I had a thought the last two days, but it has been an out growth of others I've had for awhile.

Quick backstory, I studied Geology in college after a brief general-education associates degree with an interest in creative writing. I was told writing wasn't practical, so focused on a science I was interested in. Cut to 6 years later, I haven't had many opportunities for work in that career and the few I have had require living remotely far from civilization. My interest in the field waned and my interests in other things grew. I have recently switched my pursuits toward IT because it is practical and always in demand.

All that out of the way, I have at multiple times during the interim thought about teaching. I even spent a winter obtaining a certificate to teach English online, which I never used because something felt off about teaching Chinese students English when there's such poor teaching going on at home. That and the time difference was too much.

I still have looked in the the lowest cost and quickest path toward being certified to teach here in Colorado, but what ultimately stopped me is the culture of academia. I don't think I would even be permitted to get through the process of the courses and even if I did, I highly doubt I would pass a screening process to become a teacher at any institution where I would want to teach. So here we have at least an example in myself of someone with an interest in education and a passion for seeing the intellectual growth of young children who is pushed out from the process. I may have gatekept myself, but I don't think I am wrong in my assessment of the current state of education. It makes me wonder how many other people are out there who have felt similarly, even those with requirements to teach already met? It's a shame.