Forward




“So what do you want to be when you grow up?” It's a question I've asked literally hundreds of children during my career as a teacher with the public schools.  The usual answers included football player, basketball player, dancer, singer, doctor, astronaut, etc. If I fished long enough eventually some bright-eyed small person would invariably say, “I want to be a teacher just like you, Mr. Hagen!”  I have to confess that I always admired the certainty of the kids who thought they knew who they wanted to be - even if they changed their minds on the long road to adulthood.
As for me, I never really knew what I wanted to be. I've been a cook, painter and  printer; a landscaper, furniture mover, truck washer and much, much more on my own long road to teaching. Every lawn mowed, floor mopped and dish washed helped me move.  Forward.  Maybe not always in a straight line but forward.  
In all my years working in a classroom I never once heard a kid say they were looking forward to a rewarding career in appliance sales, supply chain management, or term life insurance but those are the kinds of jobs I've been sifting through since I resigned last fall.   Teaching was more than just a career or a paycheck for me; it was a calling. I always believed that I was making a difference in the lives of my students.  
For years when I told people that I was a teacher I got the same response. “I don't know how you do it. I wouldn't have the patience.”  I get it now.  Kids will wear you the hell out:-). After seventeen years in the public schools I didn't have the patience anymore either but I'm determined to find a job that's more than a paycheck.
While the majority of my days for nearly two decades were spent elbow deep in Munchkinland I also mentored several student teachers and field students, and communicated daily with young parents encouraging them to continue their own education.  My door was always open to former students seeking advice on schools, jobs etc.  My target audience has changed but the question remains pretty much the same:  “So what do you want to be and how can I help?”

Hagen

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