At the start of my career as a professional astronomer, I told myself that I could always become a highschool teacher if I would fail in science. In the crazy busy schedule of the last months, this had slipped my mind somewhat. Also the prospect of working with teenagers was not the most appealing.
This week I was reminded how much fun I have in working with kids of any age. First I was talking at the local elementary school. Explaining to kids age 8 to 12 what dark matter is in less than 5 minutes is quite a challenge. Nevertheless, I got great positive feedback from my own kids, and I've not felt that energized in a long time!
Next day I was asked to come talk to a high-school student, who happened to be visiting a nearby planetarium with her school for a day. She was so excited about science in general and astronomy in particular, it was really good fun.
So I started to think again. Maybe teaching is the way to go anyway. Unfortunately, there are no highschools that teach astronomy. Physics and math would be an option though. I've asked around, and one math teacher I know offered me the opportunity to come and teach in his place for an hour or so.
I might just take him up on that. After all, teenagers can hardly be much worse than astronomers with oversized ego's... ;-)
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