具体如下：
你为什么要教书呢?当我告诉一位朋友我不想谋求行政职务时，他便向我提出这一问题。所有美国人受的教育是长太成人后应该追求金钱和权力9而我却偏偏不要明明是朝这个目标“迈进”的工作，他为之大惑不解。
当然，我之所以教书不是因为我觉得教书轻松。我做过各种各祥的工作，藉以谋生，机修工、木工、作家，教书可是其中最难的一行。
对我来说，教书是个会令人熬红眼睛、手掌出汗、精神沮丧的职业。说熬红眼睛，这是因为我晚，上无论各课各到多晚，总觉得各得还不充分。
说手掌出汗，这是因为我跨进教室之前总是非常紧张，自信学生一定会发觉原来我是个傻瓜蛋。说精神沮丧，这是因为我1小时后走出教室时，确信这堂课上得比平常还要平淡无味。
我之所以教书，也不是因为我认为自己能够解答问题，或者因为我有满腹学问，觉得非与别人分享不可。有时我感到很惊异，学生竟真的把我课上讲的东西做了笔记!这样说来，我为什么还要教书呢?
我教书，是因为我喜爱校历的步调。6月、7月和8月提供了一个供思考、研究和创作的机会。
我教书，是困为教学是建立在“变”这一基础上的职业。教材还是原来的教材，但我自身却变了一一更重要的是，我的学生变了。
我教书，是因为我喜欢有让自己犯错误的自由，有自己吸取教训的自由，有激励自己和激励学生的自由。作为教师，我可以自行作主。如果我想要求一年级学生通过自行编写课本的办法来学习写作，谁能说我不可以那样做呢?这样的课程也许会彻底失败，但我们都可以从失败的尝试中获得教益。
我教书，是因为我喜欢向学生提出必须绞尽脑汁才能回答的问题。我们这个世界有无穷无尽的正确答案来对付拙劣的问题。何况我在教学过程中有时也会想到一些出色的问题。
我教书，是因为我喜欢想方设法使自己和我的学生从象牙塔里走出来，步入现实世界。我曾经开过一门叫作“在工业技术社会里如何自力更生”的课程。我教的15位学生读了爱默生、梭洛和赫胥黎的作品，记了日记，还写了学期论文。
但除此而外，我们还办起一一个公司，借钱买下一所破旧的房屋，通过对这一建筑物的整修翻新，我们就自力更生这一课题进行了一次实践活动。在期末我们把房子卖掉，还清贷款，缴了税，佘下的收益分给了参加实践的学生。
所以说，教学使我的工作进程有了规律，使我的生活变得丰富多彩，教学向我提出了挑战，也给了我不断学习的机会。
原文：
Why do you teach? When I told a friend that I didn't want to seek an administrative position, he asked me this question. All Americans are taught that they should pursue money and power when they grow up. 9 but I don't want to work towards this goal. He was puzzled.
Of course, I don't teach because I find teaching easy. I have done various jobs to make a living. Mechanic, carpenter and writer. Teaching is the most difficult one.
For me, teaching is a profession that makes people red eyes, sweaty palms and depressed. It's because I'm late. No matter how late I go to each class, I always feel that I don't have enough.
It's because I'm always very nervous before I step into the classroom. I'm confident that the students will find that I'm a fool. I said I was depressed because when I came out of the classroom an hour later, I was sure that the class was more boring than usual.
I teach not because I think I can answer questions, or because I am full of knowledge and feel I have to share it with others. Sometimes I feel very surprised that the students actually took notes of what I said in class! So why should I teach?
I teach because I love the pace of the school calendar. June, July and August provide an opportunity for reflection, research and creation.
I teach because I am trapped in teaching. It is a profession based on "change". The textbook is still the original textbook, but I have changed one by one. More importantly, my students have changed.
I teach because I like the freedom to make mistakes, learn lessons, and motivate myself and students. As a teacher, I can make my own decisions. If I want to ask first graders to learn writing by writing their own textbooks, who can say I can't do that? Such courses may fail completely, but we can all learn from failed attempts.
I teach because I like to ask students questions that I have to rack my brains to answer. Our world has endless right answers to bad questions. Besides, I sometimes think of some excellent questions in the process of teaching.
I teach because I like to find ways to get myself and my students out of the ivory tower and into the real world. I once opened a course called "how to be self reliant in an industrial and technological society". The 15 students I taught read Emerson, Thoreau and Huxley, kept diaries and wrote term papers.
But in addition, we also set up a company to borrow money to buy a dilapidated house. Through the renovation of this building, we conducted a practical activity on the subject of self-reliance. At the end of the term, we sold our house, paid off the loan, paid the tax, and distributed the rest of the income to the students participating in the practice.
Therefore, teaching makes my work process regular and makes my life rich and colorful. Teaching not only challenges me, but also gives me the opportunity to keep learning.