What Qualifies Me?

An unfinished preschool board for Chirpee's bedroom.

 To be a teacher.  Why was it on my list of "never"s?  I have not proven to be a good communicator of ideas quite a few times in my life.  I have no particular desire or passion to interact with children.  My dream job was always one where I could exercise a lot of autonomy and deal with the sciences in some degree - research, laboratory perhaps?

In high school, my old fifth grade teacher asked if I would tutor her son in math once a week.  Sounded like a way to make extra money, math posed no real problems in my world...so after little deliberation on the idea - SURE!  He was getting an F in math at the time so I figured I certainly couldn't screw his grades up.  Well, I was very disappointed that after months of tutoring...he was still getting a pretty solid F.  I tried presenting ideas to him from a variety of different angles, but he always had that dull expression in his eyes as I would speak to him.  I often wondered where he would go to when we sat down at the library table to do algebra.  I never believed in stupidity (and still don't), I just knew I wasn't reaching him. 

My life has been surrounded by excellent public educators.  Ones that came home in the evening and couldn't talk about much else.  My father and mother are passionate about their chosen professions - have given everything to them, having an earnest desire to watch children succeed in learning.  My oldest sister, from very young, aspired to be a school teacher - and she was until her second daughter was born.  My grandfather was a college mathematics professor who could not contain his enthusiasm for much ANYTHING as he was passionate about the workings off ALL things.  It was from their personal stories (which I listened intently to, even if they didn't realize), that I saw my own inadequacies in being able to control a classroom enough to even dream of communicating ideas to them.

I have friends as well that are EXCELLENT teachers who have given me other insights as well.

From good educators - I learned that loving learning was NOT the same as being an EXCELLENT teacher.  A teacher is not always perfect in knowledge, a teacher is not always the top of the class, a teacher has a heart for seeing individuals blossom.  An excellent teacher cannot teach apart from having a disciplined classroom.  An excellent teacher finds creative ways to communicate with a variety of personalities and learning styles.

From bad educators (and I've experienced too many), I learned there are a lot of smart people out there that should have chosen different careers.

Now, these are things I've learned from experiences.  From growing up in the family I grew up with, from my time spent public schooling, from dear friends and other family in the profession, from time in college classes. I have never taken a class on education.

Characters from Janet Brett stories on each day of the week.

So my experiences have taught me what a good teacher is.  Do they qualify me?  They simply encouraged me to add teaching to my list of "never"s.  I would be one of those teachers that loved the subject I was teaching, but never had the respect or love of the students.  I knew myself as well.  Children have been hard for me to relate to.

So, maybe it is buying a good curriculum, then?  A good textbook?  Maybe that is the trick!  Most know I never went to school to be a teacher, so I certainly have no state or government recognition of competence.

1 Samuel 16:7  "But the LORD said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him.  The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Other than the Creator Himself, who LOVES these children more than Deereandy and I?  Who cares more that they will be prepared for REAL LIFE, than Deereandy or I?  Who cares more for their souls than us? 

The Lord equips those He calls.  The God who put it on the heart of Deereandy and Monkey to homeschool has promised provision for each day.  There has been a process He has led us through to become convinced that this is what His best is for our family.

It is really that simple.  Because of my perceived inadequacies, I find the idea daunting to explain fractions to my boys (they made me cry when I had to learn them) - I KNOW I will have strength and ability. 

I will try to edit this post soon with scripture references for the above statements.  My laptop battery is running out and I want to get this posted before the boys get up from naps.