Convictions and Growth

I love to teach. It's a professional that requires passion, poise, leadership, conscious thought, and personal reflection and growth. These are great things to have as part of your profession. They certainly beat plugging numbers into a computer accounting system - at least in my own humble opinion. There is, however, a serious amount of tediousness and monotony that walks hand in hand with teaching's finer traits. There is very little fun in running photo copies, ripping posters off walls, disciplining deviant children, collecting and grading papers... the list goes on. In fact, the negatives can move so far into the forefront of some teacher's brains that they burn out - leaving the profession in a cloud of frustration.

I'm not saying I know that I'll be a happy teacher forever, but I need to think carefully about why I'm teaching if I want to even have a shot. I need to outline my convictions or I won't be able to look past those things that aren't immediately rewarding. (Sounds like a life lesson, doesn't it?).

Those convictions don't necessarily remain static - that is, they can change over time. Some of mine already have. For example, I came into this year believing strongly that I would have to operate on an island, because my teaching style and means of communication has differed somewhat severely from those I've seen in textbooks. I was worried, perhaps because I'm a male, perhaps because I've chosen not to associate myself with a religion, perhaps because of a number of reasons, that I was not going to be able to identify or connect with many of the teachers that surround me and that they would perhaps look down on me. I did not think that this would stop me from my job, in fact, I thought that it would help motivate me, albeit in a sick and twisted way.

This has NOT been the case. The staff at Northern Heights do differ than me in many ways, and my teaching style will surely be different than theirs when I have my own classroom, but everyone has been more than willing to assist and accommodate me in any way that I've asked. It's a very civil, fun, and motivated group, and I'm honored to even be mildly considered their colleague. I can only hope that other schools that I may work at will boast such a functional and friendly group of teachers that I can work and grow with.

Convictions are important for teaching, perhaps the most important thing. If you don't believe in something, then that something will never be true. But convictions can, and should, be altered and tempered under the fire of real life. It's important to remember that they can come out different, but better. Convictions can evolve, and when they do, so do we.

-Mr. Reni