I’ve been asked why I want to become a teacher probably 734 times in the last two years. I love the question, really I do, but I never feel like I have the right answer. And it always seems to change.

• “I can’t not work with kids. They are inspiring, amazing, and goofy. Who wouldn’t want to spend their day in a classroom?”
• “I love math, and kids are awesome. Math + awesome kids = math teacher.”
• “Education is a critical social issue and I want to be a part of the group of people making a difference.”
• “Who wouldn’t want a career with the salary, prestige, and social opportunity teaching provides”… oh wait…. woops… they’re still working on that on.

Seriously though. The question of why am I studying to be an educator feels, at times, of dire importance. I figured out yet another answer last week. I was sitting through a forum session in my MfA orientation, and the two panelists were my future teacher advisors.

Halfway through the session, while answering the question, “What should we do to maximize our experience in our masters programs,” one of them paused, scrunched up his face, and in the most wonderful New York accent said:

Look. You do what you want. You read what they give you, you watch the teachers they tell you too. Whateva. Thats not the point. The point is you have a year to learn how to be the best learner you can be. Because those are the best teachers, in my opinion. The ones who learn. Who listen to their students and know where they’re at. You’ve got to take control of your learning and figure out what is going to make you a better student first. That’s whats going to make you a good teacher.

Nothing new. Nothing too profound… I mean, I’ve heard the phrase teacher as learner before. The social constructivists love it: you are the “lead learner” in your classroom. I buy it… but something about what Derrell said stuck with me the rest of the day.

I want to be a teacher because I love being a student. I love learning. I love finding new ways to teach and discovering new things to teach. I love working with people who can show me something new. I love the classroom. And geek-ely I love math. It somehow made sense. So I have, now, another answer to the oft asked-question. I want to be a teacher because I love to learn.

And this is a good thing, as this week I begin a year long masters program here in NYC. This is going to be an incredibly intense year of learning and teaching, and I am so excited to be blogging along the way.