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