The alarm goes off consistently at six in the morning. At the beginning of the year I tried to convince myself it was worth it to get up even earlier and got to the gym, but sleep is very valuable to MAT students (and to most grad students I’m sure). Once the alarm goes off I put what I affectionately call “my teacher wear” on in the dark, and stumble down the stairs to make my coffee. While the coffee machine works it’s magic, I pack up my lunchbox, and make sure my backpack (yes, I carry a backpack) is full of the essentials, namely hall passes, pens, and my security badge.

Once all of my bags are packed I load up my car, and head to school. I stop by the main office every morning for my assignment. I think of it kind of like the sorting hat. Which department (house) will I end up in today? Often times I am more than one teacher, which means that I end up scurrying from room to room in between blocks. Substitute teaching can be a challenging job, but nothing changes the fact that I spend my day helping students learn, and grow, and that’s pretty rewarding. At two o’clock the bell rings, and I have to fight my way through a river of students trying to make it to the bus on time, to retrieve my lunchbox before heading out for the day. Technically I only have to be at the high school until 2:15, but I help out with the writing club on Wednesdays, in addition to spending time lesson planning with my cooperating teacher, so I rarely leave on time.

Many days I have to leave right from the high school to get to class, and that can make for quite a busy schedule. The running joke is that a graduate student’s diet is made up of sugar, and coffee, and to be honest some days that is all my diet consists of (ok, maybe that’s a bit facetious, there’s probably some pasta and sauce in there too). I get to class by four, and I spend the next two and a half hours learning how to help my students learn, and thrive in my classroom. After that, it’s time to head home and get some rest before turning around and starting all over again the next day.

Is it exhausting being an MAT student? You bet.

Would I trade the experiences I’ve had in this program for anything else in the world? Not a chance.

-Cyndi Frank MAT 2012

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.