I was planning for a long time, in a way. I wanted to be a college professor in biology/physiology. Had some great role models along the way. Got sidetracked when the going got really tough in my PhD work, and left. Co-created and worked on a website for years, but still felt the call. This was at the start of the internet "culture" back in the day. I came to the conclusion that I can be just another asshole standing on the sidelines complaining about the world, or I can get in the game and try to change things. And also, Obama's quote (which he adapted from Gandhi) - "We must be the change we seek."

Took a pay cut (still feel a way about that now and then) and got in the game. It hasn't all been fun, it hasn't all been easy, and I've gotten in some huge fights with admin. I've learned, I've adapted, but the fire hasn't diminished. I started in a Title 1 school and worked there for 10 years. I still miss those kids. Now I'm at a tech/academic magnet, and I love my kids to death. They're as big of messes that my other kids were, just in different ways.

All kids are needy. They need love, they need acceptance. They need ot be seen and heard. They need to feel they're important, that they belong, and that they have a place in the world and in the future, regardless of where that future takes them. They need hope that things will get better. That what they see on their screens isn't normal. That we can do better, and that they can make a positive impact.

Why do I go back every day? Ryland Grace said it in Project Hail Mary - I like kids. I like the chaotic, wonderful, funny, emotional messes that they are. I like their energy. Their jokes aren't great, but we're working on them. I feel honored that they trust me to teach them, and we get to hang out and learn stuff every day.

The "woo-ish" version? They're my time and space travelers. I'm loading them up with all the good stuff I can manage to jam into their heads: critical thinking, science knowledge, an appreciation for literature, the ability to express their thoughts, empathy, kindness, compassion, an ability to see the world as something bigger than just them and their small group of people, and that problems can be solved if we just try. That fear and anxiety can be overcome, and fold when we stare them down and tell them they're not in charge of our brains.

I do all that, and then, like Superman's parents, I bundle them up in a weird robe and hat and shoot them off into a future I hope they can handle, one they can fix and make better for everyone.

I’m sure that’s far more than you wanted or were expecting, but 100% - pieces of that are always floating through my head on my way to work and during my day. It reframes the kids’ behavior, and mine as well, into something that’s always a work in progress. I’m getting better at what I do, and so are they.

So - in the end, what brings me back every day? Hope. The hope the world can be a better place. Teaching is an act of wild, radical, uninhibited hope. Or it should be. We all can have that hope, teachers, though, we have our hands on the levers that can turn that hope into reality.

So, yeah - if you feel education calling to you (and it's because you want to teach, not manage teachers, create new EdTech or curriculum, or PD - all icks), then I think you already know what you want to do. The rest is just details. Good luck!

Please reach out if you ever need ancouragement or have questions.