Old Enough to Teach

By Erin Reed

My favorite teacher was my high school English teacher. She was as hip and cool as she could be for an “old person.” It was fun just being in her classroom. Quirky and eccentric, she had an extensive collection of “Got Milk” and “Absolut Vodka” ads that was sure to raise eyebrows. We completed some of the most interesting projects in her class, including the time she had us explain the classic novel Siddhartha by finding similar themes in popular music. She was the one teacher I could relate to, but I wonder if her colleagues saw her as young and inexperienced. This was a concept I could never have understood until I became a teacher this winter, five years after...