Questioning Myself
 Do you ever have those days when you wonder if you are doing what you should be doing? I am a teacher in a private school. I have been a teacher since 2002. Ten years in the public school system and I am in my third year in private education. I have taught second grade, fifth grade, and currently first, second, third, and fourth grade in one classroom. I am good with children. They learn well from me. This isn't bragging, just the truth. I am very good at my job. But there are many days when I ask myself if I am really cut out to be a teacher. I have little patience. Kids sometimes annoy me. I don't want to bend over backwards for every child. And there are a couple kids that simply make me cringe with the sound of their voice. So, yeah, on days like today, I wonder. I enjoy seeing the light come on when the curriculum I have just taught actually clicks and makes sense. I really love to hear them read and get excited about something they are learning. The joy on their faces over simple pleasures remind me that happiness can come from hearing an extra chapter during circle time or coloring with sharp crayons. But sometimes I just want to work with grown-ups. Then I stop and think. Are they any better? With children, I can tell them to stop talking, stay out of my bubble, or teach them the proper way to read social cues. Unfortunately with adults, I have to listen to them talk, (or at least pretend), walk away, or assume that they read my social cues and don't care. Which is worse? Or...which is better? On this day when I question my career, I think about the ups and downs of teaching. Do my ups outweigh my downs? Definitely. But man, today I would have rather been anywhere else.