Teaching High School Was My First Career

When I was 9 years old, I announced to my parents that I wanted to be a neurosurgeon when I grew up. I was admittedly squeamish with blood, but knew that there was little blood in brain surgery and felt that the brain was such a fascinating organ, I could deal with a drop here or there. My father's response was, "I can't afford to send you to medical school. So, take your pick, you can be a nurse or a teacher. Those are your choices."

If I couldn't be a doctor, I didn't want to be a nurse, so that left teaching. Having enjoyed my Speech teacher during high school, I thought perhaps that was a job I could do. So, off to college I went to become a teacher... a speech and debate teacher.

Admittedly, I was one of those young, enthusiastic new teachers who marched into the classroom bent on MOLDING THE MINDS OF AMERICA! My first job was teaching in an inner-city high school in Rockford, Illinois. And although I loved what I was teaching, I soon discovered that teaching high school involves a great deal more than just teaching the subject matter at hand.

Teaching high school (no matter what the subject) includes being a mother, a sister, and a nurse. You are a disciplinarian, a life coach, a counselor and a guide. You will answer questions on sex and pregnancy, parenting, legal issues, divorce, abuse, and sibling rivalry. And then, some time during the day, you actually get to teach.

After teaching high school for just 3 years, I experienced my next lesson in "The Day You Curse Your Job..." On the 14Th day of teaching in my first year, I walked into my classroom to find a student holding a knife to another student's throat, shaking him down for lunch money! I was aghast! I raced up to the students and demanded that the perpetrator give me the knife! He did. As I walked away with the weapon, I realized that he could just as easily have put the knife through my hand as on it, and swore never to do that again.

Three years later, my top right hand desk drawer was full of weapons... knives, zip guns, chains, blades, brass knuckles, etc. I took the drawer to my Principal's office, set it on his desk and tendered my resignation. I loved the kids. I loved the subjects I taught. But I cursed the role I played in their lives. I cursed my job.

When I called my dad to let him know I had resigned, his response was, "Loving what you do is the key, but the next step in the process is finding the right place to love what you do. In Rockford, you may have been a good teacher, but the environment and the leadership didn't enable you to be a GREAT teacher."

So, rule number 2 is, love what you do in the right environment!