I lived a good part of my life looking forward to the next
step or the next gain, until after I had gained my degrees and landed my job I
had no more course left to run. I also
have struggled throughout my life in the month of March to stay sane and not
allowing cabin fever to take hold of me.
I have a hard time when I do not see the sun as often on my skin, state
testing is rearing its ugly head, and there are no holidays to look forward
to. March is just a month that I battle
the Black Dog and hope to keep it at bay.
This year I have spent hours in the car listening to self
help books to try to stay positive. I
have been enjoying Tony Robbins and his programs that try to break your state
of mind so you can breakout of negative thought patterns. I also read Dale Carnegie’s book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, which
basically brought my frantic nature to a calmer state. The most recent book that I am listening to
is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich,
which has been heralded as the best book ever written on personal motivation,
and recently helped me reframe my definition of success and riches. Hill placed money as the last way to get
riches and all the others were things that required no money at all, such as personal
relationships. All of these authors have
helped me stay in a positive state and have inspired me to try to live a
fuller, richer, life.
So in the style of Napoleon Hill I decided to write down
what I think the riches of teaching are to me.
In our profession today there is a ton of negativity. In the past, I had a hard time getting past
what I saw or felt were injustices. I
have many opinions about a myriad of subjects and changes that have come
through the system, but not all of them are negative and some are out of my
control. What I can control is my
ability to find the riches in our profession every day. Some days have more riches than others, but
let’s face it, this is why we all became teachers. None of us became teachers because we wanted
a millions of dollars of wanted to run a multinational corporation. We wanted to “Make a difference!” What does that even mean? We all have a different definition associated
with that statement, but below are some of the riches that I have found to be
in my field.
1.
Teachers
are surrounded by an abundance of interpersonal relationship wealth:
Think about this… Every day you interact with people. You see them.
They see you. Conversations are
had. Lives examined. Stories are shared. Emotions go up and down. If you worked in a cubicle would you have the
same relationships? Probably not. You would have some, but not as many. Every day I do all of this with around One
Hundred Twenty people and then repeat the pattern the next day. I sometimes wonder what my life would have
been like if I had stuck with computers as my job, but then I remember the internship
I did working in a museum and the lonely sadness that it brought me because I
like working with people. I know that I would not have been privy to all the
laughter, joy, and fulfillment that I now have shared with probably around Seven
Hundred students and athletes that I have interacted with over my course as a
teacher.
2.
Teachers are paid to talk about a subject that
makes them go wild:
Every day I talk about US history and there is
nothing I would rather talk about.
People that are not interested in history often glaze over when I start
going in too deep in my everyday life, but at school I get to talk about it
over and over. I get to explore that
subject matter even more so my students can understand it better. Students get to see why I love it so much and
get to understand the intricacies of the narrative that is US History. I share the beauty of my subject every
day. If I was still working in a store
or had decided that office work was for me there is no doubt I would not be
having deep discussions about my passion.
I am just picturing myself trying to talk to a customer over the
register that I used to run about Andrew Jackson and his connection to the twenty
Dollar Bill… How well you think that
would go?
3.
Teachers work around passionate people:
Teachers are passionate. They each have their own way of showing it,
but I have never met a teacher who was simply “there for the paycheck” or for
the summers off. Never. Everyone who I have met is trying their best
to teach kids the subject they love. To
share daily in a way that makes people grow.
Teachers also get all riled up over issues within the school system or
issues in the community. No teacher I
have ever met has just said, “Who cares?”
We are all activists in our own way.
Is everyone that works in an office passionate about their work?
4.
The work is never done.
There is always something to do as a teacher and
I don’t mean this in a negative way. Many
people believe that the constant shifting is a source of stress that they just
want to go away, but I thrive in this environment. I hated jobs where I stood in place and waited
for customers. I also could not stand
jobs where I had to do the same thing over and over. I was mentally bored out of my mind, which caused
me to start to sabotage myself and my work.
What was the point? Why should I
do a good job when I couldn’t stand the repetition? Teaching is a challenge every day that is one
heck of a balancing act. I am sure other
jobs are just as challenging, but at school I never bored. I am always trying to improve what I have done
in the past or make sure I get the administrative duties that I have to do
done. I can focus my attention on many
different things, which is something that my mind thrives upon.
5.
Students return to continue sharing their story
and to give thanks:
I have been teaching since August of 2007. Since that time I have had many students
return to give me thanks, apologies, and gratitude. The feeling is unparalleled. When a student returns and says that you are
responsible for causing them to take a career path or even just a path of
classes all you feel is joy. It is pure
bliss. All the work you put in was worth
it. Even as the students were cussing
you out or throwing things at you it was worth it. I know that I would not get the same
satisfaction working another job.
So, as you may be trying to fight off cabin fever, try to
focus on the wealthy lives we lead. We
are privileged people. The few and the
proud. I know so many people who never
made it into the profession or have been subbing all these years I have been
teaching in a classroom. Every once in a
while I think of them and how I owe it to them to keep enjoying my
profession. What if I had never made it
in? Thinking of the alternative makes me
sad. I am helping people grow every 24
hrs. To me that is what the definition
of wealth and riches.
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