Realization of the Day

I found myself this morning driving past one of the schools I student taught at, while drinking out of a travel mug that the students from that very school bought me, and I realized how much I truly miss being in the classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I love learning and I think teaching is a life long learning process, but that could never compare to the feeling I get from educating young men and women.

I miss the sound of students filing into the classroom. I miss that first hand flying into the air with a question or a comment. I miss walking around the room as students "think, pair, share" and hearing their great ideas. I miss that moment when a student shares a perspective you never thought of before.   I miss that "ah ha" moment a student gets when something finally clicks.  I miss sharing my passion for the written word with a new group of young learners.  Most of all,  I miss going home at night feeling like I did something that truly matters; I missing having that feeling that I made a difference today.  

I need this semester to fly by, not because I am so in debate I can't pay for school anymore, or because I am burnt out and tired of being the student.  I need this semester to fly by so that I can graduate and find a teaching position.  Urban or rural, public or private or charter school, college prepatory or mostly ESL classes... I don't care!  I just need to be teaching.  I feel like part of me has been missing since I left my last student teaching placement.  I have a passion for teaching that runs so deep that if I am not teaching... well, I just don't feel completely like myself.

It is funny how one small moment in time can make a person realize so much.