Side note, just in case this didn’t come across earlier: I’m not upset that I’ve slowly fallen into teaching. I think it’s hilarious that, after ignorantly declaring that I wanted to anything but teach, I ended up falling in love with teaching. It’s become one of my favorite, humbling bits of proof that “life has a sense of humor”.

Like any job, teaching it has its moments of pain, exhaustion, etc. But there have been many moments – last year in particular – when I would look at my students and realize that they were the best part of my day.

Teaching at its best is challenging and demanding. I thrive on that; I’d be bored out of my mind if I wasn’t constantly reflecting, changing and refining my lessons, revising material selections, honing the classroom environment and management skills, etc. I love that my kids and colleagues alike keep me on my toes and – ultimately – force me to continually find new ways to open my mind and heart alike.

The problem with teaching is that the educational system expects young teachers to spend countless hours at school, to be instant experts in their field, and to not mind being constantly harangued and blamed for the current unequal state of education in our country. It is an incredibly stressful job, and I’d happily take a pay cut to find something more satisfying. But with the years of teaching experience that I have, no other field is willing to hire me, somehow assuming that the skills one learns while teaching aren’t transferable.