My Decision to Teach

It was about two years ago that I realized I wanted to be a teacher. I remember being shocked at discovering this passion within myself, because I never used to feel very comfortable around children. I tried babysitting twice during high school and walked away saying, "NEVER AGAIN!" I didn't know what to do with the kids, and they refused to watch movies. It is funny to recall those memories now that I have an entirely different perspective on children.

During my undergraduate degree I majored in art history and minored in visual art. I had dreams of being a female Indiana Jones, traveling the world studying history and restoring/preserving historical artwork. I wanted to take a break from school after my undergraduate experience and was rudely awakened by the bleak availability of job options in anything that interested me. So I worked as a receptionist for wages that I could barely live off of. Eventually I was hired by a financial company as a production assistant, which meant that I assisted the marketing department with projects and managed the mail room. It was the nicest building I have ever worked in and I enjoyed having a job with more responsibility. Over time however, the glamor of two hour cocktail lunches in the Pearl District, board meetings, and business professional dress codes started to fade. I realized the amount of waste and frivolous behavior that was so widely accepted in every aspect of the company. It was just a bunch of rich people trying to impress other rich people, and protect their money in life insurance investments. I remember sitting in one of the board rooms in a high back leather chair, staring at a power point presentation about who knows what, and I literally felt like my soul was being sucked out of me. I thought to myself, "What is the opposite of this?"

I decided to apply for a position in an educational setting and ended up working in a Life Learning, special education classroom with the West Linn/Wilsonville school district. My life turned upside down. Suddenly I was getting boogers wiped on me, playing on the carpet during circle time, helping children eat during lunch time, singing more than I ever thought I would and I had never been happier in my entire life. It felt amazing to be in such an honest environment and to build relationships with each of the children that were unique and wonderful. I love the children and I love the school. Even during the challenging times, when I was being hit, intentionally urinated on and managing extreme behaviors, I loved working with the children. I was challenged everyday to be a better person and to learn new ways to communicate. I had so much fun using my imagination to present information to a diverse array of learning styles. We were creative, we played and we had a wonderful sense of community in our classroom. I think I learned more from the children, than they learned from me. For the first time in my life I actually felt alive in a place of employment and I realized that this is exactly where I should be.

......and so my journey at Lewis and Clark began!