I am doing an eight minute memoir project that I have seen some of my favorite writers and humans doing. Join in if you want. Sometimes my fingers and my brain need to write. The details are here.
I don't remember when I decided to become an English teacher. I can remember when I decided not to become an elementary school teacher.
All growing up, I thought I would teach grade school. Entering college, I stuck with this plan. At BYU, all elementary school teachers were required to take a physical science class that was specifically for elementary education majors. For some reason this really bothered me. Why couldn't I take the same stupid generals that all my roommates and the cute boys in my dorms were taking? Instead I signed up for the dumb physical science class specially taught for elementary education teachers.
I think there were two boys in a section of 200+ students. This, of course, offended me the most. The other girls themselves also bugged me. They seemed too prepared. They always remembered their books and their pens and their makeup was perfect and for whatever non-explicable reason this just drove me absolutely certifiably bonkers. Not to mention they were waaaaay too happy and bubbly and chatty. (But never happy and bubbly and chatty with me.) Nothing annoyed me more than this 4:00 Tuesday, Thursday science class with all these girls girls girls.
What really turned it for me, though, what made me know I could never stay in the elementary education major was the jokes. Our professor insisted on starting each class with a joke. He passed around a sign up sheet and said, "Sign up for which day you want to tell the joke to start the class." Now this was something I could get behind. I love jokes! I signed up.
When my day came, my 18 year old self bravely marched up in front of the auditorium full of bubbly girls. I didn't know a soul, but I had a great joke, and surely they could appreciate that.
"What does Godzilla say after he eats Japan?" I said loudly.
Blank stares.
"I WANT SA-MOA!" I yelled in my best Godzilla impersonation voice.
More blank stares. Some smiles. But no laughs. Not even a pity laugh. The room was uncomfortably quiet.
And then I knew I couldn't be an elementary school teacher. I didn't have it in me. This wasn't my domain, these weren't my people. I felt like such a fish out of water- a stupid, unfunny fish out of water. I finished the class with a lousy grade, left the elementary education major, and never looked back. I don't remember where or how the transition to English teaching major came. I have always loved reading and writing and my high school AP Literature teacher was practically my hero. So I must have put those pieces together and decided to try English teaching? I have no idea the details- the decision just fell into my lap somehow. All of a sudden I was an English teaching major and I was going to teach high school English and it felt right. It had to be right.
And today, on the eve of the first day of teaching my seventh year of high school English, I can confidently say, it was right.
P.S. I am in the last few days for this campaign. Thank you so much for all of you who have clicked and participated. The blogger in me thanks you and the teacher in me reaaaaaaaaally thanks you.
I don't remember when I decided to become an English teacher. I can remember when I decided not to become an elementary school teacher.
All growing up, I thought I would teach grade school. Entering college, I stuck with this plan. At BYU, all elementary school teachers were required to take a physical science class that was specifically for elementary education majors. For some reason this really bothered me. Why couldn't I take the same stupid generals that all my roommates and the cute boys in my dorms were taking? Instead I signed up for the dumb physical science class specially taught for elementary education teachers.
I think there were two boys in a section of 200+ students. This, of course, offended me the most. The other girls themselves also bugged me. They seemed too prepared. They always remembered their books and their pens and their makeup was perfect and for whatever non-explicable reason this just drove me absolutely certifiably bonkers. Not to mention they were waaaaay too happy and bubbly and chatty. (But never happy and bubbly and chatty with me.) Nothing annoyed me more than this 4:00 Tuesday, Thursday science class with all these girls girls girls.
What really turned it for me, though, what made me know I could never stay in the elementary education major was the jokes. Our professor insisted on starting each class with a joke. He passed around a sign up sheet and said, "Sign up for which day you want to tell the joke to start the class." Now this was something I could get behind. I love jokes! I signed up.
When my day came, my 18 year old self bravely marched up in front of the auditorium full of bubbly girls. I didn't know a soul, but I had a great joke, and surely they could appreciate that.
"What does Godzilla say after he eats Japan?" I said loudly.
Blank stares.
"I WANT SA-MOA!" I yelled in my best Godzilla impersonation voice.
More blank stares. Some smiles. But no laughs. Not even a pity laugh. The room was uncomfortably quiet.
And then I knew I couldn't be an elementary school teacher. I didn't have it in me. This wasn't my domain, these weren't my people. I felt like such a fish out of water- a stupid, unfunny fish out of water. I finished the class with a lousy grade, left the elementary education major, and never looked back. I don't remember where or how the transition to English teaching major came. I have always loved reading and writing and my high school AP Literature teacher was practically my hero. So I must have put those pieces together and decided to try English teaching? I have no idea the details- the decision just fell into my lap somehow. All of a sudden I was an English teaching major and I was going to teach high school English and it felt right. It had to be right.
And today, on the eve of the first day of teaching my seventh year of high school English, I can confidently say, it was right.
P.S. I am in the last few days for this campaign. Thank you so much for all of you who have clicked and participated. The blogger in me thanks you and the teacher in me reaaaaaaaaally thanks you.
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