Mods: if this is not the right subreddit for this question, please let me know. But I am honestly not sure where else to ask.

Once upon a time, I tried teaching. Middle school science, to be exact. I got my M.Ed. I did well in my classes, practicums, and internships. I got certified.

Well, it did not go well in practice. This was due to various reasons. I have found proof that I was constructively dismissed from my first job- the principal and team leader made my life impossible by nitpicking on everything (the way I walked, the way I intonated responses, the way I asked questions on tests, etc.), not letting me go on time to the teacher induction program at another school, not being supportive of anything, only noticing the bad, deliberately creating difficult situations, etc.

But this is not what my specific question right now is.

My mentor teacher in that school told me that she could tell that “I was the kind of student who got straight A’s without trying; and if I was risking a B in a class, I would study very hard until I brought my grades back up to an A” (she was right about that). She then asked if I thought that was a good thing. I said yes. She said “not at this job”.

But she did not explain why.

Is it teaching in general? Teaching middle school specifically? The kind of school it was- a mainstream neighborhood public school where I taught mainstream students in a mainstream classroom? The specific staff in that specific school? Perhaps the district or neighborhood?

At the third school I taught, it was a private school for students that a mainstream neighborhood public school was not the optimal match for them. And they decided to admit students that the school was not supposed to admit. When I resigned after a student threw large seashells at my head and chest, the administration agreed that my personality and the kind of students the school served were not a good match- BUT that mainstream kids in a mainstream classroom at a mainstream school would be fine, at least in theory. Which adds to my confusion.

I left teaching and am now a librarian at a public library. It is a much better match for me. I get to use all my knowledge, skills, and talents. I live in a different city now that is a better match for me as well. I have found the right person, am closer to family, have made better friends, and have had wonderful memories and had wonderful opportunities had I not had otherwise. But I still wonder why I was not the best person for that job, even though as the principal said “I knew the material well”.

Opinions?