Of Alice in Educationland

Recently I was asked the following question: if there was a movie about your life, what would the name be?

I didn't even have to think for too long about it! I simply blurted out the name: "Alice in Educationland".

Why did I choose this name? Well, my name is Alice. And I live in the land of Education. 

But it is not just the coincidence of having the same name as the heroin from Lewis Carroll's great masterpiece; it is much more than just the name. There is a whole story behind my choice. After all, a movie goes way beyond its name, right?

So, here are the reasons I chose this name for my movie:

First of all, the name. 

Ok, I grant it, as a child, I only got interested in the story of Alice in Wonderland because of the name. By the way, I have to confess that I do feel a bit narcissistic about my name, but I can't help it, I love my name (thanks, Mom!). 

So my name is Alice, just like in the story of the girl in Wonderland. But it is not just about the name we share. We actually have so much in common: she is "curioser and curioser"; at times she is fearless, at other times she feels lost and confused; she is feisty! So much of myself I can see in her.

Second reason: One day she saw a Great White Rabbit and decided to pursue him. Mind you, the Rabbit was holding a watch and in a hurry. Isn't this a great metaphor for our pursuit of lost time, when we think about what we are doing in life and decide to rush after everything we haven't got yet.

And BAM, down the hole she goes. 

It happened exactly like this with me: one day in New York I decided to pursue my Great White Rabbit, my lost time, and came back to Brazil. And during my sabbatical, my then-boyfriend-today-husband told me: why don't you teach English while you try to figure out what to do with your life?

How would I know back then, that I was falling down the most important hole in my life? I took his advice, not so happily at first, and started falling down what seemed like an eternity into the job that would define me.

But then, she found Wonderland after all. And for Alice, it was quite a bumpy ride: she cried, she laughed, she got lost, she thought herself mad. 

Wouldn't you agree that this is pretty much the description of any teacher's professional life? 

Just like Alice, I, Alice feel confused, I cry, I laugh, I have great times and bad times. I get lost; I definitely think myself mad! What helps me along the way? The same that helped Alice in the story:

Friends. Colleagues. Peers. People I meet along the way. I had my share of Mad Hatters, White Rabbits, Catterpillars, Cheshire Cats, even some evil Queens of Heart. 
However, by sharing their experiences with me, they helped me shape up the teacher I am today, for better or for worse.

Today, I am still not sure if I have lived a crazy dream over the last 7 years, or if my life before this adventure had been a dream, and I finally woke up when I "fell into that hole". 

All I know is that "we are all mad here" in Educationland, and "if you don't know where you want to go, then it doesn't matter which path you take".