The Story

Vivid memories of my mother telling me that she worked to get the house we grew up in so that we could go to the better schools in town will never fade. Nor will the memories of her saying how she thinks the school system is broken and that it should go a certain way. Mother knows best and now I share the same ideas. The only exception is I want to turn those ideas into a reality.

I’ve seen so many teachers want to give up the career and pursue things that are less stressful. Yet, I’ve seen those same teachers wipe away the tears, put on a smile, and do phenomenal work for their students. Teacher burn-out is real.

I have to admit I have been that teacher. The longer I stay in the classroom, the longer I ask “am I good enough for this?”

Those invasive thoughts that only seemed to hurt me regardless of whether or not I was in the classroom were getting harder to shake. Instead of succumbing to that pain, I decided to practice what I preached and do my own “Social Emotional Learning.” I began yoga, meditation, drinking tea, and loving myself. Mindfulness practices saved me from running away from what I was born to do; helping people learn and grow. Children deserve an environment that has a culture of “loving and learning”. I want to teach more than what a test could ever prove a child has learned. Instead of crying about it, this is my way of changing my situation to something more positive. As I like to have my kids say “when you know better, you do better.”

I know better, I want to do better for others. I want to teach! One day I will leave the classroom with the goal of opening a bigger better classroom. I want to own a school so I can do things my way. I was called to teach others, I will not squander this gift!

TLDR:

One day a teacher named Terra realized that she loved what she was doing, she did it well, yet she was made to do so much greater.  She wanted to create a different way to do school that strayed from the politics of the district model and was truly student centered.  The problem was she was broke (as many teachers are) and she couldn’t afford to buy her own school.  She also realized she didn’t have experience running a business so here we are! Terra is teaching herself to fish so that she can continue to spread her love of learning and her gift of education to others. She is learning a marketable skill that will help her dreams become a realiTEA.

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If you find that you are less interested in lessons and tea, but you are more interested in helping a teacher to open her own school and give support to her fellow teachers then please feel free to donate.