Q: Did you have a life before you were a teacher? Do you ever look back and think, "Wow...I used to be so cool."
A: That’s silly. Until I became a teacher, I never considered myself “cool.”
My life before I became a teacher was a series of “uncool” periods.
There was the period in elementary and middle school where I spent most of the time in my house—on the computer, watching T.V., playing video games and avoiding physical activity like the plague. I gained an unhealthy amount of pop culture knowledge, but I only had one or two friends—and both lived two towns away from me. I wasn’t shy, but rather awkward. If I went to a school dance, my priorities were: 1) free soda 2) free pizza 3) furthering my studies of the gym wall as I plastered myself against it in fear of actually dancing and (gasp!) talking to a girl.
There was high school, where I could further my avoidance of cool by attending an all-boys military school. It was fantastic. I could shoot guns and fart in classes without fear of looking bad in front of a girl—if anything, a well-placed toot only increased my popularity among the guys. I made a lot of friends and gained a bit of confidence, but even I wouldn’t label this period as “cool.”
College: I joined a fraternity. I joined the school newspaper. I slept in until noon. I made a lot of friends. I got popular through the fraternity and newspaper. I dated. I even managed to learn a few things in my classes. When the dust settled, I had a degree, tens of thousands of dollars of debt and a lot of good memories. But I still didn’t feel “cool.”
I spent my post-college life trying to chase the same thrill of college life. I was an office temp, I was a mailman. I worked in a bank’s loan department. I was a film critic. I wrote for a large newspaper. I got a girlfriend. I got a dog. I got married. I actually had money to pay for everything I wanted.
Still not “cool.”
It wasn’t until I began teaching that I gained a life. Because, until then, I never really made anyone else’s life better. I might have been entertaining or helpful, but never significant. It doesn’t happen every day, but I can say on many days, I’ve made the life of my students better. They might have learned how to string together a coherent paragraph, or learn about a new part of the world, or something academic. Or I could have helped a student find something that made them more self-confident. Last year, I was part of a group of people that successfully helped a depressed student get the help he needed. He is now in a better place because of what we did and continue to do.
Don’t get me wrong—I experienced a lot of happiness in my life prior to teaching. I made friends and found a soul mate. I’ve seen parts of the world. And I did a lot of things that society told me were “cool.” Whether that wearing the right clothes, going to the right parties, listening to the right music, and making the right friends, I did them all. But none of them made me feel any better or cooler, because I relied on other people to tell me whether or not I met their standard and I never took any time to realize how I felt about it. Once I started teaching, which forced me to stop worrying about what others thought were “cool,” I found a peace from the knowledge that I was helping others improve their lives. Now, THAT is cool.
What do you think your teachers were like in high school?
Mr. Jones is a high school teacher in Wisconsin. Surprisingly, he is married, and is the doting father to a lovely 4-year-old golden retriever.
Got a question for an English, science, math, writing, special ed, sociology, or PE teacher, or a specific question for Mr. Jones? Send it to contribute@sparknotes.com!
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