If you make a list of the world's top ten most challenging jobs,chances are that being a teacher will not make the cut.But think about the discouraging task millions of educators face each day as they try to shape a group of often bad-tempered,wild kids into intelligent,well-rounder individuals.That surely has to be the toughest job in the world, especially given that there is no promotion or bonus awaiting them even if they are wildly successful!

    What if there all-important individuals that we often take for granted（想当然）disappear from our lives?That was what Project Ed and Participant Media's Teach campaign asked filmmakers of all ages to imagine in their recently-held competition.Entitled "A World Without Teachers",its purpose was to inspire more young people to become teachers.However,the 62 amazing video submissions also serve as a reminder of how horrible things would be if we didn't have these selfless individuals guiding us through life.What was interesting is that even the youngest participants did not appear to be happy at the idea of not having anybody telling them what to do.

    High-school student Savannah Wakefield reflected if art as we know it today would have been different without teachers.Would Monet have discovered his talent for impressionism?Los Angeles-based Miles Horst,who won the 1000 USD prize for the best adult submission imagines a world where teachers are replaced by a “brain box” in his fun lively entry.

    Youth category winner Marina Barham's video represents a fact we all know but often forget.Teachers don't just teach,they inspire something that no electronic device,no matter how smart,can do!So the next time you think your teacher is being "mean" for trying to channel you in the right direction,imagine a life without him/her.We have a feeling it will not appear as rosy!

    A large body of research has been developed in recent years to explain many aspects of willpower. Most of the researchers exploring self-control do so with an obvious goal in mind: How can willpower be strengthened? If willpower is truly a limited resource, as the research suggests, what can be done to make it stay strong?

    Avoiding temptation (诱惑）is an effective method for maintaining self-control, which is called the “out of sight, out of mind” principle. One recent study, for instance, found office workers are less attracted to candy in the desk drawer than that on top of their desks, in plain sight.

    The research suggesting that we possess a limited reservoir of self-control raises a troubling question. When we face too many temptations, are we to fail? Not necessarily. Researchers don't believe that one's willpower is ever completely exhausted. Rather, people appear to hold some willpower in reserve, saved for future demands. The right motivation allows us to tap into those reserves, allowing us to carry on even when our self-control strength has been run down. High motivation might help overcome weakened willpower—at least to a point.

    Willpower may also be made less vulnerable (脆弱) to being exhausted in the first place. Researchers who study self-control often describe it as being like a muscle that gets tired with heavy use. But there is another aspect to the muscle comparison, they say. While muscles become exhausted by exercise in the short term, they are strengthened by regular exercise in the long term. Similarly, regular practices of self-control may improve willpower strength.

    The evidence from willpower-exhaustion studies also suggests that making a list of resolutions on New Year's Eve is the worst possible approach» Being exhausted in one area can reduce willpower in other areas, so it makes more sense to focus on a single goal at a time. In other words, don't try to quit smoking, adopt a healthy diet and start a new exercise plan at the same time. Taking goals one by one is a better approach. Once a good habit is in place, Baumeister says, you'll no longer need to draw on your willpower to maintain the behavior. Eventually healthy habits will become routine, and won't require making decisions at all.

    Many questions about the nature of self-control remain to be answered by further research. Yet it seems likely that with clear goals, good self-monitoring and a little practice, you can train your willpower to stay strong in the face of temptation.

    It seems that you can hardly go to any bookstore without encountering Charles Dickens. From Oliver Twist to A Tale of Two Cites, Dickens' works still enjoy great popularity today and are placed on notable shelves.

    As someone who teaches Dickens, the question of why we still read him is often on my min. Nearly 10 years ago, I told my students that Dickens, works started crazes in Victorian readers. Then a hand shot up in the middle of the room. “But why should we still read his stuff?” A student asked. I was speechless because I had never considered the question myself. The answer I gave was only acceptable. “Because he teaches you how to think,” I said.

    The question annoyed me for years, and for years I told myself answers, but never with complete satisfaction. We read Dickens because he not only was a man of his own times, but also is a man for our times. We read Dickens because his exploration of the human mind is deep. We read Dickens because we can learn from the experiences of his characters. These are all wonderful reasons, but not exactly the reasons why I read Dickens.

    My search for an answer continued in vain, until one day a text message came from a student of mine. “We still read Dickens' novels,” she wrote, “because they tell us why we are what we are.” Simple as it was, that was the explanation I had thought for years.

    Like most people, I think I knew who I was without knowing it. I was Oliver Twist, always wanting and asking for more. I was Nicholas Nickleby, convinced that my father was watching me from beyond the grave. I was Pip, in love with someone far beyond my reach. I was all of these characters, and I began to understand more about why I was who I was because Dickens had told me so much about human beings. Dickens shines a light on who we are during the best and worst of times. That's why we still need to read him today.

    When returning to south-western Germany, where my parents live, it is compulsory for me to go on a hike to connect with nature and reconnect with myself. So, that is exactly what I did the first sunny Sunday back in the beautiful Black Forest. The Huzenbacher See is a tarn in the middle of the northern Black Forest with abundant nature surrounding it. Approaching it after a good hour walk, I saw fascinating blue dragonflies in quantity that attracted us by the way they flew around. They didn't stand still for a photo, as they landed on leaves for a split second. We were also surprised at the yellow water lilies that can be seen floating on its surface between June and July.

    Sitting down at one of the benches surrounding the lake for a picnic was satisfying in two ways. I was aware of the world's beauty that gave me the energy to continue up the mountain to reach the most amazing view looking over the lake. The other was to really fill myself up in order to continue the adventure adequately, full up on some snacks and refreshing water from the well.

    The hike up wasn't as hard as expected and a good path was provided with dirty rocks and slippery stones all under the shade of the tall trees. This took about an hour and a half until reaching the beautiful view of the lake and land below. Once we had taken in the astonishing views, the walk back down took another hour or so, making the hike a 3-to4-hour round trip, which was well worth it!

    Simply being back in the Black Forest and having such pleasant hikes is definitely good for the soul and I highly recommend getting yourself outside, be it in the Black Forest or anywhere outdoors. Get your intake of vitamin D and, most importantly, take in the moments that nature has to offer.

    On my first day of high school, I asked an eleventh-grader where my class was. And he told me it was "on the fourth floor, next to the pool." I found out five minutes later that we don't even have a fourth floor and there's no pool either! Besides that, I didn't have any trouble with the older kid.

    I think the biggest difference between middle and high school is the homework load (工作量) and size of the school. I went from maybe fifteen minutes of homework a night to several hours, so I had to learn how to make full use of time! Our class size is around 550, but joining in clubs, sports, music, and other activities at school makes it easier to get to know people in every grade.

    The best advice I can give about the years you spend in high school is to learn things for yourself, not just to get a good grade. There have been so many tests that I've prepared for the night before. I have gotten an A, and not remembered anything later. I've changed that this year, and I enjoy school so much more. Don't take easy classes just to have a simple year. If you have a choice between chemistry and sports, the first will prove to be a lot more useful!

    While drinking and smoking might be present in some middle schools, they're also around in high schools. I have a lot of friends who promised they'd never drink or smoke, but are now partying every weekend. If you have "fun" and spend your nights wasted instead of studying, you will regret it when you're applying for (申请) college. The "friends" who say you're a loser for not partying are really not your friends at all. It's hard to see your closest friends grow apart and go in different directions, but don't follow their footsteps. Create your own path in life and make your own decisions.