Throughout my life, I have always been naturally in tune with the world of reading, writing, and thinking. I’m a big feeler and intrinsically identified with the emotive, the introspective, and the passionate.
My parents— big in the business and finance fields— were NOT happy when I told them I was going to be an English teacher. But I knew that it was something I had to do for myself. After my first shot at student teaching, I quickly came to realize that being a high-school English teacher is A LOT more than just loving literature and wanting to share that passion with your students. I truly couldn’t see myself restrained by academic legislation and confined in a classroom for the majority of my career. Although, reading “Poetry is Hospitable to Strangeness and Surprise,” reignited the spark I have for sharing the joy of reading and writing. I loved when Rosal wrote,
“Not enough is about how everyday people are moved by poems. Truth is, they are hungry for it — especially when it’s written, read, performed and listened to with the whole body. If you saw the audience at Brave New Voices this week or the young folks at Sarah Lawrence College’s Summer High School Writing Conference, you’d see a heightened listening. Educators crave that kind of listening.”
And that is completely true— educators do crave that kind of engagement.
I remember distinctly when my best friend was student teaching in the classroom (English I, a majority Spanish-speaking class) with me and she gave a short lesson on poetry. She had the students (most of whom usually put their heads on the desk and slept throughout the period) rip pages out of old novels and magazines to create blackout poems. It was one of the most amazing things to witness as these incredibly frustrated and uninspired kids turned in not just one but multiple beautiful blackout poems. Getting to read them afterward was so rewarding because the students finally got a chance to express themselves and let out their emotions in a healthy way at school.
Being able to be part of that is something I will remember forever and makes me wish that teachers would receive the salaries that they so incredibly deserve. Reflecting on my time at the high school makes me remember Jasmine Guilllory’s article “Reading Anti-Racist Nonfiction Is a Start. But Don’t Underestimate the Power of Black Fiction.” She says,
“Multiple studies have shown that reading certain types of fiction increases a reader’s empathy for others. Fiction gives you a window into both lives you know and recognize and ones you don’t It helps you to put yourself in the shoes of those characters, even when you have a different perspective when it comes to race, gender, or sexual identity.”
I will never forget the feeling of absolute dread in the room at 8am as the kids staggered in knowing they were going to be forced to read and write about stories that were so out of touch with their realities. It’s just common sense but you can read about the value of black fiction for black children and teens here.
After months of reflecting during my student teaching semester, I discussed heavily with my parents, peers, and advisors, about if I should explore other career paths. The harsh reality is that I would not be able to support myself, let alone a future family as an English teacher. With a lot of back and forth and inner turmoil, I cut my degree in Education short and decided to pick up a Marketing minor. And this has been one of the best decisions of my life so far. With the heavy support of my advisors and professors, I learned there is so much you can do in the business world with an English degree. Effective communication and critical thinking are major skills needed in marketing and sales-oriented careers. I’m experiencing every day the joys of expanding my professional network in the Business School while working towards a career in medical device sales. I feel like I’m in a space where I get the best of both worlds.
Hey Brooke, I enjoyed your post! My mom was a teacher so I know how hard they truly work and how little they get appreciate it. The blackout poetry project seemed really cool and a great way of getting every student in engaged. I liked how you were able to tie that story into why teachers are the backbone of education and should be recognized as being such.
Hey Brooke,
This is a super interesting post. I’m glad that you talked about what it looks like to do something for yourself, even if it’s not something you are able to pursue in the long term. I definitely have been feeling that as a last semester senior.
I thought that I was going to be a teacher when I got to college — that’s what most people tell me I should be, and I think I would be effective. But I’m in the same situation: I want to be able to provide for myself and my family. I think we all can agree that teachers should get way more money, and seem to be having it harder and harder each year.
It’s really good to hear specifics about how your skills transfer to the business world. I hear the phrase a lot, but people never really go into detail, and as someone who wants to go into healthcare, I feel you.
I thoroughly enjoyed your telling of high school student engagement with blackout poems since this is something I don’t think I’ve heard of before! I also went through a period of exploring the career path of a high school English teacher and decided against it because of the financial downsides. And now I’m contemplating teaching English at the college level. I find it insightful how you’ve stuck with English as your major and have added a marketing minor, getting the best of both the intellectual and financial aspects. Reading Michael’s comment as well has me thinking more about the future of grade school teaching careers, especially when considering some of the articles we’ve read that point out how the study of literature has many crossovers into other disciplines like science. It makes me wonder about what can be done in the fight for better pay of high school English teachers. What if this issue can be somewhat remedied with more discourse on how interdisciplinary English studies are? Also, I love the photo of your cats as I have four myself!
Brooke, I really appreciated your post and everything that you shared. I think it is really brave of you to pursue something that you love even when you are not necessarily supported to do so. Your comment on educators being hungry for engagement reminded me of writers being hungry to write and readers being hungry to read. We discussed recently in one of my other English classes that the calling to reading and writing feels almost divinely guided. It is a deep hunger that resides in some people, one they cannot escape. And although the rest of the world (other people who don’t feel the same) don’t agree or don’t understand, following that hunger and that feeling is beautiful and inspiring. I think it is such an important thing for people to listen to the call of their soul and, over time, learn what she says, where she wants you to go, and what she wants you to do. Feeding her, more often than not, is so important as we go through life, and I am so glad that you are doing so regardless of where that takes you!
Dear Brooke,
I really admire your efforts to try out teaching. You seem to be extremely driven in your career search, trying to fully understand what will suit you best after college. I think it takes a lot of optimism, as well, to encounter challenges with your first choice career and have to amend your plan to better suit you.
I enjoyed your reference to Jasmine Guilllory’s article “Reading Anti-Racist Nonfiction Is a Start. But Don’t Underestimate the Power of Black Fiction,” specifically to the passage about fiction writing. I absolutely loved to learn how you had witnessed this for yourself when you were student teaching and the students were creating blackout poems. It sounds like they learned to harness their emotions into a creative outlet!
Sincerely,
Hannah
First: I love your cats, Brooke! What a great pic, with eah of them being their own selves. Second: Your story here is sadly not an uncommon one, with someone headed for teaching re-routed due to the problematic realities of that profession. It’s a terrible state of affairs. Yet: your story also amply demonstrates how many routes are available for those who wish to engage professionally through language, interpretation, and persuasion. I wonder if you’re seeing a way to combine your planned career with the kind of energy of “everyday” responses to literature, that you presented through Rosal, Guillory, and your experience with your friend’s blackout poetry assignment?