Teaching Turned Tutoring
Once upon a time, there was a little girl that dreamed of becoming a teacher. She loved taking care of her cousins and played school in her basement. She decided to be a teacher when she was six, picked out her college, sailed through student teaching, and landed her dream role- or so she thought. She LOVED being a teacher and tutoring. She felt like she could really transform her student’s lives.
Her first year teaching was hard, but what did she expect? Being a first year teacher is like trying to drive a bus full of pigeons backwards. She spends HOURS each night preparing for the next day. No one gets into teaching for the money. Budgeting sucks but she made it work and picked up extra tutoring on the side for additional spending money. Driving all across town to meet families at libraries, their homes, Giant Eagle, wherever she could make it work, she did. She’s told that the goal in the first year of teaching is to simply survive.
Her second year teaching, was EXTREMELY difficult. She simply attributed the additional stress, anxiety, acne, weight gain, and irritability all to her wedding and new marriage. Determined to make it work, she signed up for therapy and started anxiety medication. Year three added depression medication and couple’s therapy on top of her individual therapy. She started leading yoga club on Wednesdays before heading to the library to tutor as a way to decompress and make an extra $15/week to justify ordering Panera for lunch when she ran out of time to pack.
“Half of teachers quit in their first five years.” She doesn’t want to be another statistic. Isn’t this what she signed up for? She knew it would be hard. She makes year 4 work until a global pandemic shuts the world down. Along with the world, her body shut down too. Debilitating migraines kept her in bed for days. Year 5 is unpredictable. Is the world past the pandemic? Who needs vaccinated? The rules change everyday and it wears her down. Two different doctors told her to consider if teaching was too much for her. She couldn’t see another way. This is what she had always pictured her future would be.
Instead of classroom teaching, year six started with her own tutoring business. The hours were weird and the money was inconsistent but she needed flexibility. She worked to spread the word and nurture relationships with each and every student. Year seven finally feels successful. She sits down with her family for dinner with a relaxed smile on her face. She adds seventeen things to her to do list each day, but no longer frets when they get carried over to the next day’s list as well. Teaching and tutoring and transforming lives every day.