I think everything you said could also be applied to the US educational system. I consider ourselves lucky that we were able to homeschool all three of our children for the entirety of their education.
I certainly don't believe it's the answer for everyone (in fact, our homeschool evaluator tried with her daughter for one semester and it was a disaster - lol), but I sometimes wonder what would happen if more families did. I'm thinking it might then lessen the classroom load on public school teachers, who in turn could focus more individually on the students that remained... 'tis a lot to ponder before my second cup of coffee... 😊
At any rate, I wish you the best of luck in finding ways to encourage a love of learning in your students. You sound like the very best kind of teacher!
I must admit, @traciyork, I'm contemplating home schooling my children. It would be a break from work, and a chance to really get to know them and give them a positive start to life.
Isn't it interesting that often when you try to perform in your chosen career, your find it more difficult than not doing so. I always loved cooking, but purposely did not pursue it as a career, because I thought it'd become more of a chore than something I really liked doing. Currently, I use it as an unwinding mechanism, and don't want to sully it as a chore because I have to do it constantly.
I know I'm a bit biased, but I HIGHLY recommend it. 😊
And actually, when I first decided to homeschool, I figured we'd do it just for the first few years. I'd thought about becoming a teacher during the fourth year of my psych major, but wasn't able to pursue it, so I thought it made sense for us. 18 years later... LOL!
If you decide to go that route, you'll definitely find there are tons of resources available, so much moreso than when we started. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.