Each one of us is unique, the product of a myriad of experiences and teachings and interactions. Each one of us has so much to share, but sometimes the opportunity to do so is lacking. I've worked hard in my life to learn new things, improve my knowledge, be the best teacher I can be. But, I have learnt that I can't please everyone in the way they might want. If they want a 'yes-man', then I'm definitely not who they're after. If they want someone who is happy with being undervalued and disrespected, I won't ultimately work out for them either.
I've spent a lot of time in my life trying to impress the wrong people. Only now have I come to recognise my worth. All those public holidays spent studying. The many all-nighters spent planning the perfect sequence of lessons as an RFF teacher. The intricate feedback comments that were barely read by students and parents. The hours of preparation put into planning lessons or tutoring sessions.
This time and effort has amounted to something. The product is a teacher who thinks critically, who has something of worth to share with her students. A person who has never been motivated by the pay cheque is a person who will ultimately shine as an educator. I have been very fortunate to receive fantastic feedback in recent years from parents whose children I tutor. For the first time my teaching is being witnessed in their homes, its merits evaluated. In schools, limits are set on what I am able to contribute, but outside of that context, the sky is the limit...
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"Dream with me, escape with me, fly with me, imagine you are everything you've ever wanted to be. Dream, dream, dream..."
This is an excerpt from a song I remember vividly from a Shopfront Theatre musical I was in as a child. The world can be a harsh judge and it can laugh in the face of 'silly' dreams. It saddens me that people in our culture judge a person's worthiness by their occupation. Even as a school teacher, and an extremely dedicated one at that, people often ridicule the profession. When I had a break from it for five years, I lived my dream to be creatively employed each and every day, However, it was crazy to witness just how many people criticise teachers. The biggest shock was the appreciation I received from customers such as brides, grooms, parents and makers for my commercial creations. Why aren't words of wisdom and innovative teaching strategies as highly prized by the average citizen? Truly bizarre society we live in...
Nevertheless, I still love teaching and I can remember many wonderful interactions I've had with students. I fondly remember a casual teaching day I once did at Caringbah Public School in 1998. This wonderful little Year 1 class just loved their day so much. Out of their own accord, during lunchtime I presume, a number of them got together and wrote little notes for me, which they presented at the end of the school day. I was just one random teacher in the scheme of many they must've met, yet their display of kindness for my efforts to give them a unique day whilst their regular teacher was sick just astounded me. I still have those notes...
Since going part-time as a teacher and starting my own home-tutoring business, I must say that my life has been calmer. I have been able to focus on what really matters in life: savouring special interactions with people, being positive in the face of difficulties, and being an encouraging presence...
Significantly, I have had more time to look around me and appreciate just how lucky I am despite not leading the perfect life, materially, that some Aussies strive for and despite my lack of worldly success, so-to-speak. Because life is not measured by our external representations, but by who we really are as people. I encourage you to appreciate the beauty of life, rather than gripe about the dreams that you haven't yet been fulfilled. I know that this change in mindset has completely changed my outlook on life, and definitely for the better :)
