Seems to me...

It seems to me that no matter how hard I try not to be a teacher, I ALWAYS end up being one! You see, I was raised by teachers. My mom, grandma, grandpa, uncle, aunt...basically my mother's entire family were and are teachers. My grandpa and uncle worked up to principal, but still teachers nonetheless. Even my DH's family has multiple teachers. So both he and I know and understand the struggles our teachers go through and the horrible pay they receive.

So that is part of my problem with teaching...but the other part is I just don't WANT to do it! As far as teaching in a school, there are too many federal interruptions. You don't teach the kids, you teach the test. And how exactly does THAT give us educated citizens? It doesn't. It just gives us automatons that all know the least amount required by the federal standards. That is why we have no great minds...we don't let them exist. We are TOO caught up in equality and that causes us to flat line our great minds. All of this obviously only applies to the education system...

But there are other types of teaching. And while I have managed to stay out of the "system" as a teacher, I still manage to be a teacher! While in high school, I was the leader of the flute and piccolo line (as lame as that sounds) in the marching band. There I found myself teaching younger players how to march. Then after that I managed to escape teaching for a while, then I found myself as the head trainer at a restaurant! Again teaching. Then I escaped that...only to land a job at a florist shop teaching them how to use the computer system (I had been raised using it so I knew it like the back of my hand!). That was followed by a stint as a swim teacher...that was REALLY teaching. I taught kids from 6 months & up to swim. Yes, it was great fun...right up til I found out I am allergic to chlorine!

But that job taught me something...the harder you run from something; the faster it will catch you. By George you might even like it when it does! I loved that job, those kids...yes even the trouble ones! I would still be there today if it weren't for the horrible rash and the sick feeling I get from being in the chlorine too long. So with that job I accepted that maybe teaching was something I was meant to do. Don't get me wrong...I am NOT going to go teach in the school systems! Remember I am a Government Major...I know how effed up our school systems are.

But I am no longer denying part of myself. I am a teacher, I was raised by teachers, I have it in my blood.

All of this ties back to my "New Beginnings" post...there I said I was starting a group. Well it seems my group may be growing. And I am the teacher...

I think the most important thing in all of this is I learned to embrace myself for who I am, even if my ego tells me I don't want to be that. And I learned to NEVER stop learning...that is the only true way to teach.