Teaching Floats My Boat

In my humble existence so far, I’ve found life presents many opportunities, new adventures, and now, blogging. I’ve embraced just about every other form of communication, so I guess it is par for the course I am now a blogger. Anyway, afore mentioned humble existence started in Atlanta, Georgia. I attended a wonderful liberal school, which houses so many wonderful memories and lessons learned, I cannot begin to list them all. I played sports, namely basketball, which actually led me to Colorado College. Playing collegiate basketball while earning a BA in English with a focus on Creative Writing definitely taught me how to manage time, juggle a schedule, and on occasion, bust out essays at 2 am. My team volunteered with a local elementary school where we partnered with a class. On one of my visits, I talked to my third grade class about procrastination. The teacher then had the students write letters to me about my “lesson.” They were priceless. Young children have the most amazing minds. During the summers, I continued working with kids by coaching youth basketball camps. I feel in love with the interaction and feedback. Although I did not pursue an education degree, I always thought I would find my way back into a classroom.
After graduation, I jumped at the opportunity to move to Vail, Colorado, and assert my newfound independence. For five years, I worked in an office environment, mostly in an accounting capacity. In order to supplement my income and try to balance out Vail’s pricey cost of living, (aka ski gear) I started babysitting for two families. I really enjoyed watching the kids grow and develop over the years and still have a relationship with them. I met incredible people, and had wonderful experiences in Colorado, but I really missed my family and the East Coast.
Over this past year, I’ve made some big changes and learned quite a bit about myself. The accounting positions were good jobs, and I certainly gained insight into the financial world, but I just could not get passionate about budgets and ledgers. Call me crazy. I know balancing quarterly statements really floats some people’s boat, but I started thinking about what really inspires me. My thoughts kept returning to all of the amazing teachers I have been lucky enough to encounter. I remembered how they taught me so much more than how to solve for x, use a Bunsen burner, or analyze a Shakespeare sonnet. I’ll take fourteen lines of Elizabethan English over credits and debits any day!  I also thought about how much I enjoyed interaction with kids, and how I keep finding myself working with them. I definitely gravitate toward younger children; their minds and behavior are so endearing and interesting. How incredible would it be to interact with imagination and encourage achievement in children everyday? 
So here I am, grabbing this opportunity and starting on my next adventure. I am eligible for Middle Grades English certification, but I am going to apply for the Elementary Education certification as well. I aspire to be the kind of teacher who inspires her students to claim their education and take pride in learning everyday. I will strive to create an environment where students will not only learn material, but also responsibility and confidence. Teaching students they can, and will succeed, is something I do feel passionate about, even if they turn out to be accountants.