Teach

As many of you know, I have been looking for a new job. This next chapter in my life still remains unclear, and I'm not quite sure how it will all work out just yet. What I do know is this: For the first time in my life, the idea of change isn't scaring me. It's exciting me.

On a recent job interview, I was asked to go home and compose a two page essay about why I became a teacher. As I sat staring at my computer screen, I knew what I wanted to say: I love having three months off in the summer, and the ability to leave work at three pm. But, somehow I figured my prospective employer was looking for an answer that touched a little bit deeper. So deeper, I dug. And, this is what I found.

8:24 am. Can I get a drink of water? Is my retainer in the garbage? May I sharpen my pencil? Why does your hair look funny? I got a new puppy! My mom made me take a bath last night!! I can't find my homework. I saw a butterfly on the way to school. Did you know that I was made in Mexico, but borned in Texas?

8:25 am. I am exhausted. I have just been bombarded by eleven eight and nine year olds who do not understand personal space, voice modulation, or that I am barely awake. And still, at 8:25 am on a Monday morning, I would not wish to be anywhere else. (Well, except for maybe my bed). I would not trade my job for any other seemingly glamorous career in the world. I would not trade tying children's shoes, wearing the paper necklaces that they make for me, and receiving the hugs that they give me. I would not trade any of it for peace and quiet on a Monday morning.

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things to do in my free time was to sit in my room and play school. I could do this for hours at a time. I had an easel set up as my board, and my dolls sat in rows in front of me as my students. I would "take attendance" and send it downstairs to "the office." (The office was my mom). Instead of going to the toy store, I would often ask my mom to take me to the "teacher store." A store which sold everything I dreamed of having in my own classroom one day. Borders for the walls, charts and posters, and plentiful amounts of art supplies.

For as long as I can remember, teaching always felt like something that I wanted to do. When given the opportunity to explain something that I knew and understood, I came alive. As a high school student, I found that the best way for me understand new material was to teach the information to someone else. When I did this, studying became less tedious and I began to enjoy the act of teaching someone else for understanding and meaning.

It was a beautiful spring day, earlier this year. I was outside in the yard with my class. Usually during this time, I sat on a bench with my teaching partner. We would observe our class playing with one another. But, on this particular day, I decided to come in off the bench. The kids were playing tag. I asked them if I could join in. They were more than happy to let me play. As I ran around and played tag with my students, I couldn't help but think to myself, am I really getting paid to have a second chance at childhood?

As I ran, laughed and shrieked along with my students, I overheard one of the girls in my class say to another, "Isn't our teacher the funnest?" It felt like my proudest achievement yet.

I know that teaching is not always about fun. It is about dedication, commitment and hard work. Teaching brings rewarding moments, joyful moments, challenging moments and frustrating moments too. But, when the special moments come, and there are many. I am aware of just how lucky I am to have turned this into my career. This is why I teach. I teach for the moments that may seem small or insignificant to others, but these are the very moments that make difference to me, and to my students.