The Reason I Made This Choice...

1. It has been a summer of reflection for me regarding my desire to be a teacher. In April I was confronted by a person that is close to me about my career choice. My friend felt it necessary to point out to me that "I couldn't possibly be doing it for the money!" He was right, I'm not interested in teaching as a means of gaining wealth. He also mentioned that it couldn't be because teachers were valued in the community because everyone knows that teachers are severely under appreciated. I agreed with him on this point also. I was not pursuing a teaching career to receive praise from my neighbors or anyone really. Finally, he said, "The only valid reason you can give me for wanting to teach is because you want to play in the summer." While I don't agree with him on this point either, I will concede that having extra time in the summer is appealing. But before all the teachers out there stand up and protest - I also realize that very few teachers "take the summer off".
   
   
   In addition to this friends obvious disdain for a person's willful choice to enter the education field, I was also offered a very well-paying job. I took the job on a temporary basis and soon found that i really enjoyed the job, not to mention the cash that was more than I had been used to in a long time.  I am good at this job and within a few weeks I was asked to stay on full-time and possibly delay or even stop working on my teaching degree.
   
   
   As the start of summer classes got closer and closer, I knew I had to really define my goals and my desires for my future career. It was easy to decide to continue on with the path towards graduation.  
   
   
   I want to teach for many reasons. Some of them are trivial to most people and some may be unique to only myself. But for me the most compelling reason that I want to become a teacher is very personal and deals with my son. All the other reasons are susceptible to change and/or evolution. However, for purposes of this post, I will explain my best reason and leave the others for later.
   
   
   When my son was 7, his father and I got a divorce. After 4 years, I decided to remarry and move to a different state. I had custody of my son and could have brought him with me, however, I feared that his father would become a memory instead of an active participant in his life. I chose to leave him with his dad and I took on the responsibility of driving 4 hours one-way every single week and sometimes twice, to be involved in his life. Years always go by so fast and soon he was in high school. I know the divorce changed him and he became quiet as opposed to the boy that was always anxious to share with me his school activities.
   
   
   It wasn't until after he graduated that he confided in me. He told me that after the divorce he felt guilty when he confided in his dad and not me or vice versa. He said that many times he stayed after school to talk with a particular teacher that he felt was safe and non-judgmental. He said that he wished that some of his friends that had issues with divorce, sex, drinking, bullying or any other problem had a safe "non-parent" adult to talk to and ask questions. He said that this teacher was well respected by the students and well liked. But my son felt that he was special and that all the troubles of teenage life were made a little better by an adult who cared not just about his test scores or football stats, but really cared about him. My son told me that he can think of no other environment that would put so many kids with so many needs in place with so many potential "mentors, friends, confidantes and of course, teachers". He never told me who the teacher was, but he said that that one man made a difference in the choices he made.
   
   
   For me, I want to be to my students what this man was to my son (and to many others, i'm sure). I want to teach, I think I'm good at it. But ultimately, I want to help and to be someone safe and trust-worthy that can impact a kid for good.