I frequently get told that I am crazy for wanting to become a teacher. In fact, I’ve heard that line so many times that I considered not telling people what I was going to school for.
“How could you possibly want to teach? Are there even any jobs out there?”
“Will you even make enough money to make ends meet?”
I usually smile, try not to go all Taylor Mali on them, and respond, “A broken system can’t be fixed if no one is working to fix it. And while I may never be rich, you can bet the rewards I’m looking for have nothing to do with money.”
Then I walk away before they can grill me even more. The truth is I can’t see myself doing anything but teaching. When I get in front of that classroom, and I watch students make connections, it’s exhilarating. Knowing that I’m the one helping them understand metonymy, or that I’m the one who’s finally turned Shakespeare from a foreign language into beautiful poetry, makes the long hours of interning, and going to class totally worth it.
I’m an adrenaline junky, but my high doesn’t come from rock climbing or skydiving, but rather from helping students learn and grow. People tell me that I’m crazy for becoming a teacher, but I think they’re crazy for not wanting to teach. It’s true I’ll never be a millionaire, but you don’t go into teaching for money. You go into teaching to make a difference, and I for one am going to keep carrying that fire.
