Anticipation

pg 1-44

The first section of this book was about different stories of passion, triumph, and learned lessons that some teachers shared with small stories. I picked two of the stories that particularly hit home for me.

The first story was about a teacher who changed careers from an attorney to become a teacher. This individual clearly had the capacity for a high end career and money that could come from it. This teacher also received criticism from friends and family for the choice. This teacher also understood what it meant to follow his or her passion and heart. I connected to this particular story not because I had wanted to have a different career than the path I’m currently on but because I have had to answer the money question from many adults along the way. I even had a family member joke that I better find a rich husband. I know that there are many other careers that I could have chosen that I could be quite good at and make more money. I also know that it would not be as fulfilling for me as well. The more I study in this program at UMF the more I am certain I made the right choice. That it is not true what they say about teachers, that those who can do and those that can’t teach. What is true is that those that teach can make a difference, even if its just in the life of one student.

The second story I chose was the story of the teacher whose school experienced the suicides of 4 students in one school year. 4 students. My senior year we had one of our students commit suicide and I remember the aftermath of that. I did not know the student personally. I knew the student’s brother that was in my grade. Even now I know that his brother is affected by that. What got to me was the that the teacher in the story kept forgetting what number of students he had in his class and the empty chair would always be there in the back of the room, at least for the remainder of the year. But that empty chair will always be there at the dinner table at the Higgins house back in my hometown. I know there isn’t anything that can be done that wasn’t already done. The story just hit me I guess.