"Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious and don't call me Shirley."  He looked a little like Karl Marx.  He had the wittiness of no one that I had ever seen before.  He smelled like coffee and had a beard that made any 18 year old jealous.  For those of you reading this that went to high school with me, you probably know who I am talking about.  His name is James Willmann.

Sometimes people ask me, "Why in the hell would you want to be a teacher?"  I would look at them and tell them that I have always wanted to teach, but just needed that extra push.  Mr. Willmann gave me that extra push.  The next question they ask is "What are you going to coach?" Whoa nelly.  Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.  I'm not looking to be the next kick-my-feet-up-on-the-desk-while-the-students-do-a-worksheet type history teacher.  I want children to learn in my class.  I want them to start thinking outside of the box and be challenged in ways they thought were impossible.  That is what happened to me in the two semesters spent in Mr. Willmann's class.  I learned to see through others' eyes.  I learned to empathize and work for a solution in which both sides would benefit.  I learned to grow.

Our whole lives we are told to think a certain way and not question anything.  We are taught to take what we are given and run.  Why?  Why not learn something new or do something different? Too often we become monotonous products of the environment in which we are raised, something I have deemed the "Breakfast Club Effect."  I want to open that door up for my students so that they can become something BIGGER.  Something bigger than the middle school they are at or the football team they play for.  Leaders within the community, artists that share their talents with the world, everyone, they have something to offer.  I want my classroom to be a place where they discover that.  If I hadn't discovered my talents and dreams, I wouldn't be writing this blog. 

Think back to the last person to open your eyes to something completely new.  How did it feel?  What was it like to take that step into something you had never experienced before?  Did you get a rush?  Did you feel like you had gone where you had never gone before? More importantly did you feel at home?  This is exactly how I felt the first time I walked into a classroom on the teacher's side.  I felt powerful because at the end of the day, I can make or break a student's spirit. On the other hand, I felt that I was a part of something much larger.  I was giving myself the chance to do what Mr. Willmann had done for me. 

I'm no prophet of teaching nor do I claim to be.  I just feel that when one comes across their dream to teach, it is truly something that can help other people out.  We are all constant learners. We are all teachers.  What matters is whether or not you open yourself up to the change that learning brings about.