My Final Lesson

It was only January and we were already learning about figures like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruby Bridges, Malcolm X. For their end-of-unit project, my 7th grade U.S. history students had to make a poster about a civil rights leader of their choice. It seemed like a typical project; but unbeknownst to my students, this would be my final lesson with them.

My Road to Teaching

After graduating from American University in Washington, DC, I planned to become an agricultural economist so I could develop healthier and more sustainable food distribution networks. But after interning for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, I started doubting there was much a research institution could do to change a multi-billion dollar industry, so I decided to pivot.

I enrolled in Hamline University’s Masters of Teaching program (at the time the only way to get a teaching license in Minnesota was through an accredited university program). I thought that if I had a full year with the same group of students, I would finally make a lasting impact and help them develop into conscientious adults who would find their own ways to make the world a little better than they found it.

Eight years later, I had taught hundreds of students, but still doubted the effect of my influence. A few students showed heartfelt appreciation and significant academic growth each year, but most students struggled with academic apathy and made little progress in basic reading and writing skills. I went into teaching thinking I could at least disrupt America’s dysfunctional education system within my own classroom, but year after year I became increasingly convinced that America’s schools have too much ossified inertia to be changed from the inside. So now I am pivoting once again.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

When my husband mentioned several months ago that he’d likely be transferred to Japan for several years, he was surprised by my enthusiastic support. I didn’t know what I would do for three years, but I took this opportunity as a divine sign I could not refuse. As the months passed, every challenge that stood in the way of moving to Japan fell away.

• I would have to quit my job - I was becoming disillusioned with teaching and wanted a new career anyway.
• Three years is a long time. What would I do? - I found some graduate school programs near Osaka, gave myself a crash course before taking the GMAT, applied to Kyoto University’s International MBA program, and somehow got accepted./li>
• Money would be tight on one income - My husband’s company provided a very generous compensation package.
• I didn’t know any Japanese - I started using my husband’s old Japanese textbooks and signed up for language classes at Kyoto University.

Now, with less than a month before I begin my next pivot in Japan, I can only hope that my former students will remember the lessons I tried to teach them.