Moving on and moving up
Let me yield my space with this article from Rem (not her real name), who graduated with an education degree this year.
I’ll begin by getting straight to the point: I took the Licensure Examination for Teachers, a.k.a. LET, and I didn’t make it.
I guess fortune didn’t smile on me the day I took the one exam that mattered above all the rest in my four-year journey to become a full-fledged teacher. She did smile on my friends and many other takers, though, and I’m happy for them now that they get to affix the initials “LPT” to their names – which, by the way, stands for Licensed Professional Teacher. Maybe you haven’t heard of that term yet, but I think it’s great that teachers get a similar kind of recognition and prestige accorded to doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other titled professionals. They wouldn’t be who they are without teachers to show them the way, after all.
I accept that I didn’t make it, but at the same time I find myself still wishing that I did. Before we graduated, we were given the chance to work as student teachers. The work wasn’t easy, but my friends and I enjoyed ourselves, and were touched by how the kids under our care looked up to us. There’s no feeling like feeling responsible, and I’m saying that’s a good thing! We young people don’t listen to Frank Sinatra as much as our grandparents did, but if you were in my shoes you’d get an idea of what he meant when he sang “for once in my life I’ve got someone who needs me.”
More than just failing personally, it feels bad to let others down, too – which makes failing the LET an even harder pill to swallow.
But now that I’ve made it through this moment of truth, I’m thankful to the Lord for giving me the chance to learn more about myself, particularly my limitations. Even so, I know that my failures and shortcomings don’t define me, and the best that I can do in these circumstances is to pick myself up and move on with my life. Right now, I’m not sure whether or not I should give the LET another try. Maybe I might, maybe I won’t. I still don’t have the appetite for it, but perhaps that’s a good thing too, since I’m considering other career options to pursue other than being a teacher.
It’s still to early to say for sure, but in the meantime I’ll keep hoping.