what have I got?

besides the flu, which is why I'm not at school right now... I am thinking about what advantages I have had in life, beyond having my basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and love met throughout my childhood and adulthood. What is it that has made becoming a teacher so easy? What are the resources I draw upon when creating my lessons?

First, I had a great childhood. I am an only child, the daughter of a physical therapist and a college professor-writer-flight instructor - polyglot. Reading was emphasized in our home as a desirable pastime. My parents read aloud to me every night until I was eleven, and I learned early on to bring a book with me everywhere I went. Weekends often included visits to museums, the zoo, or the library. The arts were important to my parents; I took music and dance lessons from an early age, and theater and visual arts were encouraged.

Second, I had great teachers. The public schools in my home town were under great pressure from local residents to provide first-class learning opportunities. It helps to have two liberal arts colleges in town, whose professors' children largely attend the public schools. My teachers were lively, inspired, dedicated, and caring. They taught because they loved to teach. Sure, I had mediocre teachers as well as stellar ones, but it's the good ones whom I remember.

Third, I went to summer camp. I love summer camp.

Fourth, I attended a college where independent thinking and breadth of experience were encouraged and fostered. Here, too, I met with instructors whose evident love for their fields of expertise was communicated through their teaching. I did not choose a major; looking back, one could say I concentrated in theater arts, but I only took two years of classes in the theater department. I studied math, classical Greek, Russian, history, literature, creative writing, and folklore. I participated in extra-curricular music groups and spent a year studying overseas.

The personal qualities, the gifts I received at birth, that have stood me in good stead in my chosen career are my love of stories, my enjoyment of puzzles and conundrums, and my interest in people whose experience is different from my own.

While none of these experiences or qualities are requirements for good teaching, I believe that I am a good teacher because of them. I worked hard and was supported in that work by my parents. When I wanted to be an exchange student in high school, they helped to make that possible and supported me from 8,000 miles away as I witnessed the unfolding of great historic change in the Soviet Union. When I asked questions, they took the time to answer thoughtfully, or to help me to find the answer in books or in the wisdom of community members.

I am deeply grateful for all I have received, and I view it as my duty to use these gifts to serve others. It seems sometimes that teaching in a small private school is not service enough, because I love it, and because I am blessed to work in conjunction with parents whose dedication their children is equal to my parents' to me. Perhaps it is not enough, but it is where I am right now, and I have made a commitment to the children I teach, to be with them as long as I can, and to work as hard as I can to bring them the best the world can offer them as they are ready to receive it.