Ever Thought About Becoming A Teacher?

So sometimes it's dry for spells and other days it pours and today is one of those pouring days. As in, I have a ton of stuff to say, some of it which has been swirling about in my mind for the past few weeks, so get comfortable, grab a glass of water and an apple, and enjoy!

I've discovered that I could become a teacher. Okay, when I was small I decided I was going to become a missionary-doctor-nurse-teacher when I grew up so I could heal people and tell them about Jesus at the same time and of course I would teach all their little kids about Jesus too. Now that I've "grown up" I no longer want to be any of the above, naturally, but I do remember those teen years when I was trying to decide which career to pick and everyone thought I should become a teacher. Being a good teenager, I rebelled against the thought, and to this day, reply vehemently in the negative when people ask what I studied in college/am studying now and ask ever so sweetly, "Oh, and are you a teacher then?" I don't know if I exude "teacherness" or if I just look like a teacher or if perhaps it's my natural bossyness that comes from years of practice as the oldest of three, but I do know that being a teacher has usually been one of the farthest things from my mind. Until today. Now don't get all excited and go running to the next person and start exclaiming loudly that Maria is now going to become a teacher, because it is still not #1 on my list of things-to-do-in-my-lifetime! But let me explain.

This week we're sitting in Research Methods (thankfully it's almost over!) and as a practical example of how to do a research project, we are hearing from 4 different students who completed a project over the last year. The presenter today, a Mrs. Smile, got up and started her PowerPoint presentation, and while she was rambling on about differentiation and inclusion in a grade two elementary school, my mind began to wander. About three quarters of the way into the presentation, a light bulb went off. I could do this! Not a research project (which I could do if I had to, but it isn't required, yay!), but be a teacher. I could be a teacher. I could even be an elementary school teacher. All I have to do is teach. It is that simple. See, I'm not one to talk about something unless I'm absolutely sure that what I'm saying is correct. So I always thought I could never become a teacher because I would have to do know absolutely everything about the subject(s) that I was teaching, especially if someone asked a question about the topic. But here was someone who was just getting out there and teaching. She may not have been the world's authority on every single area that grade two inquisitive minds are eager to probe, but she was a willing teacher, learning right along with them.

Definition of a teacher: someone who is organized, loves to share knowledge, cares about people genuinely, and is determined to help others discover while learning. I can do that.