Why I want to teach
I've been happy with nearly all of the jobs I've had thus far! That's probably why I didn't know which career path to choose until last year. I've worked on a farm and held many short, temporary jobs related to science or teaching. I worked as a lunch and recess monitor for elementary school one winter a handful of years ago. I tutored football players at the University of Maryland (Go Terps!) for two years. I also worked as a college advising assistant and teaching assistant at the University of Maryland and a lab aid at the United States Department of Agriculture.
In college I was interested in science, particularly the environmental sciences. I did well in college but wasn't sure what kind of job I wanted after graduating. During my junior and senior years, I interned for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), doing soil and agricultural research. This was my first research job, and there the scientists convinced me I should be a research chemist. Instead of applying for jobs, I scrambled to get recommendations together to apply to graduate school. I studied and took the GRE's, wrote up a research proposal and applied for scholarship money in only a month. Before I knew it, I was in.
As I completed my research, I struggled with finding meaning in my work. (I spent a lot of hours alone in a lab with funny smells.) I missed my old jobs that involved a lot more communication and interaction with people, especially with kids. In the lab hung a piece of paper tacked on the wall with the following quote written in a scientist's scrawl:
In college I was interested in science, particularly the environmental sciences. I did well in college but wasn't sure what kind of job I wanted after graduating. During my junior and senior years, I interned for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), doing soil and agricultural research. This was my first research job, and there the scientists convinced me I should be a research chemist. Instead of applying for jobs, I scrambled to get recommendations together to apply to graduate school. I studied and took the GRE's, wrote up a research proposal and applied for scholarship money in only a month. Before I knew it, I was in.
As I completed my research, I struggled with finding meaning in my work. (I spent a lot of hours alone in a lab with funny smells.) I missed my old jobs that involved a lot more communication and interaction with people, especially with kids. In the lab hung a piece of paper tacked on the wall with the following quote written in a scientist's scrawl:
I have little patience for scientists who take a board of wood, look for its thinnest part, and drill a great number of holes where the drilling is easy.”
-Albert Einstein, Physicist
I took the quote to heart. If I was going to research, it was going to have to mean more to me. The point of the research was not to get the degree, I thought to myself, day in and day out. The point of getting the degree was to go out and do research that would change the world.
Yet, I didn't want to do research in a lab. A government job with a high-paying salary wasn't the end goal for me. I dreamed about the kinds of jobs I did want, and feeling stuck was squelching my flame for learning that these mentors had seen in me when they chose me as their assistant! I was too busy to find a better job, or at least it felt that way. I was drained of energy...but then I got involved in advising college freshman, and picked up a teaching assistantship!
My students kept me bright and cheery. I looked forward to advising students who were in the shoes I had worn only 4 years earlier. I loved my students, despite the fact that some of them were older than I! I also enjoyed having the privilege to write letters of recommendation to students and give advice and feedback relating to their studies and work. Around Christmas, I decided that working with students was what really made me happy. I ended up quitting my research job and applying to every teacher preparation program I could find. I was accepted into all of them. I have had the overwhelming feeling since then that I am doing something special with my life, and doing what I love.
Each day completing my teaching assistantship at college provided me with additional confirmation that I loved teaching, and that students motivate me. Working in a middle school has also provided that same confirmation to me, but to an even greater degree. Each day, no matter how tiring or disappointing, I feel completely invested in the students. There is never a day when I don't care. They - the students, their futures - are my motivation.
Yet, I didn't want to do research in a lab. A government job with a high-paying salary wasn't the end goal for me. I dreamed about the kinds of jobs I did want, and feeling stuck was squelching my flame for learning that these mentors had seen in me when they chose me as their assistant! I was too busy to find a better job, or at least it felt that way. I was drained of energy...but then I got involved in advising college freshman, and picked up a teaching assistantship!
My students kept me bright and cheery. I looked forward to advising students who were in the shoes I had worn only 4 years earlier. I loved my students, despite the fact that some of them were older than I! I also enjoyed having the privilege to write letters of recommendation to students and give advice and feedback relating to their studies and work. Around Christmas, I decided that working with students was what really made me happy. I ended up quitting my research job and applying to every teacher preparation program I could find. I was accepted into all of them. I have had the overwhelming feeling since then that I am doing something special with my life, and doing what I love.
Each day completing my teaching assistantship at college provided me with additional confirmation that I loved teaching, and that students motivate me. Working in a middle school has also provided that same confirmation to me, but to an even greater degree. Each day, no matter how tiring or disappointing, I feel completely invested in the students. There is never a day when I don't care. They - the students, their futures - are my motivation.
"So, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
-Mary Oliver, Poet