I work as a teacher. During my lunch break last week, I was reading "The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-Hackers is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum" - my thoughts are featured here - when my colleague came over for a chat. He took a glance at my book, acted surprised that I was into crypto and then shared that he was a user of Coinbase. This gave me an idea for a fun article: why people of my profession make great crypto investors? Read on to find out why.
1) Enduring Volatility is Our Middle Name
Many people shun from investing in crypto due to fears over its extremely volatile nature. Indeed, a tweet by Elon Musk sent the price of Bitcoin plummeting to jaw-dropping lows, as did China's recent clampdown on Bitcoin. However, you have not seen anything yet. Ever had to call for the counsellor because of a kid throwing things at you in anger? Been there, done that. Ever had to maintain your cool and continue teaching even though a triggered child was hurling vulgarities at you? Managed to smile my way to the moon and back. Ever had to physically restrain a student because he was about to hit another student? Put my bulging muscles to good use here.
This is not to say that my classroom is replete of such drama all the time, but my point is: children's and teenagers' moods can be as unpredictable as the weather, an issue coupled by a rise in students with learning needs such as ADHD. Experienced teachers know not to react emotionally to any unforeseen trials; instead, they will stay calm and carry on. Surely, this is a great trait to bring to crypto investing.
2) Lifelong Learning is Our Forte
Technology advances ever so rapidly nowadays, and teachers find that they have to keep abreast of all these changes so as to engage their students who are becoming increasingly demanding. Also, with online learning platforms being incorporated into the routines of many a classroom, educators need to carry out blended learning, which means that they have to design online lessons for students to attempt first before clarifying their students' mistakes and misconceptions in face-to-face lessons. We teachers are used to maneuvering the plethora of ICT tools and selecting the best ones that will enhance our students' learning. If I want my students to have fun reviewing their facts, I will get them to play a Kahoot! game. If I wish to solicit responses from them, I might turn to Mentimeter. If I want to hone my students' collaborative skills, I will get them to work in groups and comment on each other's responses on Padlet. There is a learning app for every occasion!
Hence, are teachers suited to navigating the vast world of crypto, whereby Initial Coin Offerings bombard our consciousness every other day? Even with more established cryptocurrencies, change is a constant, with Ethereum launching a 2.0 version for instance. With so many crypto exchanges, so many wallets, so many crypto lending platforms, crypto investors are kept on their toes. But fret not, teachers are already used to learning new things and acquiring new tools as part of their repertoire.
3) Analytical Thinking is Our Bread and Butter
In order to be an effective teacher, he or she must not only conscientiously conduct assessments for his or her students, but also analyze their errors and reflect on why they persist to have certain learning gaps. Teachers must think about multiple intelligences and preferred learning styles, sociocultural backgrounds of the students, functional language and technical jargon of the subject areas, among others. Suffice it to say that they cannot just step into a classroom and read aloud from a textbook and expect their students to perform miracles. Much analytical thinking needs to be invested into drawing the connections between students' (lack of) performance and their learning needs.
Our ability to think critically will surely save us a lot of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) as we will do our due diligence and analyze sources of information and prevailing market trends before making any decisions. So we will be sure to make sound and informed decisions for crypto investments!
What is your occupation? Do you think your job helps you to be a great crypto investor? Let me know in the comments below.
