What Teaching as a True Calling Looks Like
How misfortune can be a blessing in disguise.
Teaching is one of those career fields where false advertisement comes to mind, you know, pretty much like being an ‘influencer’ in this day and age of social media.
If you don’t approach it the right way, you will burn out quicker than you realize.
Society gives the impression that anyone can be a teacher.
You read comments on X or other social platforms of people disgusted at teachers who ‘complain.’
Teaching is easy!
It’s just glorified babysitting!
Shut up, at least you get your summers off!
Well, let me tell you something honey, if you don’t look at teaching the right way, it will be done with you!
See, I never thought of myself as a teacher.
My Back Story
The field of engineering in the late 90s was lucrative for females. Universities and industry in general paid good money to help support females interested in engineering.
I poured four years of blood, sweat, and tears into earning an engineering degree.
I believed myself to be one of those females.
I was meant for industry work.
I began work in the automotive industry, then switched to the telecommunication industry.
I managed to work for the most lucrative, most well-known telecommunication companies in North America.
I thought I was set for life!
I was enjoying my new found freedom and independence.
But technically I was still only a fresh graduate. I only had three years of working experience in the industry when the telecommunication company I was working for went bust.
My parents were supportive as they saw my struggles in finding work again, when everyone wanted managers, I was still a fresh graduate with under five years experience.
My mom suggested I teach at a small local community private school to occupy my time, and she took me to speak with the principal, who was a family friend.
The principal asked me to observe a couple of classes and let him know if I wanted to try teaching an eighth-grade classroom.
My observations taught me a lot about students I didn’t know.
The Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Classroom Behavior
I observed two teachers teaching in the same classroom. It was a second-grade classroom.
The only thing I can compare it to was like seeing students portrayed as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
For those who don’t know, Dr. Jekyll is a lovely doctor with a friendly personality.
His alter ego of Mr. Hyde is one that is not a doctor, nor friendly.
From my observations of student interactions with their teacher, it’s a true testament of how a lack of classroom management can turn any Dr. Jekyll-type student into a Mr. Hyde.
The first teacher came in with no structure to the entry of the classroom, no rules, no distinguishable classroom management style.
She just screamed and shouted to get the students to work with her.
She spent the majority of the time banging her hand on the desk to get students to listen to her.
Students had no respect for her, and so it was a room full of Mr. Hydes.
Then after her time was up, she walked out…in walked the second teacher…and it was like witnessing the parting of the Red Sea.
Without saying a word to the students, the students knew what to do, and how to act. It was like the teacher and students were communicating telepathically.
It became a room full of Dr. Jekylls.
If a movie camera panned to my face you would see my mouth opened and my jaw almost hitting the floor.
There was no shouting, no banging on the desk, nothing that would prevent you from hearing a pin drop on the floor.
The students were kind, respectful, helpful, participating in classroom discussions and were overall very well behaved.
I don’t know what she promised them as part of her classroom management strategy, but whatever it was — it worked.
After I reported back to the principal, he asked me to be a teacher volunteer aid in a grade one classroom.
I think he was testing my understanding of young children.
Realizing My True Self
All you need to know about yourself can come from time spent in a grade one classroom.
My time spent in that first-grade classroom taught me a lot. It taught me who I truly am and why the classroom was a second home to me.
In being around younger children, they will try your patience and energy levels as they explore the world around them.
They don’t mean to act like Mr. Hydes all the time, but when they do, you need to be the Dr. Jekyll role model in the classroom.
Children will always look to your actions, rather than your words when understanding how to behave or interact in any type of environment.
Therefore, as doctors, teachers can role model good behavior in our duties towards helping others in need.
My True Calling as a Teacher
After my time in the first-grade classroom, I learned that my motivation could not be confined to sitting behind a desk in a cubicle all day as I did during my time in the industry.
My intrinsic motivation in the classroom sparks an extrovert type of behavior that, outside the classroom, is hard for me to find or enjoy.
I am an introvert by nature, but the classroom allows me to become the extrovert who enjoys being around other individuals and helping them in their time of need — whether it be in gaining educational knowledge, or understanding the consequences of their actions.
So I decided to take on the role of eighth grade teacher for the remainder of the school year at that local private school.
After my time in the school, I decided to return to university to earn my postgraduate Bachelor’s degree in Education to make it official.
I kept teaching at the same private school even after earning my degree because it helped me grow as I helped it grow in numbers of students attending the school.
Overcoming Misfortunes
One of the biggest misfortunes I had to overcome was the negative stereotypes people in my community had towards me transitioning from engineering to teaching.
“Why after a career in engineering would you go towards teaching?”
You see teaching doesn’t have the same level of value in certain people’s eyes because of the prestige associated with being an engineer or doctor, especially one that is female.
It took certain people to see my face on the local television talking about the beauty of teaching to change their opinions.
But again, I have learned to let go of what others think of me because I know myself.
I am fiercely proud of myself for graduating with a degree in engineering because it taught me to build important life skills such as problem-solving, time management, and critical thinking skills.
I still think of myself as an engineer who builds — builds confidence in those in my charge (classroom) to be the best versions of themselves.
Thirteen years after earning my B.Ed. I went back to earn my Masters in Education because of how much this career means to me, and one day soon I hope to continue towards my Phd.
If you enjoyed this article, I encourage you to read my other article on teacher identity in classroom.
