Let me explain some whys and wherefores, because I really don't think some people quite "get it;" first of all, my career satisfies me for many reasons, despite the fact that it frequently drives me as insane as it would any other person. Chief among the reasons, is just being a divorced dad. My daughters were my LIFE, for a long time, and they were taken from me. Teaching is compensatory; if it wasn't for what I do, frankly, I'd probably have been found hanging from the end of a rope a long time ago. The fact that it pays the bills (such as it does,) is just icing on the cake. Why do I do it the way I do it? Precisely because the paperwork, and the regulation, and everything else that's involved with being a "real" teacher, (despite the fact that I feel I really am, I'm just in a different classroom every day,) is positively stifling. I work frequently because the regular classroom teacher is stuck in a meeting. Not doing what they're really there for, frequently (best case,) not doing what really makes them burn. Puts the fire in them.

As for ESL, I have always loved languages. Working in Dearborn, working in Korea, working anywhere, being anywhere where languages besides English are being spoken is like music to me. It bends my ear, yes, in a way no car ever has, and I've heard cars that sent shivers down my spine with their exhaust notes. That's it, in a nutshell. I'm a gun-for-hire because it works for me. I imagine there's probably certified teachers who do what I do precisely to be so liberated, crazy as that sounds. Beyond that, y'know what? I'm pretty fu*kin' happy right now. Which is not to say that life is not work, believe me, it is. but I don't feel like I'm sinking unless someone is trying to push me down. Why is it that sometimes the hardest thing to do is simply be yourself?