https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation These are some of my reflections on the ideas of profession/professionalism and vocation. en-us 2017-01-24 17:42:12 UTC 2026-02-05 04:58:04 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Brightnessdown.png laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149110811 2017-01-24 18:05:37 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149110811 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149125512 "Are you looking for purpose in life? For a purpose big enough to absorb every ounce of your attention, deep enough to plumb every mystery of your passions, lasting enough to inspire you to your last breath?" --Os Guinness, The Call

I was no stranger to the language of calling. When I was in college, I thought that I wanted to work in a church, and that is truly a place where you need to feel called, and I realized that I just wasn't. ]]> 2017-01-24 18:42:02 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149125512 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149129972 When I realized that I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, I went to Peru for a semester. I ended up living and volunteering in a church. I spent much of my time teaching English classes (which I was not professionally equipped to teach) and studying Spanish. I probably taught some grammar points wrong, but I fell in love with language in a very new way. This was the beginning of my feeling called.]]> 2017-01-24 18:52:39 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149129972 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149132857 I needed to figure out how to be an effective teacher. Speaking English is not enough to be a good English teacher. I got my M.A. in Linguistics with an emphasis in TESOL. This allowed me to teach at community colleges and universities, but it didn't give me the qualifications to teach in the K12 system.]]> 2017-01-24 18:58:54 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149132857 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149137732 Sometimes calling isn't enough to sustain you. Teaching as an adjunct was draining and hard on my soul. I needed to find a different professional outlet. I knew that I would need to go back to school in some capacity, and I kept thinking about other careers, but nothing seemed to "feel right". I kept thinking of all the positive aspects of adjuncting, and I really couldn't envision myself doing work out of the classroom. I know that I am not suited to working alone. I enjoy people too much. Moving towards my teaching credential felt like the right thing to do-- It balanced the call of education with the stability that part-time teaching lacks.]]> 2017-01-24 19:09:06 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149137732 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149142364 Teaching in the college/university system and the K12 system is very, very different. It feels a little bit like starting over or giving up to switch systems. I have been teaching for six years, and I have hit my stride: I understand the expectations and student population, but I also understand that I will probably never have a full-time job where I really feel like I can invest both personally and professionally. I'm not used to being the "new kid", and it makes me feel a bit anxious to not know so much of what I am walking into. I just need to trust that I am making the right move.]]> 2017-01-24 19:20:11 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149142364 laurasuzanne https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149390821 When I've worked as a teacher, I tend to have a lot more patience for the chaos around me. I worked at a restaurant, and I quit soon after one of the manager grabbed my wrist. I've also worked at a coffee shop and in an office as jobs to bide my time while I prepare for or look for that job that suits my true calling. Working in these jobs outside of education, every day I would daydream about quitting and never needing to come back. 
It's not that teaching is any easier, in fact it's quite a bit more difficult, but that doesn't seem to matter. I've taught at a farm where I tutored the owner's wife so that they would fund the program for their employees. I have taught overseas where I was given no orientation and handed a roster of names in a language that I couldn't yet read. I have dealt with cultural differences in my classroom and sometimes even culture classes between students, but for some inexplicable reason, it is all worth it ten times over.]]> 2017-01-25 17:11:19 UTC https://padlet.com/laurasuzanne/profession_vocation/wish/149390821