Love List 4: Four Things I Love About Teaching

So, my mom's a teacher. My sister's a teacher. My mom always told us, and sometimes still does, "Never become a teacher!" As a result, it took me a while to figure out that was what I was going to do. I dealt with a lot of opposition from other family members but just stuck to it, and have realized it is the best career for me. Even with all of the nonsense you have to put up with, there is no where else I would be as happy as I am doing this.

1. Calendar year- My district has 2 weeks off in March, October and December. It makes our summer shorter, but it is so dreadful in AZ at that time, that I'd rather be working anyway. [soapbox::Now, don't get all smug thinking, "Oh, anyone could be a teacher. Anyone coudl work 9 months out of the year." No, I work a 12 month job in only 9 months. I work long hours, I take work home, until this year (my 7th year of teaching) I worked through my lunch each day and still do a few times a week.] It's awesome, when I think about trying something new I realize how much I would miss that time off.

2. Learning new things- I know all sorts of random stuff about the topics I teach- especially since I teach social studies. My job gives me an excuse to learn new things. I'm always reading books about history, I think I've read 4 books about WW2 since Christmas. And I have 3 more sitting on my table to read.

3. Seeing kids learn things I taught them- It's always funny to read an answer on a test that you know they got from you word for word- "fascism is extreme nationalism with a little bit of racism sprinkled on top." But, hey, they're listening and learning and that's all that matters.

4. Being in control- Yeah, the state legislature is trying to change all of these things about teaching. The President and federal government always have some sort of idea about how I can do my job better. Schools are always trying out new, cutting edge, revolutionary programs. But, bottom line, I walk into my classroom, close that door and do whatever I want in there. As long as I get my students to where they need to be (as mandated by the district and state), I can do it however I want and however works for my students. That also works because I'm the only teacher at my school and in my district who teaches what I do so I don't have to compromise with anyone, I just get 'er done!