern science and engineering. I didn’t see the Canadian pride and joy CN Tower on the “compare” part. . . . . I guess they are nervous to compare the Burj Dubai to certain buildings! Very interesting and fun website.
Edward, SSE Ohtsu
Edward,
From Wikipedia regarding the CN Tower in Toronto:
The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, standing at 553.3 m (1,815 ft), is the world’s tallest completed freestanding structure on land. Opened in 1976, it was surpassed in height by the rising Burj Dubai on September 12, 2007.[4][5][6] It has the world’s second highest public observation deck at 446.5 m (1,465 ft). A great achievement especially considering it was opened 32 years ago! Wow!
Al, SSE Okamoto
Hi Al,
You are an inspiration, not just to your student’s but to other owners..keep up the good work…
I must add that as a Canadian I am a little sad that Dubai now has the tallest building. We Canadians are proud to have had the tallest freestanding building in the world, The CN Tower, for many years…this is one price of progress that only hurts the ego…