Slice #21, I Still Teach
I'm choosing to explore my identities this month, focusing on a different angle of me each day.
Today, a slice on teaching.
I just finished grading 6 module assignments for 28 adult students. In May of 2021, I wrapped up my last (maybe) class in 6th grade. My life shifted drastically going from K-12 to the university. Here, nearly two years later, and I still find it hard to call myself a teacher.
I've been an adjunct for almost a decade. I love, love, love this work teaching methods for English teachers and also our Writing Project Institute, Leadership in the Teaching of Writing. New teachers fuel my soul with their hope and excitement for teaching. Grad students fill my soul with their rejuvenation and the community we build as writers. I know that teachers learn from me. I know that this is good work.
So, why then can't I still proudly call myself a teacher?
Oof. This is a hard one. "Teacher" feels so bound up with the PK-12 element, doesn't it? "Instructor" and "professor" feel like more clinical terms, though I've met many nurturing folks with those titles. Perhaps "teacher" is like "writer" in this way. It's an identity you have, so long as you claim it. I definitely think of you as a teacher. Virtual hugs to you.
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