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Goodbye, 26. You were an infinitely trying year, saved only by Will Oldham and The People of Paper, really. Phil Collins announced his retirement from the music industry yesterday, and I can't help but consider the coincidental timing and believe we are perhaps both turning over new leafs (leaves?) in regards to a 20 year trend of heartbreak. 2008
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It's true, I have recently become an English teacher at an alternative private high school that is mainly a one-on-one environment (for students that are ahead or behind in the subject--so they can learn at their own pace).
To be honest, I absolutely love it. I've been feeling a strong pull to teach as I finish college, and I was considering getting an M.A. so I could teach at the community college level. My dad taught special ed in a pretty rough high school for 35 years and I was virtually raised in his classroom, so it sort of feels like my birthright.
I actually was originally offered the job of re-writing this school's English curriculum, but then a teaching position opened up and I decided to go for it, even though I'm not done with my B.A. yet. So I'm doing both at the same time--writing curriculum and teaching.
I love it. I absolutely love it. However, there are some caveats, perhaps:
a) I teach at a private high school, which allows me pretty free reign in terms of material as I re-work the curriculum. This has resulted in me teaching some pretty edgy stuff that probably wouldn't fly in public school (a rant for another day, perhaps). I also teach one-on-one, so I'm able to focus completely on a single student at a time. I honestly don't know how I would handle either someone telling me that I couldn't teach something OR teaching a large group of kids. I think the latter would have terrified me at first.
b) I haven't encountered many cons as of yet. I don't know if this job would be for everyone: you've really got to be the sort of person who gets their energy from connecting with someone on an intellectual level, in addition to feeling really passionate about the subject that you're teaching. In some ways, this job feels like such a joke because I get paid to talk about things I want to talk about all the time anyhow. I also love the challenge of teaching new material, of seeing that lightbulb go off. I nearly weep when my 14-year old student tells me how she has gotten all her friends to read the book I just taught her ('A Confederacy of Dunces') and has also told her super-emo friend how he resembles the original Byronic Hero.
c) In regards to teaching allowing me more personal free time to explore creative endeavors....that's odd to think about. If anything the two just sort of...meld. I'm not really sure how to explain it. I'm busier than ever: I go to school in the mornings, I teach in the afternoon, I wait tables on the weekends and write curriculum in the spare hours. But the teaching and the writing don't feel like work at all, which maybe helps me to feel balanced all around? I mean, it's a pretty consuming job if you let it be, and you're never going to make a lot of money. I honestly could see someone being pretty miserable doing this sort of work if their heart wasn't into it.
Sorry to be so lengthy, but I hope that helped. I think if you feel pulled towards something like this, you owe it to yourself to see if it's for you...for me, it's been one of the most rewarding and redeeming things I've ever done with my life. If you're someone who doesn't get a lot of energy from connecting and talking, it might end up being draining. It's not really a job that allows you to function on autopilot: your brain has got to be on all the time.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
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This is, I believe, about the third time that you've answered a question I've asked with patience and grace. You were meant to be a teacher <3
Gosh, I could talk to you for days about all this stuff- that's how passionate I am about it! But I won't bore you or your readers ;) In regards to some of the things you've said:
1) I live for connecting with people. It literally sustains me. I really don't find anything in life as satisfying as helping and making a difference in someone's life. It's the main reason for me wanting to be a school conselor.
2) I feel education is top priority! It opens more doors, gives you more options. It shapes a life for the better- I can't stress this enough. I have my B.A. In English, so when you speak of a student connecting strongly with a character in a book they likely would never have read without your introduction...it makes me smile a mile wide :)
3) In regards to money, I think you can do fairly decent with an MA. With counseling, you start at around $60,000 (I know that amount changes depending on where you live). I have friends that make the same amount, but they're working 12-hour days! And you can't beat the hours and the 180-day work year.
4) I've worked in an office environment long enough to know that (and I can only speak for myself) I just didn't want to waste anymore of my life on something so ultimately worthless and unrewarding.
5) Special Ed students can be so fantastic (I should know- I date a former one!). Many of them possess the capacity for large amounts of creativity and compassion. They just need a good role-model to help them channel it all properly.
PM me if you ever feel like chatting more about any of this. I love meeting people in the education field! Do you know of any good web communities in a similar vein?
XOXO
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