I am a longtime educator. I have worked in K-12 for 25 years as both classroom teacher and\u00a0administrator. I have taught college graduate course in educational technology, teaching of reading, action research and more. Over the years I\u00a0have seen\u00a0two repeating themes in young teachers: the need for classroom management strategies, and the almost insatiable appetite to believe that it would get easier.<\/p>\n
I am also a parent of four children and grandparent to four more. That happens if you hang around long enough, and your children are inclined to repeat some of the same mistakes you made. I see how the nature vs. nurture dialectic plays out uniquely in each generation. The English literature teacher in me sees it like one of\u00a0Shakespeare plays, a theme in variation,\u00a0ever the same yet with stylistic differences.<\/p>\n
The older I became, I have found that younger adults would often defer to me. Whether it is kindness\u00a0or respect was sometimes hard to know. However,\u00a0I definitely remember several adults who asked me if they should go into the teaching profession. My stock reply:<\/p>\n
There are two things in this world I never suggest people do unless they feel called to it: having children, and teaching.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Perspective and Context<\/h2>\n
I entered teaching before I ever had my own children. I always knew I wanted children ever since\u00a0I was young. I do not know if that is typical for a young man,\u00a0or was it\u00a0just an understanding that I had with myself in one of those intimate conversations in the mirror? When I was a teenager, I pictured myself becoming a doctor; maybe a surgeon. When I was even younger than that, I thought of my future self becoming a “scientist.” It seemed to wrap up all that I thought was important in “becoming a man.”<\/p>\n
Fast forward to college. I became a Psychology major and English minor. It took six long years with multiple deviations on my path; I ran away from home at age 24 to get married. Then I took my first real job as a third grade\u00a0teacher in Ithaca, New York. I made a staggering $6350 my first year. At least now I can say that was last century’s wages.<\/p>\n