Despite not liking school very much as a kid, in an uncharacteristic fit of idealism I felt inspired by the dumbness of the world to pursue a certificate in teaching in order to help reduce the world of just a tiny bit of the ignorance that I felt was infecting it.  After completing a bunch of college classes and a couple of rounds of student teaching, I ended earning a California Multiple Subject Teaching Credential in 2007. Then the economy collapsed, teachers were being laid off left and right, schools were closing, and I ended up spending years as a substitute teacher. This gave me the opportunity to teach in multiple districts of varying socioeconomic demographics, subbing in classes of every grade level from kindergarten through high school . . . sometimes even in the schools I attended as a student! I’ve had as many as 60 (or possibly more) kids in a class, and as few as one (awkward!!!). Eventually I somehow ended up as a full time middle school teacher for a few years. And so far I have survived to tell the tale. 🙂