Relax, this isn't going to be about marriage. I was just finding myself fantasizing about organizational tools. You know, I was imagining a system with multiple clipboards and checklists hanging on the wall. I was imagining a rolling file. I could go on, but I expect no one would enjoy that. It made me think about how teaching changes you for better or worse. Organization was my weakest trait when I started teaching. I would never have thought about it. Now, I find myself drooling over literature boxes and color coding.
My point is that no matter what you can't go through the experience of teaching and come out the same. For better or worse, you change. The hope is that it is for the better. Are you a teacher? How has teaching changed you for better or worse?
1 comment:
That is a good point. Teaching has definitely changed me. Or, I don't know if it's changed me, so much as helped certain traits appear - made me realize certain things about myself.
-I don't do well with paper. Paper is the enemy. Even after 2 years, I have not figured out how to efficiently deal with all the paper that comes my way. In college, I put paper in binders or folders, and it worked for me. As a teacher, I haven't been able to figure out what to do with all the paper.
-I am more...um...controlling than I realized. Not over my students. My students can do whatever they want (within reason). I give my students more freedom than any other teacher I know. I don't like OTHER teachers ("specialists") to come in and tell me to completely change what I'm doing UNLESS they have earned my trust. If they have earned my trust, I will do anything they want (including teach grammar or handwriting - two things I generally am not a fan of). If they HAVEN'T earned my trust, I rebel. I end up hating them for trying to change me.
-Teaching has made me more confident. Which I guess is the most important thing. I feel good about teaching. I know what I'm talking about. I'm fairly good at it. Enough people have told me that to make me believe it. Teaching has raised my self-esteem. (Then again, equating my confidence or self-esteem to my job isn't always great. Because when teaching things go wrong, I end up equating that with personal failure, instead of just professional failure...)
Interesting question!
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