I have spent time as a classroom teacher (most of my career), as a reading specialist that pulled out small groups of students referred to as “bubble kids”, an ELL instructor, and a district administrator. I enjoyed some positions more than others, but the commonality among them all is that I have appreciated each and every one. I feel bad for people who dread Monday mornings, or live for quitting time on Fridays (don’t get me wrong – I love a weekend as much as the next gal). I can honestly tell people that I am excited to be in education today. It is a time of education reform, constant change, budget cuts, and arguments over education standards. But it also a time of innovation, creativity, learning with and from people all over the world, and information at our fingertips like never before.
Things I love about my profession (in no particular order):
Kids who make me feel like a rock star
Getting to make kids feel like rock stars
Getting hugs from smiling students
Sharing my excitement with others
Learning new things every single day
Collaborating with like-minded professionals across the hall, and across the globe
Getting to empower teachers, parents, and students
New challenges every day
A career that is always evolving
Laughing (anyone who has ever taught elementary school knows that you laugh often during a school day at what these little ones think, say, and/or do. Example: last week I had a first-grader elude that I resemble a Chinese man. What can you do but laugh at that?!)
Sharp new pencils and office supplies (okay, not really, but they are pretty great, right?)
