"Honestly speaking, I didn't want to be a teacher, but I couldn't find a job. I wanted a job where I could use English."
These words could have been mine. It's my story too. However, this was said to me by a coworker who has more years of experience than I. I have worked with her as a team teacher for several months now, and I have admired her enthusiasm about her students. Yet, it seems that teaching was not her dream.
"Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).
As I've been reevaluating my career goals, I keep coming back to this: do I want to be a teacher? James 3:1 resounds in my head whenever I think about a career as a teacher. My Biblical knowledge is not extensive enough to know whether this verse means all teachers or just teachers of the scriptures, but it is my opinion, that as a Christian, in whatever teaching capacity I may find myself in, I am an example of the body of Christ. What I teach, whether parables or languages must be taught to the best of my ability in order that I do not mislead or indoctrinate falsehoods.
"Those who can, do; those who can't, teach."
This idiom has often been used both to put down teachers, as well as to encourage those who have failed in their aspirations to consider teaching as an option. Obviously, this isn't a golden rule. I knew many people in the education programs at Anderson University who desired to be teachers. I knew just as many people who were taking a path of education because they felt that it would be difficult to find work with their degree without teacher's certification. I have known several teachers who worked for years in other occupations before becoming teachers. For example, I had a marketing professor whose years of work experience in business gave him more credibility as being qualified to instruct on the subject. I often wonder, however, if this idiom describes my current situation. Am I only a teacher because I can't do what I really want to do?
"Parents have always worried when their children become English majors. What is an English major good for? In a way, the best answer has always been, wait and see — an answer that satisfies no one" (Verlyn Klinkenborg).
My parents are wonderful people. They care about me, cared that I had an education, and never pressured me into a career path that I wasn't interested in. Since graduating college, I've sometimes wondered if maybe I should have been pressured a little. After all, I majored in English Language and Literature (not secondary education). Certainly I chose this degree because I love literature and writing. I wasn't considering my career choices with it and didn't see a need to since it seemed that there are a plethora of jobs an English major can do besides teaching. It wasn't until my senior year when I started job searching that I discovered that the types of jobs that actually appealed to me were few and difficult to get into.
"I shall end an old maid, and teach your ten children to embroider cushions and play their instruments very ill" (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice).
So I began to think about teaching. Since I grew up with people often telling me I'd make a good teacher, it seemed like a good option. Even though I didn't have an education degree, I knew of another route: teaching English in Asia. The basic requirements for teaching English in Asia, pre-college level, are being a native English speaker and possessing a bachelors degree (in any subject). Now, teaching has made up the larger part of my work experience since graduating university. Teaching isn't so bad, at least not as bad as I originally was thinking, but exactly why am I teaching?
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