Preface: A Change of Plans

RE-POST:

A funny thing happened while pursuing my dream of becoming a philosophy professor.

I hated, (this may even call for all caps) HATED my masters program. I won't name names but, it wasn't for me. I went to graduate school to become a professor so that I could teach philosophy but as I looked around and got to know my new peers and colleagues I seemed to be the only one...

Everyone else seemed to be under the impression that graduate school was a knock-down-drag-out fight to be the most philosophical and most impressive student/philosopher as soon as possible. I wasn't interested in playing games and as I made my way through the first semester I realized I wasn't being challenged in any kind of, personally meaningful, way anymore. It doesn't sound like the end of the world but I definitely felt adrift. I did only what I had to, to get by, and that was a big change from my undergraduate experience. The joy was gone.

I had moved all this way, leaving my friends, family and fiancé behind to pursue my all important dream and yet I never felt further from that dream than while in the very program that was supposed to get me there. I wasn't learning how to teach students about philosophy I was learning that without a passion for what I was doing anymore, what I was doing was just going through the motions. I realized this the hard way when I received my very first F. I had grown bored, restless and lazy. This failure, while incredibly embarrassing, woke me out of my fog of boredom and I realized some things about myself. It felt selfish to be, in a sense, confined to the ivory tower of academia while there were young, eager students struggling to even get to college. There was a disconnect between my reality and the real world. There was a space I wanted to fill; a higher purpose I wanted to fulfill.

I have a strong belief that much of this country's inequality stems from a limping public education system and I've always loved working with children. I felt that if I truly wanted to teach and there was a great need for good public school teachers then perhaps I should take Gandhi's advice and "be the change I want to see". I couldn't imagine a higher calling than teaching and inspiring young minds. At its core, this seemed the purest philosophy I had yet thought to pursue. So for maybe the third time in my entire life, I quit. It was a gut wrenching, emotional, but ultimately a freeing decision. I decided that my first priority would be to take some time off and think more carefully (this time) about my next educational venture and see what it would take to become a public school teacher.

Without my job with the university or any full time prospects locally, I decided to move back to Wisconsin. It was terrifying to return to Wisconsin after vowing just over a year earlier that it was time to move on. It was more terrifying to return unemployed without the experience or a degree to earn me the kind of grown up job I felt I needed at this point to validate my decision. I don't know how many jobs or types of jobs I applied for. I lost count and at some point stopped caring what it was as long as I could find a job to sustain me until I could get back in school.

And then something I can only describe as 'miraculous' happened. I was offered a teaching job. A teaching job with at risk high school students. And this is where I started learning in earnest,

How to become a teacher...

"Becoming" A Teacher

RE-POST:


The decision to start this blog was not a simple undertaking...while it was a class assignment, there were easier, less publicly soul-bearing,  methods of completing the assignment. To be honest I'd been considering the idea of starting a blog for some time but always came up with a convenient excuse not to. With this assignment and the nature of my new job, I had run out of excuses. 

The intention of this blog is not to be my individual, personal journey toward becoming a teacher but more of an exploration of the principles and philosophy of teaching through my experiences. I hope to share the humor, the struggles and most importantly the reality of what being a teacher is like.

I wanted to be very thoughtful in choosing the title of this blog. Having studied philosophy, I learned a lot about language and the intentionality of word choice. I named this blog "How to Become a Teacher..." with the intention share how I was "becoming" a teacher.

The wonderful thing about "becoming" is its infinite connection with change and learning. There is an inherent understanding in the word "becoming" that it is a process, and an evolution. This is exactly what I've already learned while becoming a teacher. Teachers are never done "becoming" teachers.

On the most basic level of "becoming", teachers, even once certified, still are required to pursue professional development and refine their craft. Additionally, teachers need to be ready for anything. We NEVER know when a student will ask a question about current events, clarification on some obscure fact or even call us on something we just said. Personally, in "becoming" a teacher, I honestly believe that I could never be the best teacherpossible and inspire my students to learn if I didn't continually pursue my own passion for education.

I recently found a a quote from Plutarch that in one sentence entirely sums up my philosophy of education: "A mind is a fire to be kindled, not a vessel to be filled."  In my opinion, being a teacher is about building the brightest fire to inspire the kindling of the minds of your students. Filling a vessel is finite but a fire burns as long as there is fuel and can be shared and ignited by others. I don't know how I could consider becoming anything else.

Welcome Home Blog!

As a teacher I'm constantly pushing my teenage students to comprehend that change is natural and the only true constant in life. That being said, with a new email address comes a new locale for the blog. As intuitive as Google has become blogger is still apparently incapable of being human enough to understand that sometimes people don't keep the same email address for eternity. Having gotten married last summer I was thrilled at the chance to create an email that reflected my new life as a married woman and not my tired out maiden name. For my own sake I also needed the excuse to update and begin writing again as it has been almost a year since I posted at my old blog space. I like to think with this new home for the blog I'll bring some new habits (like writing posts) but, old dogs, new tricks and all of that... It's a newish beginning though so I'm determined to give it a better effort at the very least. I've never been much for resolutions and I refuse to make "pie crust promises" but those close to me have recently begun their own blogs and I have to say their dedication is perhaps just the kick in the pants I need to make more frequent appearances. Cheerio for now.

NOTE: The two posts above are the two original posts from the old blog space just for continuity. Just a disclaimer as I wouldn't want to get your hopes up too quickly...