Teaching won't work for me forever; I think I've come to realize that much. But with a vast world of potential career choices, and very focused professional experience (pretty much all education-related), I feel both over- and under-whelmed by my options.
Today, my grade-level team and I sat in a coffee shop for hours, updating yearly plans and grading. The camaraderie was wonderful. The tasks at hand, less so.
God, I hate grading.
One of the teacher told me that a former colleague mentioned that I'm not reaching my full potential in the position I'm currently in. And I concur. But I don't know what the right place is. Is it another school? Is it another position within the school? Is it in another field all together?
It's hard to imagine leaving teaching because--not to be vain--I'm pretty damn good at it. Today, I walked into my classroom at dismissal, and it was in total disarray: pieces of paper all over the floor, children still working on things, glue sticks and scissors everywhere. And within 5 minutes, the classroom was clean, kids were on their way to carpool, and aftercare students were sitting quietly and listening to me read aloud. I've got a knack for it.
But is that enough?
My dad has always wanted to be a history teacher. He took all the classes and tests. He got himself certified. But years later, he's still a lawyer and not a teacher. Because teaching isn't just working with students. It's working long hours, all the while enduring menial tasks and loads of paperwork and accepting a middle-class life style, at best. My dad is used to the long hours. But he prefers to have a secretary take care of the details, and he likes to buy things and go on vacations.
Personally, I don't mind the salary. Nor do I mind the occasional menial task. And I love the kids. But I'm also really, really smart. Not knowledgable enough in any one content area to teach at a higher level, but smart enough to be able to create and do big things.
I just don't know what those big things are.
Maybe not reaching my full potential in my day job would be okay if I had a hobby or side venture that utilized my intelligence, but let's be real...volleyball is not intellectually taxing.
Got ideas for me? Throw them this way. I'd love a few potential career paths to chew on.
Um... a writer?
ReplyDeleteThe skills of leadership and organization that go with teaching may transfer well to something like meeting planning. There are education and research departments in associations where their job is to organize speakers for events!
ReplyDeleteWith your French language skills, would you ever want to apply your teacher skills in a French-speaking country?