Call me crazy, but I'm looking forward to going back to work in a tomorrow. I'm not excited about the chaos I anticipate as we try to find our rhythm again as a family after 3 months of being home, and I'm not excited to be spending less time with the ninos, but I am excited to get back to something that I love.
I have known since I was a very little girl that I would be a teacher. I started playing school at age 3, and I never stopped. Okay, so there was that first semester of college where I was "undecided" because I wanted to make more money than teachers make. I declared an education major by the end of that first semester, and I have never regretted it. I was born to do this. I am at my best professionally and personally when I am teaching.
Given the crazy political climate in the state, it's been really tempting to quit. I could take my skills and head elsewhere. But it's not just the money or benefits that keep me where I'm at. It's the personal fulfillment that I find in what I have chosen to do with my life. The fact of the matter is that I feel most worthwhile when I'm working with kids.
I can encourage kids to try something new, to think differently about the world, to be kinder, to work harder, to live life more fully. I can help them communicate, collaborate, investigate and reflect. I can provide them with information and encourage discussion. I can answer their questions, or help them explore solutions to problems. I love doing all these things, and I can and have done them with my own kids. But I have missed doing them on a larger scale over the past 3 months.
I am a teacher, and I'm headed back to my home-away-from-home. Wish me luck!
LUCK!
ReplyDeleteHope you and the whole family have made it through the first few days back...it's hard.
It is also so wonderful to hear/read your words...I hope in the years ahead that my children will have a wonderful teacher like you. You are making a difference in many of their lives!
Amy Sue