Choices

There are a lot of circumstances we cannot control in our lives. We cannot control the decisions that other people make, we cannot control how people treat us on a daily basis, and we cannot control sudden death, illness, or if we are laid off. Despite these painful circumstances, there is still a lot left in our lives that we can control. We can choose to support our loved ones even when they are making decisions we do not agree with (as long as they are being safe). We can choose to treat people with the same kindness and respect that we would like to see reciprocated to us. We can tell people how much we love them and how much they mean to us even with just a quick text message. We can make healthy lifestyle choices such as eating well and exercising. We can work our hardest at our jobs even when we are exhausted. We can forgive, empathize, and do our best to remain resilient in situations that cause us pain.

Today I choose to hold the door for the person behind me, and I choose to say "thank you" to the person who hands me my meal in the food court. Even little choices like these make a big difference. Choose wisely.

Why We Should STOP Defending the Fact That We Are Education Majors

“Why I’m An Education Major,”

“Why I Choose To Be An Education Major,”

“Why I’m Proud to Be An Education Major,”

“A Letter To Everyone Who Isn’t An Education Major.”

These are all titles of popular articles that I see shared on my Facebook newsfeed multiple times a week.

Why do we as future educators feel the need to justify our chosen career path every minute of the day? Why do we apologize so much about the fact that we have chosen to become teachers? I’m not sure. Education is a field dominated by women, and a proven tendency that we as women have is to constantly apologize. Regardless of the gender we identify as, we need to stop. We need to own our decisions and choices. We do not have to justify what we love to do.

To everyone who reads, shares, and writes these articles, I’m not criticizing you. I get where you’re coming from. The content of these articles is familiar to me because I’m an Education major as well. I’ve been an education major since I started college and have wanted to be a teacher since my junior year of high school.

I get what you all are saying when you get enraged at someone’s criticism of your career path, especially when it is a field you are so passionate about. I understand how annoying it can be when people make ignorant comments to you about the salary you’re going to be earning, as if that is your main motivation. I also understand that you want so badly to change a system that has been seen by many as broken for a long time. However, what I don’t understand is why we continue to waste our time writing and sharing articles trying to tell all of these people that their opinions about our chosen profession are wrong.

As the cliché says, actions speak louder than words. You can write and share countless articles defending your career path to others, but in reality, that will do nothing. All that does is give people the satisfaction that their comments bothered you enough to take the time to articulate a response to it. You do not owe it to others to defend your career path. The only way you can prove those people who try to discourage you wrong is by standing in your truth and walking your talk.

Standing in our truth looks different from educator to educator. You might be thinking to yourself, “How do I know what my truth is?” To be honest, I cannot give you a definition of your truth, only you can do that. To me, I define my truth by what I value, my boundaries, and the people I surround myself with. As a teacher, being aware of these is essential. For me, I value a student’s persistence and progress in learning a difficult concept rather than how well they end up performing on the test. I value their kindness, resilience, and integrity rather than their grades on essays. I value their ability to work and learn from each other in a respectful manner rather than their ability to listen to me drone on and on in a lecture.

I only surround myself with people who are supportive of my chosen career path. I have no time to spend on people who are trying to discourage me, and you shouldn’t either.

Your truth probably looks different than mine, and I’m happy for that. Maybe your truth is teaching elementary school students to say please, thank you, and to listen to each other. Or maybe it is teaching middle schoolers how to work through conflicts with peers. Or maybe it is seeing the lightbulb moment, and the joy in a student’s eyes when they understand a new concept. Maybe you do not know your truth yet because you’re still learning, and that is okay too. We’re all still trying to figure it out. Once you find it, whatever your truth as an educator may be, let it shine through in all of your interactions with your students. Stand firm in this truth even when you are exhausted and feeling defeated by policy, procedures, testing, and circumstances that are out of your control.

So stop sharing articles such as, “Why I’m Tired of Defending the Fact that I’m an Education Major,” and start proving to those who question you and try to discourage you why you are going to be the best teacher you can be in an often frustrating system. Remember your truth and let it guide you past the negative opinions of others. You can do it.