Why I went into Education
Why I Went Into Education (Even Though School Was Never My Thing)
Honestly? I feel a little embarrassed when people ask me why I went into education. Because, truthfully, school was never my thing. I wasn’t the straight-A, girl-next-door type. I was more the “crying at the kitchen table because what the heck does ‘cosine’ mean?” kind of kid.
When I was a freshman, I was placed in the gifted and talented program, which landed me in Biology and Geometry. My biology teacher? Chef’s kiss. She made learning feel like an adventure—like she was the conductor of a train and we were all invited to hop on. She recognized that students learn differently. Our tests weren’t always multiple choice—we could choose how to demonstrate what we knew. I loved making PowerPoints, so I thrived. Traditional tests, though? My brain would just blank.
Geometry was… different. And not in the fun way. To be fair, my geometry teacher wasn’t a bad teacher—she was actually a favorite for some of my friends. But her style and I never clicked. She used a student-led approach with group work. As someone who already felt like an outsider, that kind of setup just added pressure. I wasn’t just trying to understand the math—I was trying to prove I belonged.
Spoiler alert: I didn’t feel like I did.
The further behind I got, the harder it became to even ask questions. Everyone told me, “Just ask! It’ll make more sense!” But I didn’t even know what to ask. Math felt like a different language, and I was already so lost I couldn’t even find the entry point. I was terrified to reveal I didn’t understand because that would’ve confirmed I was, in fact, different.
It got so bad that, during a parent-teacher conference, my geometry teacher asked if I even knew how to read.
That moment has stuck with me. And it’s shaped everything about how I work with others. I truly believe everyone has the capacity to learn—we just need the right environment and the right strategies. I still get excited to learn biology, because it was taught in a way that made me feel safe, smart, and seen. Math? Even now, it makes me hold my breath. I don’t trust myself with it, even when I get the answer right.
So if you’re a teacher, a parent, or anyone supporting a learner—please remember: education is not one-size-fits-all. Believing it is doesn’t just make learning harder for some—it can make it feel impossible.
