Welcome to Survival Inn: A Transient For Teachers
"And so, brand new teachers, is that once you want to be? 20 years from now-- trapped?”
Not long from now, I will also be called a neophyte in the teaching profession. So I asked myself, “Will I ever get past the survival stage when it’s my turn to teach?” but then I found myself asking another question that is more significant than the first one, and that is “Will I really do that to myself? To my students, more importantly? I tend to day dream about what my future classes would look like, one that is manageable and smooth sailing. Thanks to Dr. Wong, I am reminded of the reality. Thinking about it now, it seems scary, but I brush it off and tell myself; out of the many trips I’ll have in my journey as a teacher, I might get tired and stop in a transient house, and then remind myself again, that the more I stay, the harder I’ll suffer because transient homes are supposed to be temporary. I can't stand the thought of having to drag myself to school everyday like a miserable zombie.
Survival stage is not a notion to stop trying, but rather an opportunity to re-ignite the same passion and enthusiasm we had for teaching during our first day. I have to remind myself that I have to pack up and give what my students and I deserve; a fulfilling profession, and a joyful learning environment.
It's evident that you really have a passion for teaching, the fact that you worry about what's going to happen 10 or 20 years from now says a lot about what kind of teacher you'll be. It's inspiring and makes me want to envision a kind of teaching career that's out of passion and not out of obligation.
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