Hey ya'll,
Sometimes it's just funny how things work out. In high school I wanted so badly to be a teacher. 2nd grade is what I would tell everyone. I started lining up my classes taking things like Early childhood education, pediatrics and child psychology in hopes to lead me in that direction.
In the long run I guess I got there, even if I sort of took the long way around. I taught preschool and kindergarten for a total of 7 years. but the thing is, as much as I loved it. I never felt truly fulfilled. I often wondered why I felt that way. Though years later I now know exactly why.
I spent hours with children trying to do my best to teach them, mold them, invest in them. I wanted to set them up for success long after they left my classroom. I wanted to teach them more than letters, numbers and words from a textbook. But life skills... Truth is, I hated the over filled classrooms, the rules, life inside a box, I just hated the politics of it all.
Looking back, I know I felt called for more. But I just didnt know what exactly that meant at the time.
My children both attended public school for years, and me being the type of person I am, I would find faults with things. No matter how imaging some of the teachers were, it was the little things, Be it too much homework, too much time at a desk, id find that the schools aimed to teach my children more so for passing tests rather than to build over all character. Now don't get me wrong, that is primarily my job as a parent. To raise good humans, right?
Perhaps, I'm the minority in thinking this way, but as far as I'm concerned. There is always room to learn more about algebra or that Shakespeare wrote in Iambic Pentameter. But at the end of the day what's more important to me is not academics per say, but my children's values. Are they able to hold a conversation with a homeless man and treat him the same way as they would the man at the bank. Do they stop and pause at a friend's house before dinner, to pray, even when their family isn't Christian? Do they understand who God has created them to be and how important they are to this world, even when times may seem dark and scary.
Those things cannot be taught in a classroom! All their years in public schools, I felt as though something was missing. Not as though I could do better at teaching necessarily, but that I could somehow do it in a better way. So, with a leap of faith, I took the plunge.
There were so many things I wanted to share with my children. Experiences, museums, hikes, road trips, I wanted them to see things, feel things firsthand. Not just read them out of a textbook.
I wanted them to feel the pages of books between their fingers and use their imaginations as they read about the great wagon trains of the West and the Phantom Tollbooth.
Things that just wouldn't have the same impact sitting at a desk for hours each day, in a room full of 20 other students.
I believe that somewhere along the way many children in school tend to lose their love of learning. It somehow becomes monotonous. They make good grades perhaps to stay on their sports teams or to not be grounded by their parents. But not for the adventures that learning can bring.
Those who don't make the grades, simply give up. They lose that spark in their eyes like the 2nd grader learning about outer space. Going to the library to check out every book they can find on astronauts and the milky way.
I didnt want that to happen to my children!
So, though I never expected to be on the road we are on now, I wouldn't change it for the world! This road has led us to aquariums where we touched sting rays and held horseshoe crabs. It led us to make Olympus mons and exploding volcano in our own kitchen. It has allowed us to go beyond the 4 walls of a classroom and explore, to get fresh air, to go on adventures. It allowed us to become closer to God as we study his word. It allowed us to make friends from many walks in life, not just talking to peers in a school setting but rather people of all ages.
I will forever be grateful that I get to spend my days with my Children, laughing, learning and building a closer relationship, rather than standing by while teachers, nannies, babysitters, friends or relatives spend more time with my children than I do myself.
That is something that I will never take for granted!
This road may be frowned on by many and even misunderstood. but one thing I can tell you, is that my girls are thriving. That sometimes life takes an unexpected turn, but if you hold on for the ride, it may be the best ride of your life!
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