Is Teaching for ME?

I didn't always want to be a teacher. I never sat in my Mathematics classes in highschool and said to myself "I want to be a Math teacher." In fact, when my mother tried to tell me I should be teacher my response was always negative, "I don't want to spend my entire life in a school setting." Even in college while obtaining my bachelor's degree, I never had the desire to teach Mathematics. So here I am 2 years later, half way through a masters degree in Mathematics Education, surrounded by classmates who grew up knowing they wanted to be teacher. Sometimes it doesn't feel fair that I'm living somebody elses dream.

This isn't to say I don't like teaching: I appreciate the challenge; I enjoy sharing my knowledge with the students in addition to learning from them; I have an immense amount of respect for teachers; I take pleasure in integrating Mathematics in my daily life; and I may even go as far as saying I couldn't have gotten through the semester without the joy of my students. But this isn't enough for me. The semester made me realize that I can rise above the glass ceiling and the options are limitless. My passion does reside within the field of education. However, I have ideas that go beyond teaching Mathematics in a secondary education classroom. I plan on starting my career in the education field in a mathematics classroom and establish more concrete ideas to pursue--by making mistakes and learning from them.

At the same time this doesn't set well with me. Is it fair to the students that I will someday educate, that teaching them is just a starting point for me? Is it fair to the school that hires me that I will eventually want more?

The rebirth of my motivation came from teaching my 10th grade honors classes. In particular, there are 5 8th graders participating in one of my honors classes. These students are the definition of over achiever. Speaking to these students regarding their aspirations for the future allowed me to find the enthusiasm I lost over the years. For this reason, I'll be ever grateful to my students.