I wanted to be so many different things. Bus driver. Doctor. Paleontologist. Archaeologist. Librarian. Actress. Writer. Art historian. World traveler. Biographer. Bookstore owner. Innkeeper.
Never teacher.
I played school with my cousins, but Kelly always got to be the teacher because she was the oldest.
I was cast as the teacher in the second-grade play. I suspect this was because I was naturally bossy. My mother pulled my long hair back into a bun and powdered it so I would look appropriately wise.
But I never wanted to be a teacher.
Even when I became a teacher, I didn’t want to be a teacher when I grew up.
I thought I’d stay for a year or two. Until I figured out what I really wanted to do.
Teaching was hard—much harder than I thought it would be. I told myself I’d stay until I figured it out. Once I know how to do it well, I told myself, that will be a good time to move on to something else. But somehow, there was always more to learn. Twenty plus years later, there still is.
When I think of all the things I wanted to be and do and experience and wonder about and know when I was a child, I realize what my dream job really was: Learner. If I had ever told anybody I wanted to grow up and be a Learner, they would have told me that’s not a real job.
But now I know that it is. It’s just called Teacher.
Thanks to Carol and Erika for the inspiration for today’s slice.
Isn’t THAT the truth! Somedays I learn so much my head is spinning!!! 🙂
I love the concept of learner as a career! That is definitely the career I would want, and it’s served me well for over 34 years.
Congratulations to you for being in the job of your dreams. 😉
I started college studying to be a veterinarian! It didn’t last long and I decided to switch to education. Couldn’t be happier!!! I love learning too!
This was great! I never wanted to be a teacher either. And I, too, wanted to be an archeologist for most of my childhood.
Being a learner is a FULL-TIME Career!
Thanks for including the links to Carol and Erika’s blogs! It’s nice to track the inspiration!
Yes! Yes and more yes! I figured this out early on – for all the hard, it is the biggest reward
Awwww….I love this! Growing up, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. But it wasn’t until I became one that I realized that my true dream was to stay a learner forever. So glad they are intertwined. Great slice!
great insight you are so right! That’s what makes teaching so difficult and so rewarding!
I never wanted to be a teacher when I was growing up – but, now I can’t imagine being anything else.
I love this post! I didn’t want to be a teacher either. Paramedic. But like Tara said, I can’t imagine being anything else. 🙂 I’m going to have to keep learner in the forefront when I ask my kids and students what they want to be when they grow up. 🙂 Love!
I actually got “teacher” as a possibility on a career test I took when I was in the second grade, but I never took it seriously. And I never, ever imagined myself as one of those “teachers for life”—the ones that stay in the classroom for 30+ years. And now I can’t imagine doing or being anything else!
One of the best things about being a teacher is the ability to ALWAYS be a learner! I can’t imagine a day going by without learning something new.
I love this! I learn so much every. single. day. It is so interesting to me that you never thought you wanted to be a teacher. I just always knew that this is what I wanted (except when my parents convinced me to go into engineering in college, but that was just a blip in a long lifetime of wanting to educate).
The best teachers I meet (the best people, really) are just as you described, learners!
I love these lines!
“When I think of all the things I wanted to be and do and experience and wonder about and know when I was a child, I realize what my dream job really was: Learner. If I had ever told anybody I wanted to grow up and be a Learner, they would have told me that’s not a real job.
But now I know that it is. It’s just called Teacher.”
You said it much more eloquently than I ever could have!
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