Seek Wise People

by Ann Larson Ericson

Teaching can be an isolating profession. Some days our only adult contact may be the teacher we pass in the hall as we’re rushing to the restroom between classes. I can still vividly recall my first year of teaching 30 years ago and how lonely I felt. I rarely interacted with other teachers at school. I went home after school to roommates who worked at banks and hospitals and law offices, and they had no concept of what my days were like. I frequently found myself overwhelmed and unsure how to approach challenging students or challenging lessons, and I didn’t know where to turn. It was hard, and I drove home many days in tears wondering if I had chosen the right profession. What I needed was a wise person in my life, but I didn’t know that I needed to seek that person out.