Teachers often get asked when, where, why and/or how they decided to become a teacher. I think it's important not to forget that initial inspiration, so for those who haven't already heard it, here's my story.
As a senior in high school looking ahead to graduating and starting college, I was fairly certain I wanted to major in international relations. I definitely wanted to study abroad in Germany for a year and also learn a second foreign language, but international politics seemed like what was I headed toward. To my own surprise, before I even got to college I had already changed my mind about that.
When I tried to find a summer job after graduation, the pickings were pretty slim. I applied to a handful of places and didn't get anything; all the "cool" jobs (like bookstores and coffee shops) were already taken. My little brother, however, had been active in a volunteer program for young teens at Adventure Science Center, a children's science museum in Nashville, and happened to hear that they were looking for assistants for their summer day camp. Working at the science center wasn't exactly my idea of a "cool" summer job, but it was my only offer and the pay was pretty decent, so I took it.
For the most part, my job was fairly boring. I spent most of the day in supply closets, pulling supplies for the classes and reshelving them after use. The most exciting times were when I got to supervise the kids during lunch and aftercare. I had always liked kids, and these kids were pretty fun most of the time.
One day toward the end of the summer, I came to work to find that one of the summer camp teachers had suddenly become sick and one of us camp assistants would have to fill in for her; I was given the choice between doing my usual job or being a teacher for the day. The lesson plans were already there, so all I had to do was carry them out and keep the kids interested. I opted to try my hand at substitute teaching; it would surely be more exciting than organizing the supply closets.
Sure enough, I was right - it was a blast. And sure enough, the next day, the same teacher was still sick, so I got to substitute for her again. I didn't think much of it; I was just glad to get to do something more interesting than my usual job. But about a week or so later, my boss came to me with a surprising request. She told me that they hadn't been able to find a teacher for two weeks of camp that were coming up, and since I did a good job substituting, she thought perhaps I might be willing to teach those two weeks of camp. I enthusiastically agreed!
By the end of those two weeks I was absolutely in love with the kids and was always going on and on to friends and family about how much fun I'd had. Something in the back of my mind was beginning to tell me that maybe I was meant for a very different career than what I'd originally had in mind. It was a mentor and former teacher of mine at church who pointed this out to me and brought what had been in the back of my mind to the front of it. I wanted a career in which I could work more directly with people, and I couldn't get the idea of teaching out of my head.
Not only did I begin thinking seriously about teaching at that time, I also had this image in my mind of myself teaching Turkish students in Germany. Just over four years later when I stepped onto the school grounds of e.o. plauen Grundschule in Berlin-Kreuzberg that dream became a reality.
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