I hadn’t really thought much about the field of education because education was so woven into my childhood and then extended into my adulthood. All of us are products of an education system, be it through public, private, or home schools, but I grew up intimately surrounded by education with a family of educators. I even became an educator myself.
Both of my parents were teachers, and I knew there were several in my extended family as well. I had never quantified it, so I sketched out a chart of family members who had a career in education. I was surprised at the results. Beginning with my grandparents and going through my cousins and their kids (second cousins, right?), over 20 of them are or were in education, including teachers at every level, principals, and even a college president.
My dad was my fifth-grade teacher and elementary school principal at Pittsburgh Elementary School (that’s Pittsburgh, Indiana, a suburb of Delphi, Indiana). It was one of those old schools with one classroom per grade, a tiny gym with a stage on one end, and playground equipment mired in safety hazards (who remembers the witch’s hat?). It wasn’t odd to me that dad was my teacher, he just was. He did a very good job of separating Mr. Hoffman from dad.
I’ve always been a science geek. In sixth grade I got my first pair of glasses. I remember thinking huh, this is what the world looks like. It had all been fuzzy and was suddenly clear. I loved the science of that and even came to Wabash with the intentions of becoming an optometrist.
In an interesting way, some big science concepts really hit home with me during my written comprehensive exams at Wabash. We were asked to differentiate animals from plants at the molecular level. While I knew about how different DNA sequencing determined proteins which therefore determined various reactions and processes, it really hit me that the only thing that differentiates various species is the order of the four DNA amino acids.
Maybe it’s not so surprising, then, that I ended up teaching science and coaching at Noblesville High School for five years before returning to Wabash. If it wasn’t for an open coaching position at Wabash, I would very likely still be teaching.
I used to drive my kids nuts, “Do you know how that works? Do you know why that happens? Do you want to know?” Their typical response was, “No, but I bet you’ll tell us anyway.”
From seeing it in my parents, through experiencing it early in my career, teaching is difficult. It’s tiring, frustrating, yet completely rewarding all at the same time. You have to know your stuff because when you start teaching, no matter how basic it is, you get asked questions. So, you better know. I learned a ton during my time as a teacher.
Educators are a special breed. I have the utmost respect for them. They teach because they are completely dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others. They are vital.
Reach out to a teacher, and thank them for what they do. It could be one of your childhood teachers. It could be one of your Wabash professors or a current faculty member. It could be one of your kids’ teachers or just a random teacher. They don’t hear it enough, and they deserve it.