I Can Fix That

by Juliana Smith

her outfit: bright pink shorts and a white shirt with dinosaur fossils on it that said, “First Grade Rocks.”

but a teacher could only do so much.

Once you tell someone your profession, it was always the same reply: “How is it making $100 a year?” Or, “Well, at least you spend all day playing with kids!” Neither was accurate,

Working with first graders isn’t the most straightforward job, but it’s probably the most rewarding.

Dealing with first graders for a living gives you the power of patience.

I’d like to think I can do anything I set my mind to, and when someone tried to micromanage me, it lit a fire in me.

It’s getting late.” It was only seven o'clock, but she knew I went to bed as early as possible to be at the school on time.

The exhaustion of trying to entertain and educate a group of six- and seven-year-olds will drag you down quickly,

Every once in a while, I run across a funny answer to a question or a side comment that one of the six-year-olds wrote that makes me giggle.

As difficult and tiring as teaching could be, I honestly couldn’t imagine being in another profession. The feeling of making a difference in a child’s life and seeing that innocence and sparkle in their eyes made it all worthwhile.

I tended to ask too many questions, especially since I spent most of my time with six-year-olds who asked ‘why?’

The word ‘almost’ can hold such power behind it and yet, be so meaningless.

Teaching was one of those jobs where you had to know your limit.

Teaching was a trade-off; you had days where you were quite honestly sick of your students, they would drive you up the wall with a new trend phrase or joke and give you burnout by eleven a.m. And then I had other days where I was genuinely sad to send them home.

He noticed my flaws and turned them into strengths, and he made me want to become my best self.