Feeling Reassured
BTW: I am easily provoked. “Do you miss teaching?” Of course I do. I loved teaching math. It was fun… challenging… and I loved the kids. Look at this picture… 7 out of 8 in this photo are girls… in Math 12… AWESOME!!! I loved making math exciting. I loved the student aha’s. I loved boosting their sense of efficacy to learn math. Who wouldn’t miss this? If anything, I miss the students… but that’s why I left. We all have a purpose. I was compelled to do more. How can I make a difference in student learning? 30 students x 7 classes per year wasn’t enough. Although it was not an easy decision to leave public schools, many factors guided me to make a trajectory shift in my career. Self-doubt, insecurities, and false beliefs have held me back for a few years. Who else is doing what I’m doing? Who understands my purpose? Who really cares? What I have learned is, I have to know… I have to care… and, I do. I felt reassured when I bumped into a former math student at the coffee shop. She asked me if I was still teaching at the high school and I told her that I left a few years ago to work on my doctoral thesis. I also mentioned that it was taking me a LONG TIME and I was scared about what I was writing about. Classic ABD. The next day I saw her again at the coffee shop. She said to me that she thought about what I was studying and believed it was worthwhile to do. THANK YOU!!! I needed to hear that. #hug #love #reassuring #mathisfun