As I study to get a new certificate for teaching, I have come across a compelling video that I'd like to share with you and begin this blog series, or AKA:The rambling, tattered inner workings and thoughts of a traveling teacher.
When I was in high school, I was the odd kid out, with many acquaintances but not many friends. I said hello to loads of people in the hallway but didn't know them from more than that. I sat with a group of people who were into talking too much, not focused on listening, so I just sat back and let them talk, listening more than anyone around. It got boring, like, incredibly dull. It wasn't that I wanted them to listen to me, not like I had a lot to say, but listening to the same people tell the same experiences, same stories, without having anything new come up in their lives was the epitome of boring. Looking back, though, we were all in high school, and I wasn't much different. I didn't talk about myself like that all the time and in that way. I was more interested in how the world worked, not how to fit in in high school, even though I was subconsciously still trying to fit in. I mean, who doesn't want to be part of a group that accepts you?
I grew to dislike school because the stories I kept hearing from people about themselves weren't any more than people making themselves feel better by making others feel bad. So I started to regress. I skipped school a lot, but that got me in trouble with my parents because I'd fight with them a lot about going to school.
Then one day, I realized that there was a need for students to volunteer with students that had disabilities, and not only that, but you could get out of attending classes by going on field trips with them. I had done a few volunteer jobs before when I was in middle school, so I kind of thought that this would be easy, a way to be in school, get out of going to classes, and a way to LOOK good. But, I didn't realize that I'd end up feeling good because of it.
So I started going on the field trips, started helping kids that didn't talk about themselves a lot but talked about how great the world was. They talked about how happy they were, without talking about themselves, if that makes any sense. I started to learn about a different part of the world that I craved, to learn about other people, and all I had to do was shift my perspective and my seat a little bit. After a while, I ended up coaching students with disabilities in the Special Olympics started going up to the office where they were segregated from the rest of the students, helping them with homework and playing games with them. That led to more volunteering, camps where I went on the weekends to monitor students with disabilities, push around wheelchairs, change diapers of kids my age, and help. The more I did, the more I wanted to do. It paved the way for the teacher that I am now.
Eventually, it came time for graduation, and I won a small volunteer scholarship through high school. Studying today for my certificate, looking back on my experiences, and reflecting on my time in high school today led me to this video, which I'm delighted to share for my first blog. I've had this site for 3-4 years but never had the time to write, nor the desire to write about my life and experiences. Well, I've always had the time, just never made it to be about me. Now I will because I feel that I have something to say.
Enjoy the video. I hope by watching it you can understand something about yourself.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”