Tuesday Talk: Why I Teach

Play is the work of children, and it's how they learn. Dramatic play is how children learn about the world around them, often imitating what they see adults do. Playing roles such as mother, father, sibling, grandparent, even teacher, using an object and chatting on the "phone" or dressing up and pretending to go "shopping" are all natural part of children's dramatic play.

My first, and perhaps most earliest memory of dramatic play is playing "office" or "school" at my house in Green Bay or my great aunt's house in Chicago. No matter which house I was at, my stuffed animals were my "clients" or "customers" or my "class". I believe I played "school" more than anything, which is interesting, because school was hard for me due to my ADHD. I didn't grasp things as quickly as the other kids, and had difficulty doing so. Math was, and still is my toughest subject. 

The same thing I wrote in my paper about how children learn is what I am going to say here. When I was nine years old, I created a math learning center, not realizing that I created what would become my career. 

Teaching is in my blood of sorts. My mother and aunt were both public school teachers and my cousin worked in a childcare center during high school in the late seventies-early eighties, through college in the mid-eighties and after graduation during the late eighties. She became a director of a childcare center, and is now a social worker in the city of Chicago. 

Growing up, I've always enjoyed playing with younger children and caring for them. Although I entered the field of early childhood education with intentions of changing careers at some point, I realized long ago that teaching is what I love, no matter how crappy the pay is. It's what I love to do, and helping the families who need it, along with providing children with that love and understanding is worth the money. I currently teach full time and work part time, plus babysit on the side just to make ends meet, and while the cycle of bills doesn't end, I feel like the richest person in the world with great lipstick because of what I do. 

I teach because I enjoy children and the laughter, hugs and love from a child, plus helping families is part of who I am. The networking and learning new activities and resources, along with the love from both children and families is priceless.

And that is one of many reasons why I teach.