(a little late for World Teacher's Day, but oh well!)
What would I be if I weren’t a teacher? Since the time when I was in Kindergarten, I have wanted to be a teacher. In fact, I was one of those kids who played “school” with whomever I could find to coerce into playing with me (sometimes that meant I was only in the company of my stuffed animals, who willingly played the roles of my “student”, sitting obligingly behind “desks” made from boxes collected at the nearby LCBO!!!)
As the years progressed, I sometimes toyed with the idea of becoming a writer (spurred on by a 6-year-long pen-pal relationship with Canadian children’s author, Gordon Korman!), or perhaps a child psychologist (I liked the look of "Vera C. Teschow, Child Pyschologist" on a little home-made sign I had designed for myself!), but Teacher never left the top three.
I have been a public educator now for well over a decade, and only rarely do I toy with the idea of doing anything else. I have been a Resource Consultant and a Vice Principal with my Board, and have worked on projects with the Ministry of Ed, and even taught teachers at the university's faculty of education, but I always come back to the classroom. Sometimes I fantasize about being a funeral director (my fascination with thanatology), or a manager at McDonalds (my desperate desire to not “take work home” every night)… but the truth is, I love my job – at least, the actual teaching part of it – and as frustrating as the “system” can sometimes be, I don’t think I could feel as fulfilled as I do as a teacher, in any other field.
What would I be if I weren’t a teacher? Since the time when I was in Kindergarten, I have wanted to be a teacher. In fact, I was one of those kids who played “school” with whomever I could find to coerce into playing with me (sometimes that meant I was only in the company of my stuffed animals, who willingly played the roles of my “student”, sitting obligingly behind “desks” made from boxes collected at the nearby LCBO!!!)
As the years progressed, I sometimes toyed with the idea of becoming a writer (spurred on by a 6-year-long pen-pal relationship with Canadian children’s author, Gordon Korman!), or perhaps a child psychologist (I liked the look of "Vera C. Teschow, Child Pyschologist" on a little home-made sign I had designed for myself!), but Teacher never left the top three.
I have been a public educator now for well over a decade, and only rarely do I toy with the idea of doing anything else. I have been a Resource Consultant and a Vice Principal with my Board, and have worked on projects with the Ministry of Ed, and even taught teachers at the university's faculty of education, but I always come back to the classroom. Sometimes I fantasize about being a funeral director (my fascination with thanatology), or a manager at McDonalds (my desperate desire to not “take work home” every night)… but the truth is, I love my job – at least, the actual teaching part of it – and as frustrating as the “system” can sometimes be, I don’t think I could feel as fulfilled as I do as a teacher, in any other field.
Happy (belated) World Teacher Day to all my colleagues and fellow career teachers out there!!!
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