The Accidental Teacher

How the pandemic forced me to follow in my family’s footsteps

(Photo by R K on Unsplash)

I never wanted to be a teacher, although I’ve always respected the profession more than I can say. My grandmother, father, and sister were all teachers, and perhaps it was seeing the job firsthand in my family that turned me away from it. Perhaps it’s just being aware of the skills I lack. I’m still certain that I’d never be able to inspire 30+ kids a day to learn anything that’s worth learning. I can barely handle myself most of the time, to be honest.

When the pandemic hit last year, I was torn. Our public school offered some online options for kids, but they were strongly pushing for a return to being in person, and wouldn’t allow students to switch between in-person and online learning. So I made the tough decision to hang up my hat when it came to my own work, and start homeschooling to protect my kids from the coronavirus.

I have three kids. That first year (2020–2021 school year), my oldest did remote learning through her school, and I taught the younger two. I was terribly scared that I had no idea what I was doing (confession: I didn’t). But if there’s one thing many writers are familiar with, it’s research. I researched the heck out of teaching. And I figured something else out, too. I can be a teacher, and I actually learned to love several…