Meant to Teach

It has taken me a while to make my brain really believe that I am a teacher.  Teaching is something that I was "meant" to do, not something I was planning on doing.  I NEVER thought, as I was working my tail off in high school for college scholarships, that I would become a teacher.  I wanted to be a nurse.  Actually, I wanted to be a doctor, but I never thought I was smart enough. I have learned differently, but that was then.

When Laura developed epilepsy, she was about to enter kindergarten.  That is where my teaching journey started.  I was afraid to send her to school, but didn't want to shelter her by teaching her at home.  I went to school with her. I volunteered all the time in her class.  Deb Harnly was her teacher and we are still the best of friends. She was awesome and when I grow up, as a teacher, I want to be just like her.  As I volunteered, I began to tutor children and found that I LOVED it.  I also found that I was good at it. 

I hung on to the volunteering.  It continued full force until Becca was in first grade, when I began to substitute teach in District 20. I substitute taught for three years and then I got a job I couldn't refuse.  That was when I was asked to go back to school and become a REAL teacher in District 49.  Stories of that adventure start are in earlier posts.  

Yesterday, I started back to work with a huge pep rally for all D20 staff at Pine Creek High School and then an all day SPED training.  The pep rally is something that I usually dread, but it was so good to see friends from all over.  I saw some of my daVinci colleagues that I haven't seen in a really long time.

As I sat in the rally, starting my fifth year of REAL teaching, I felt like a teacher. I have hung on to my nursing license and I use it from time to time, but I know that REALLY, I am a teacher and I truly love it.