I’m sitting here in Barnes & Nobel, and I should be doing my graduate homework. But this adorable college-age couple is sitting at a table beside me, talking through their calculus homework, and I am completely captivated with their conversation.The guy is leading the discussion, teaching her how to solve things, and he is doing a pretty good job of it, for the most part. Occasionally, though, he’s unsure of what to do next, and that’s when she chimes in with questions which encourage him, and by this sharing process, together they reach the perfect solution.
I want desperately to grab a piece of scratch paper and work out the problems here on my table as he announces them, just to see if I come up with the same solution as they do. But as I do, I find my answer to be different than theirs, and I want to jump up and hop over and share my solution, as I see them scratch their heads and wonder what’s wrong.
But I keep quiet.
Would it be silly for me to lean over and whisper that I’m a math teacher and that I’m here for them if they need me? But the fear of possibly being wrong keeps me in my seat, left only to quietly ponder how thankful I am to be a math teacher, which makes me realize that when September gets here, I will be eager to teach again!
I LOVE the subject I chose to teach. It’s the best subject in the world to teach, behind only religion, which would be so incredibly satisfying, if I were able to do it in a public school. But math isn’t a bad second, considering.
I do wish, however, that I could teach a higher-level class. Seventh graders are my favorite type of student, but 10th grade trigonometry would absolutely be my favorite subject to teach! Ah, dreams.
I owe a lot to my first boyfriend, I’m realizing. I was a freshman struggling in Algebra 1 with a monotone teacher, and he was a senior whizzing through an advanced-placement calculus class. I’d call Zach in the evenings when I didn’t know what to do with my homework, and he would try to explain things over the phone…and I fell in love. I thought it was only the boy with whom I was falling in love, but indeed it was more than just that. I was falling in love with a SUBJECT, the very one which I thought I didn't like so much. But just look at how God had me turn 180 degrees! (No pun intended.)
Suddenly, I realize that the couple is now finished their math homework and are packing up to go. So I guess I shall end this blog and return to my graduate work. What a lovely little diversion. To them I owe my thanks!
