Education wasn't always the answer for me. I wasn't a little girl who dreamed of becoming a teacher someday. Sure, it might have been a fleeting passion, right up there with a movie star, the sidekick of Indiana Jones or a pig farmer (that's right, I legitimately wanted to be a pig farmer. I love those animals). I think part of the reason I avoided admitting I was interested in teaching is because that's what everyone else said. In my graduating class of thirty-something, I believe about half of us wanted to become teachers, and the other half farmers. So I would always tell people I was going to become an astronaut or an elephant trainer, generally something one just wouldn't expect to come out of my mouth. Even as late as the third year of my undergraduate arts degree, I still had no idea what I really wanted to do, (although Faculty of Education requirements were always considered when I registered for courses). My "A-HA!" moment came randomly one week in July 2008, when the two young children I had been teaching English to in Belgium arrived with me in Canada for a visit to my family farm. The fact that these two youngsters were communicating perfectly in their third language was remarkable, but what struck me as even more incredible was the fact that they were able to do this because of me. I had been their only English influence, and now they could speak the language, after a mere eight months. "I want to do this for the rest of my life" I told my best friend, and I meant it.
So why do people teach? There are lots of plausible reasons. A desire to work with children is most likely at the top of most teacher's lists. Perhaps they've had someone who inspired them to become a teacher? Many people are extremely passionate about a subject and feel they just need to share that knowledge and love with the world. Others feel a desire to serve. An acquaintance of mine once put it very bluntly "Because of the wicked holidays of course! What other job guarantees you every weekend, all summer, a two-week Christmas holiday and a spring break? I mean do teachers even work?! This is the job for me." Unfortunately for his students, he is now a teacher.
For myself (as well as for most other teachers and aspiring ones I'm sure) there is no one reason why I feel compelled to teach. I certainly have a desire to work with children, but I enjoy working with adults as well. I think working with people is the more accurate description for me. That is one thing I have always been certain of. I am meant to have a career that involves me interacting with people all day long. I have found that my experiences working with youth have been the most rewarding for me. The two children whom I worked so closely with in Belgium changed my life, and definitely for the better.
Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to get to know so many wonderful people. A huge portion of them happened to be teachers, current or former. Now, we are all teachers in our own way, but many of the most noteworthy and inspiring people I know were actual schoolteachers at some point in their lives. When I think of my ten favourite people (excluding family), seven of them are teachers. My favourite teacher (whom I wrote about in an earlier post) has exemplified to me what a great person should be. I have learned so much from her, and she has inspired me to be a great teacher in turn.
I have always wanted to make a difference, a positive one, in my world. Even as a young girl I remember believing I could make this world a better place. I now know that the best way for me to do this is through education. I can teach others. I will pass on knowledge and help others to reach their full potential. One of my absolute favourite quotes comes from Dr. Seuss, which is slightly amusing since I didn't read any Dr. Seuss books until I was an adult (my mother wasn't a big fan of his silly rhymes and wacky drawings). "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." I do care a lot. Sometimes, I care too much, and I become so invested in what is going on that I become completely drained and end up being no help to anyone. Ultimately though, my heart is in the right place, and I am always trying to do what I feel is best.
I love a challenge, and I know that teaching is certainly going to offer me that. I know enough about teaching to know that you never know what to expect. Every day is a brand new exercise in humility, perseverance, creativity and compromising. I will have to deal with diversity in the classroom, difficult students and parents, frustrating colleagues and administrators, feeling underappreciated and overworked, misunderstood and harshly judged. I understand that teaching is not going to be easy. Fortunately, I feel up to the challenge.
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