July 4, 2026

Teacher’s Pet

Growing up, my grades were pretty erratic.

Some classes I disliked, and I would get bad grades,

And some classes I liked, and I would get good grades.

But eeeeeevery once in a while, there was a class that I LOVED, and I would get STELLAR grades.

In classes like these, I was always the first to put my hand up to answer a question and pretty much dominated the conversation with the teacher during class.

I’m sure that in these classes, there were students who rolled their eyes and called me teacher’s pet behind my back.

And I suppose that would be a fair assessment...

I mean, what does a real teacher want more than a student who can’t get enough of what they’re teaching?

Not much, I’d bet.

And so... they tend to favor students who react like that.

But this favoritism is a side effect.

The direct effect is like cool water spilling on parched earth.

The parched earth wants MORE!!!

And this WANT is very powerful.

But notice:

This want is a different kind of want from things like wanting to order a banana split or wanting to rewatch your favorite movie or wanting to shop for a new refrigerator.

It’s not a comfort want.

It’s a growth want.

It’s the kind of want that comes from suddenly seeing that you’ve been living inside a fence.

And then observing that the gate is wide open.

And that there is new territory right on the other side that looks pretty dang exciting.

A little scary, maybe, but... very exciting.

And if you have the guts to leave the comfort zone of your current perimeter, you’ll become part of a whole new, bigger world.

You’ll have “pushed your boundaries”, as the saying goes.

Here’s the thing...

I have been wondering recently whether the deep desire to “push one’s boundaries” like this is a core human trait or an individual one. And if it’s not a core trait, can it be taught? Hm... idk

Yours,

—J

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