When I started college, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. With my extensive first-hand knowledge of athletics, my plan was to be a Sports Psychologist. But when a chronic injury forced my athletic career into premature retirement, my bitterness left me wondering if I was capable of reliving my personal disappointment through other athletes I would potentially counsel. I have always loved children, so my college advisor suggested pursuing a career as a child psychologist. He thought I needed to confirm my ease with children so he contacted a teacher friend of his, and I started volunteering in a 4th grade classroom. By the end of the semester, I had fallen in love. Not with counseling. With teaching.
It was too late to change my major, and it took some time to go back to school and get my teaching degree. But I have no doubt that I chose the right career path for me. Here are my…
Top 10 Reasons Why Being A Teacher is the Perfect Profession for Me
10) I can be as silly as I want to be. In fact, sometimes silliness is a job requirement.
9) I don’t have to buy business suits.
8) My experiences as a parent have enhanced my abilities to get into the mindset of a young child.
7) As a mil spouse, teaching is the perfect portable career.
6) I’ve always had a debilitating fear of public speaking in front of my peers. But I’m in my element speaking to young children.
5) I thrive on finding creative ways to teach children, methods that don’t include boring lectures.
4) I have regular hours, and I have afternoons and summers off to spend with my own children.
3) I can’t get enough of children’s picture books! Once my kids outgrow their extensive library, my classroom is going to be overflowing with books.
2) Witnessing the triumph on a child’s face as he or she conquers a new skill is more far more rewarding to me than a paycheck.
1) I remember many of my elementary school teachers, some fondly, some with fright. I remember 1 who threw chalk at misbehaving students and 1 who took so little time to assess my skills that she carelessly placed me in the lowest reading group. But I also remember 1 teacher who encouraged my crazy imagination and 1 who recognized that I was misbehaving because I was bored in that lowest reading group. I want to be that teacher my students remember fondly.
Like I said, I’m a huge fan of children’s books. What is your favorite children’s book?
The Little House series has always been my favorite. So many great memories of reading those with my family….
That's sweet 🙂
I used to want to teach (but I'm guessing lots of children think they want to do that lol) It never stuck like it did with you.
This country is lucky to have a teacher like you. These days there seem to be so few.
I can't really remember what my favorite book as a child was but my favorite book to read to my son right now is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
That's great! Teaching really is the perfect job for a military spouse, and I'm glad it suits you so well 🙂
i love it. i am in school to be a teacher. though, i want to be a highschool art teacher. one thing i was worried about is teaching and being a military spouse. but if you say its good, it must work out! thanks!
My favorite children's book?! Oh gosh, there are so many great ones! But at this present moment, it would have to be 'Is Your Mama a Llama'!
Awe I love this! I love love love that book Love You Forever. Its so sweet.
My boys love "The Gruffalo" (sp?) and "Llama Llama Mad at Momma"
I've read these books so much i have them memorized.
Awwww! This is so wonderful! I wish I could figure out what I want to be when I grow up.
I'm so glad you have found a career that is the right fit for you. Congratulations!!
My family just hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law, and I gave her my favorite childhood book: "Pickle Chiffon Pie" by Jolly Roger Bradfield. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein is another classic. Or anything by Judy Blume, including "How to Eat Fried Worms." Great question!
The Polar Express
I've been thinking about you ALL day long! I hope your first day went off well, and I'm sure it did. Do you have a said "problem" child yet? Or is it too earlier to tell, probably not though! Haha! Another great Top 10!
So very glad to hear you're enjoying your time in the classroom!
I do want to say though, that teaching is not always a surefire career for a military spouse. On paper, it does sound like a very portable, flexible job. However, there can be a lot of obstacles to finding a full-time job in teaching – I taught high school social studies for four years before marrying my husband and moving across the country to follow him and the Navy. Two years later, countless hours of stalking job postings, and several hundreds of dollars in getting my teaching certificate in our current state, I have not gotten a full-time job. There haven't been any available within 75 miles of our Navy base (I've been substitute teaching, which in my experience, is definitely not the same as having my own classroom).
I don't mean to be a downer, but I wanted to bring this up so that other military spouses aren't as disappointed as I was once I quit my first teaching job and tried to to find another as a military spouse. Before I got married, many other military spouses online were stating that teaching and nursing were perfect professions for military spouses, and while this may be the case for some who live in larger cities or who have different circumstances, please don't assume that it will be the case for you. With the economy the way that it is, many districts are suffering through hiring freezes, or are not having positions available because older teachers are choosing to continue teaching instead of retiring when they'd planned to.
Again, I don't usually try to be a downer, but I think it's important to be realistic. Wife on the RC, I'm so happy that you have a teaching position that is obviously incredibly satisfying to you. And I'm thrilled for all of the other military spouses out there who are following their own career dreams. Just a little food for thought from someone who's experienced the situation differently.
Glad your first day went so well. A favorite book: Harry the Dirty Dog was one we read over and over to (?)
This is a great post! I went to school to be a teacher, but sadly I also had a horrible fear of public speaking and could not do the peer teaching required… Sounds like you would be wonderful and fun teacher though!
So happy you are enjoying your teaching career!!! It is so rewarding to work with children and watch them learn and grow. I love books too, esp. picture books. We have too many faves to list but one of our current favorite authors is Mo Willems. Hilarious and true. All of it.
Wife on the Roller Coaster…what can I say? This is the first post on your blog I have read and I am already in love with your blog!
I studied psychology and got a master's in Clinical Psychology before I married my Army husband. I have also had issues, just as Navy Girl has experienced, in finding decent work in a town like Columbus, GA or finding someone who is willing to hire an un-fully licensed counselor (even though I passed the national counseling exam and had great internship experiences). I find that businesses liek to take advantage of counseling newbies and have offered me work for no pay or next to nickels. It gets harder when you move from state to state as there are different licensing requirements.
With that being said: Before I went into psychology, I always had the dream to be a teacher because I had a wonderful history and english teacher in high school. However, my parents thought I wouldn't make money. I stupidly listened to them.
It wasn't until I took the Army Community Service Instructor's Course that I thought, wow…I love creating different ways of delivering information to tailor to each learning style! You can use so much creativity and have so much fun with teaching others. In the small counseling jobs I did have, in my opinion, there was such a sense of "sickness," negativity towards patients, jadedness in other counselors. But those are only a few circumstances and are MY experiences. It's just not a career where I can thrive myself, with the type of personality I have.
Any way, even though you may not get lucky with a job in teaching, there are so many opportunities where you can apply your teaching skills: volunteer to be a trainer or teacher of aftb classes or ACS; be a presenter for Parent to Parent workshops for the Military Child Education Coalition, start your own tutoring business, get a job with CYS as an instructor (of art, dance, or tutoring), get a job with military ones source as a tutor, possibilities are endless if you're creative.
I look forward to reading more! Sorry my response was so long.
Jennie Pie
"Capturing Sweet in the East"
http://www.jenniepie.com
So glad you have found your niche! Not everyone does, so you are very fortunate!
I think when I was little, I was intrigued by every book that had bright colors and pictures on every page (but that's when I learned to draw, and would look at a page from a book or coloring book and draw it in my sketch book)
I think I loved all the "Little Golden Books".. especially "The Poky Little Puppy", "Good night little bear", "We Help Daddy", "The Little Red Caboose" and so many more.
I wish I had teachers that sounds half as great as you and loved their jobs just as much. I think it's ironc that I went to school with a major in teaching my freshman year and left with a major in sports science (kiniseology).
And I adore childrens books as well, one of the things I miss about nannying, My favorite was If You Give a Pig a Pancake.