earlier tonight, we had a staff meeting in my school. it was the usual thing: reminding the teachers to be on time, not calling out at the last, all those kind of stuff. by the end of the meeting, i was ready to go home. i'd been at work since 9 in the morning. it was almost 8 pm and i was ready to go home- believe me, i wasn't the only one. but before any of us could get out the door, our director asked us a question that really made me think. the question was simple enough, "why did you choose to be a teacher?" the question might have been simple but it made me think.
why did i become a teacher?
it certainly never occurred to me as a kid to be one. i'd always wanted to be a doctor and even when i was in college i was still intent on pursuing that goal but things changed. medical school would have been to expensive an endeavor to pursue so i opted out. but even then i didn't think i would be a teacher. around graduation time, i was trying to figure out what job i could get that was in no way related to my degree. one day i was scrambling around for a job- any job, and then the next day, i was being interviewed for a teaching position and actually getting hired. and so i began my career as a teacher. it's not really the most inspiring story but that's how it happened.
i think the real question for me is, why do i stick around? i mean, if i didn't really want to be here i could just find another job. no loss. now that thought, REALLY made me think and the answer i came up with was actually very simple. heck, some people might even find me baduy.
i stick around, i go to work everyday because of the kids. it does something to my heart when i enter my room and all my kids stop what they're doing and trip over themselves to get to me just to greet me good morning and give me a hug. i feel a great sense of accomplishment when my Russian-speaking little girl tells me one word in english and insists on giving me a kiss every five minutes. they drive me crazy half the time but they also crack me up with stuff like saying "my eyes are cold" (one of my kids actually said that). being a teacher is easy and hard at the same time (if that makes sense). but i like it.
i don't know how long this feeling lasts. ask me in a year or two and i might be going mad and itching to find another job. but for right now, i think i'll stick around. you never know what crazy thing my kids might say next.
