I Write Therefore I Teach

Most of you probably know that before I had my daughter and decided to pursue my writing career, I was a teacher. I taught middle school language arts for seven years. I loved being able to be with kids all day long and see their faces light up when they learned something new. I loved when my students would tell me they couldn't stop reading after they'd finished the assigned chapters. And now that I've been out of the school for four years, I get a lot of people asking me if I miss teaching. The answer is yes and no.

I miss being around kids everyday. I miss sharing my love of reading and writing with young minds. I don't miss the politics that happen inside the walls of a school. Well, I was thinking about it and I realized that I still am a teacher. I teach kids through my writing. Now it's my stories they are reading and discussing in school. I've gotten fan mail from kids and teachers thanking me for putting the fun back into reading. That brings the biggest smile to my face. Schools contacted me about including my stories and articles in their district wide assessments. What more can I ask for?

Really what it comes down to is, if you are a writer, you are a teacher. You are sharing your work with the world and making an impression on young minds. So do I miss teaching? The answer is I never stopped teaching.

 

What kinds of things will kids learn from your stories or books? Do you think about the fact that you are teaching with the words you write?