Reminder

I taught my second lesson today. It went much better than the first although I still feel a bit overwhelmed. I pulled out my teacher voice today and I have to say it worked amazingly well with first graders.

Over the weekend I was feeling a little bit confused and frustrated. I DO feel called to be a teacher. It has taken me a lot of prayer to figure out that this is what I want to do with my life and I do feel like it is the right fit. However, it seems more recently I have come into contact with SO many negative teachers. Every time I am introduced to someone as the “student teacher” they always ask me “is this really what you want to do?!” I was thinking about it a lot over the weekend and I can’t remember a teacher (apart from one retired teacher I know who was a missionary in Guatemala for 16 years) who encouraged me and told me that they loved their job. The teachers I meet are negative and burnt out. It is very sad. What I am realizing is that teaching is hard! There are parents to please, kids to care for, administrators who have unrealistic expectations, the pay is low, and the hours are long (even though teachers have off the summer they seem to work just as many total hours throughout the calendar year as any other job).

What I am praying for is that I will continually remind myself that I am not becoming a teacher just to have a job. I want to be a teacher because that is what God has called me to do! I am sure teachers would hear me say this and think I was being idealistic and I’m sure this is what they expect to hear from brand new teachers. Please pray that during my student teaching I will gain confidence as a teacher and that it will become easier and more natural. Please pray for the teachers that I interact with, that they will be encouraging. And please pray that I will continue to know why this is the career that I have chosen and that I will remember what a unique opportunity I have to impact the lives of my students.