Suddenly, I want to talk about my time as a teacher

Thank you for making it this far. My name is Maru.

Actually, I used to be an elementary school teacher.
I started dreaming about standing at the podium in between nighttime feedings, which made me want to talk about my time as a teacher, so I'd like to introduce myself.

I was in the teaching profession before COVID, so I imagine the environment is quite different now, but I hope you'll bear with me.

Profile from my time as a teacher

Homeroom experience: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th grades
Club activities coached: Track and field, road racing, mini-basketball
Teaching licenses: Elementary, Junior High, High School (Class 1)
Specialized subject: English
School duties: English department head, environmental education, etc.

I was assigned to a school district with many single-parent households and low-income families, in a region where elementary schools also conduct club activities.
Every day was a constant drain on my physical and mental strength.

But no matter how tired I was, seeing the children's faces the next morning would give me the energy to get through the day, and I remember being excited every day thinking, 'What kind of lesson should I do next?'

I was fortunate enough to enjoy being a homeroom teacher for lower, middle, and upper grades, and I especially found the first graders to be incredibly adorable.

Until then, I thought I wasn't good with lower-grade students who had difficulty verbalizing their feelings and that I was better suited for upper-grade students, but that prejudice was completely blown away.

My specialized subject was English.
Since I became a teacher around the time elementary school English was being fully introduced in the curriculum guidelines, I was very enthusiastic about mastering my expertise!

As a homeroom teacher, I practiced calligraphy with a student who had learning disabilities and struggled with reading and writing, because I wanted them to know the joy of writing characters.

During the final mini-basketball club activity, I participated in a mini-game with the 6th graders and was told, 'Teacher, you're being a sore loser!'

I was moved by the cuteness of the first graders when I became a homeroom teacher for them for the first time.

I talked about trivial things with my students, like TV dramas and anime.

The memories from when I was a teacher are endless.

Even when I had to stay past midnight to create lesson plans and write papers,

Even when I was completely ignored every day during home visits for chronically absent students,

Even when my monthly overtime exceeded 200 hours due to weekend club activities and local events,

I truly loved the job of being a teacher.

I resigned when I got married, left my hometown, and changed jobs because I wanted to dive into a new world for a little while.

I can't move like I used to back then, so when I see teachers greeting children at the school gate or leading students on field trips, it looks dazzling to me.

The progression for patients with acetabular dysplasia usually leads to osteoarthritis of the hip, making it impossible to walk.

So, I will likely need surgery to cut the bone or insert an artificial joint in the future, but

perhaps there is a future where I can return to teaching without surgery, so I was able to think that I should do my best with rehabilitation.