Nevertheless, I am very eager and ecstatic to walk into a public school and clock in for the very first time. I'm excited to walk into a bare classroom and fill it with vibrant colors, educational materials and resources, and everything we'll need for the year to make our classroom warm, inviting, and safe. If that's not enough I'm excited to meet the teachers, staff, and students who will fill the hallways each day. I sound like this is my first year teaching... and it sort of kind of is. This will be my first year teaching at a public school!!
I graduated two years ago from Armstrong Atlantic State University with my BSED in Early Childhood Education (K-5). Since then, I've worked as a preschool teacher teaching Pre-K at a local daycare. I was very appreciative to find a job in my field as soon as I graduated in May of 2011. I had worked at that daycare while I was studying at Armstrong, and was familiar with the wonderful staff there and the parents of such loving children. There, I learned a great deal. I experienced first hand everything I was learning about in all of my classes. I experienced how to communicate with parents, how to deal with behavior issues, how to effectively manage a classroom, how to co-teach, and anything else you can think of when it comes to working in childcare. Though I loved working there, the pay for a first year preschool teacher isn't the most ideal. I struggled a lot financially last year, and I knew that my ultimate goal was to teach in the public school, where I would have a greater impact on students, make a little bit of a better salary, and receive much better benefits. Working at that preschool is something I will cherish forever, because though I went through a great deal financially, I stilled reaped an abundance of ideas, support, and first hand experience that prepared me for teaching in a public elementary school.
I live for teaching. I've always wanted to be a teacher. When I was a little girl, I remember playing school with my little brother and having him play the role of my student. Coming from an economically disadvantaged family, we couldn't afford the blackboards and other toys needed to play school, so of course I would use what we had available to us. I would sit my little brother in his chair, give him paper, pencils and markers and he would have to listen to me as I would "teach" him a variety of things. I would take chalk that my mom would buy from the dollar store and use the front door as my chalk board! My eraser was a wet and dry napkin and my textbooks would be old books that I would find lying around the house. Hmm... the memories.
I've always known that I wanted to help other children succeed. My love for children and teaching is incomparable. I just always knew that it would be a dream come true if one day I could have my own REAL classroom with REAL students, and a REAL chalkboard haha. Now that I'm one step closer in that direction, I can't help but feel nervous, excited, worried, and overjoyed. I feel blessed that my dream is that much closer to becoming a reality. I have come from the very bottom. I was the first in my family to graduate with a college degree, and still, I don't want to stop here. I want to go so much further. Not just for me, but for my family and for those economically disadvantaged children who sometimes fall through the cracks and can never make their dreams possible because of limited resources in our urban communities. I want to inspire, lead, and I want to help produce positive and productive citizens who will grow up and better the world we live in. I want to be a part of the change I want to see in the world... That is why I teach.
So for now, I will continue waiting by my phone until I get that phone call that will be the beginning of many years of fulfillment and joy.
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