I took on more teaching this semester than I should. I did so to avoid missing out on an opportunity and to make sure I got "enough" in case a course I was assigned didn't fill. Then, at church they decided to ask me to teach Sunday School. During lunch today, the lead faculty for Organic Chemistry was in my office again bellyaching over the fact that they can't have me teach because my degree is wrong when the buffoons who may teach don't do it correctly. On evenings when I do get home at a "normal hour", I have to pack things for the other days and perform all my chores, because I gave up Saturdays again to teach. I told myself it wasn't worth the money, but I don't know what else to do with my time besides hike, and that hasn't borne the fruit I hoped. I fill a need that you constantly hear about in the media for qualified teachers, but as good as I am when they find someone better they should hire that person. For now, it's something I enjoy well enough to do for the pay, and more than the income, the outcome of teaching is a valuable commodity too. Not everyone gets to do something they like for a living, even if they receive a fat paycheck, and most of the fat paychecks in this world pay people who provide something of dubious if any worth like Twitter, Google, and Facebook, which sell advertising and nothing else. I learned things as a child and in adulthood that can be valuable, and so I follow the admonition of Yoda, Thomas More, and others to teach others what I know.
People seek qualified, experienced teachers. When I walked into the classroom the first day this term, the instructor who preceded me remarked how glad he was that I was back after my absentia last summer. Some folks in NSHE are looking forward to this summer when "Sally's policy" banning me from teaching at one institution lapses with her retirement. Other people are eager to staff me for summer and fall and asked me this Monday about classes that won't start for four to seven months from now. My clergy are crazy, but they were very eager to put me in with these young people, and I think that's an effort to have an adult influence in their life like I enjoyed. When I was their age, my friends were my current age, and those mentors may never know how much they encouraged me to be better than I otherwise might. Even outside my discipline, they are inviting me to teach other subjects like math or geography because I know math and because they get along with me. Then, sometimes people discover that I'm a white male. Apparently that's neither qualification nor experience.
I enjoy taking a break from my daily responsibilities to do it. Back in graduate school, I enjoyed teaching more than anything else. When I hit a snag, I would go to class and come back fresh and often find new ideas or at least enjoy thinking about something else for a while, something that would actually work. Since I teach because I choose to, I teach when I like, the classes I like, and for the extra money rather than feeling obligated like most teachers. This semester, I took on more than I should have, and I'm already counting down the remaining weeks, but when I'm in the classroom, and when I drive home at 10PM after a late Microbiology class, I feel good about my day. Besides, they teach in my Faith that there is no greater call than to teach, and although it's not the great pay that others make, I don't think I'll feel bad about having been a teacher when I stand before God to give an accounting of my days.
Teaching allows me to pass on what I have learned since I lack posterity. Particularly at church, where I teach Sunday school to the Juniors and Seniors from High School, it's a chance for me to share with them the things that transformed my life to make me who and what I am. In private conversations with students during lab or after class, I have shared advice, given tips on how to do things better than I did, and helped them understand why I am passionate about the things I learned and enjoy. Many people, including students who didn't particularly like the class but liked me, think I need to leave something of myself behind when I die. I will try to share those things with the children my siblings have and with cousins who still talk to me, but since I don't have anyone else to carry on my legacy, teaching provides that outlet.
I am exhausted almost every day. However, I told my Sunday School class that we have an imperative duty to waste and wear out our lives bringing to light the hidden things from darkness. I really don't have anything else I feel inclined to do with my time and life. Coworkers criticize me and say I should be out trying to find a girlfriend. Honestly, if I weren't teaching at night, I wouldn't go out; I'd go home. Besides, I tried doing something this summer to meet people like me, and all the women I met volunteering with the Forest Service were either already seeing someone (and reminded me frequently of that), or they went out of their way to avoid hiking and working with me if they could. My hiking buddy and I used to collect phone numbers and invite people, but nobody actually came, so I don't think I'm doing the wrong thing. I think everyone is second guessing or projecting their experiences onto me. I'm also not sure I'm doing the right thing or saying the right things or reaching the right people. I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be doing what I'm supposed to do, so for now, at least, I keep teaching.
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