Brontosaurologist

I've had an open love affair with the brontosaurus for 37 years. Who wouldn't love that long neck, gigantic body, slender tail? That dainty little head with the peanut brain. Teeth for nipping at leaves. Such an awesomely cool animal. I was in first grade when I declared that I wanted to be a paleontologist, although I actually wrote "pythonologist". I guess I had snakes and dinosaurs confused back then (my mom still has the little book)

I spent my elementary and high school years being showered with dino gifts. In an act of rebellion during high school I refused to wear any clothes you could buy in the store, so I had my mom make my clothes. Yes, I had a dinosaur skirt, shirt and underwear to complete the obsession.

In college I decided, wtf, I should totally study dinosaurs and after a bit of research decided to major in geology. It was in grad school for paleontology that I realized that my career as a dinosaur hunter did not help make the world a better place. Yes, learning about dinosaurs is awesome, entertaining, fascinating, but this energy and effort I was giving to, back then, bones and tracks, did not help me feel like I was contributing to the good of the earth. Why, even back then, did I feel that I had to have a meaningful job? Where did my passion for making the world better develop?

During a break of escape from the lab one afternoon I found myself out in the Museum in South Dakota, giving people make-shift tours. This is when I knew I had to take my passion for dinosaurs, science, the natural world and be an educator.

As I digest this leap of faith and wonder where my next stage will lead me I am reminded that the most important, vital job to our future and to making the world a better place is in education. I need to take a break from being a classroom teacher in a warped, broken system, but what else can I do in education? What will I do to leave my mark?