I had another teacher who made lessons come alive. If we were studying fractions in math, we were measuring. If we were studying a story, we were making it into a play. I want to teach children that even the most boring of subjects, like History, can be exciting.

These are just some of the reasons I am going to be a teacher. I want to show someone all their potential as it has been shown to me.

Kip stood stunned, staring at the poster. He drew his eyes away from the words back to the accompanying picture. It was a girl about eight years old, the stuffed animals lined up in neat rows, while she held up a book in front of them. This was a young Mandy Green, teaching her stuffed animal class in her own one room school house.

Kip read two more posters, finding them both similar drivel. They wanted to follow in the footsteps of their parents or aunts or uncles, because the job was rewarding and fun. Kip rolled his eyes, moving to the side. The English teacher opened his door and came out into the hallway. "Back to class before I report you for loitering."

Kip was going to hold up his hall pass, but then decided it was easier to just agree with the self-important English teacher. "Going," Kip said, heading off.

He was still slightly stunned by the conviction in the essay by Mandy Green. Not one of the others he'd read had half her passion. She was singularly focused on the goal of being a teacher, on inspiring others.

He returned to his class and picked his pencil back up, pretending to study the math text that was on his desk still.

What would he answer if he was asked about his future plans? He could only think of one thing that he had any long term interest in, hockey. There was nothing he was particularly good at, or interested in. He had a natural talent for playing goal and there was nothing more he loved than being on the ice. Too bad hockey season ended three weeks before. Baseball was gearing up, that was his second favorite thing to do.

He scrawled down the answer for a question on the page following the current assignment. Sitting here sucked, he could be outside playing catch. He couldn't imagine working at some boring desk job for the rest of his life. He couldn't imagine working with his hands either, any of those jobs didn't seem like enough of a challenge. He had to make a career out of hockey, because there was nothing else he could do.




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