Getting Clarity in Hindsight--Part 1

When I was a child, my 3rd and 4th grades were in the same classroom with the same teacher.  One day, this teacher asked us to tell what we'd like to be when we grew up?  I thought for a minute and realized I liked writing on the blackboard, so I decided I'd like to be a teacher!

In the following years in the elementary school where I attended, I read stories about "problem children" who got helped by their teachers.  This part of teaching appealed to me--to help children with their problem behaviour--children who were worse than I was, at the time....

During high school, I wasn't always sure I wanted to be a teacher but I kept it at the back of my mind and didn't find a better option....  In college I first started working on my general classes for a Bachelor of Arts degree....

In the police project, some people heard me say I had problems as a teen because of my parents separation and problems earlier with my sister when I changed from the public school to the church school....  [I had some anger issues.]  And these people wondered why I wanted to work with children, and how competent I was...?

Have written earlier in this blog that my brother was born when I was 10 years old and I always made a point of getting along with him....  I also started babysitting my cousin's five children as they were born, and I enjoyed it.  In high school, I did volunteer work with kids for a few years; and I genuinely appreciated working with children.  [As far as I was aware, there were no problems in my interactions with all these young children and things proceeded smoothly.]

Continued in post below.