I am not blonde, I am not a part of a sorority, I have not wanted to be a teacher since I was five, and I am not getting a degree in elementary education because I think it is an easy degree.
Whew. Now that that is over with, I can get on to the real story. Why is it that I wanted to be a teacher? I hear this question nearly every single day of my life. I also hear answers to this question every single day of my life.
“Kids are so cute!” “It’s just something to do for a couple years before I get married and have kids.” And my personal favorite, “Teaching’s easy.” Just for the record, none of those are my answer.
My dad is an English teacher and I got to see him go through it all. I saw him go to college, get rejected by schools, and slowly work his way into a teaching position. I saw him go through his first year of teaching, I saw him battle with the administration, and I have seen him come home so emotionally exhausted that he could barely speak.
I did not want to be a teacher when I grew up.
Then, someone asked me what would make me smile everyday and I said, “Kids.” I answered without thinking, and then I thought about it.
And, I tried coming up with every profession that was not teaching that involved children. Desperately, I groped for anything that would make me not my dad.
After trying to avoid it for nearly seventeen years of my life, I thought about what my life in school had been like. When I was in first grade, I had the most horrendous teacher.
As an adult, I realize that she was scared of not doing her job well and did not have the best coping skills. However, I hated her as a student. She screamed. She yelled. She made me feel like I did not understand anything and was just dumb.
As much as I hated her then, I probably love her now. She is the reason I want to teach. I want to be one less horror story in a child’s life. I want to give children the ability to feel okay being kids, to be able to explore the environment around them and to feel comfortable learning.
Maybe it is true what they say about love being so closely related to hate. I used to hate the idea of teaching and my first grade teacher. Now, I love them both more than words can express.
Reach the writer at kalewton@asu.edu.