I did not intend to become a teacher. I really “fell into” the job on my way to other careers. I was going to be an accountant, psychiatrist, psychologist, child psychologist, school guidance counselor, maybe work for Head Start. How I ended up becoming a teacher through all of this is a wonder.
I will start out by stating I was not the best student in my earlier school years. I made my way with natural ability. I got A’s in the classes I loved- spelling, reading, English. The classes I had little interest in -history, social studies- I got C’s. Looking back, I don’t believe my teachers ever tried to instill a love of learning in me. I never felt a love for anything but reading. My mother took my sisters, brother and me to the library every Saturday when we were growing up. She was a reader, and she raised her children to be readers. However, I never took books home from school. I never studied for tests. Moreover, I did not know how to “study”. I simply paid attention in class and read what I was instructed to read.
I began high school in this same manner-with little effort on my part, excelling in the subjects that interested me, and just passing the others. Throughout my school years, I learned little of value in my science or history classes. I feel like the teachers just did what they had to do to cover the curriculum, but they never veered out of the basic rote teaching to create a spark of interest in me. As an example, after high school and college, I developed a huge interest in the American Civil war, but all I could tell you before that was that it was Lee versus Grant. Well, there is a whole lot more to the Civil War than that.
I took the “Business Curriculum” route through high school. Again, I breezed through classes I liked with little or no effort on my part. I never studied. I excelled in the business classes-the business “kits” they used to give us to do really sparked interest in me. I loved working the numbers, doing accounts payable and receivable, balancing everything out. I developed a love for math during my junior and senior years in high school. We had an excellent math teacher at my high school, Mr. Zoranski. Who would ever think math, algebra, trigonometry and calculus could be fun? Mr. Zoranski made it fun. Not coincidentally, students learned in his class. You wanted “Mr. Z” for math classes in my high school. This is how I ended up becoming an accounting major when I entered college. I loved working with numbers-but still had not learned how to study. I headed into college coasting, once again, on my aptitude and inclinations.
It was, therefore, a shock when I entered my first math class at Penn State-two hundred students, in an auditorium, 3 days a week and one smaller class with a teaching assistant once a week. In this drastically different environment, I faltered. The subject matter was more advanced, I didn’t know how to study and the class was too large. I was lost. Accounting 101 was just the same. It was not what I was used to. I felt like my high school teachers failed me in some way. I realized I needed to find a new major. I always liked helping people. (And, I must admit, I was always nosy, curious about other people’s lives.) Psychology was it! Listen to people’s problems; help them out with my advice. Sounded great! Unfortunately, I did not realize the psychology major required a lot of science classes. Yes, a subject I had little love for or interest in. So, once again, I looked for a change in my major. I always loved being around young children. I looked through the college listings of majors and found one called “Individual and Family Studies (IFS)”. You could pick an area under this major to base your studies around, so I chose Early Childhood. IFS was a “counseling” major, so I figured I would become an elementary school guidance counselor. It’s interesting to note that none of my college counselors tried to get me to stick to the previous majors. I said “I don’t like science”, or “the math is too hard” and they responded, “okay”. I wonder how things might be different if any one of them had ever asked if I knew how to study, offered me tutoring or suggested help in the previous majors. I was looking for what came easily to me, and I found it in IFS: classes that held my interest and the subject matter came naturally to me.
During my senior year of college, when looking into jobs as a school guidance counselor, I was told I should have some experience working with children. Before my final semester of college, I got a job working at a local preschool in Wilkes-Barre. Well, I discovered I loved working with the children there. I worked with Kindergarten students, and instantly had a rapport with these “little people’. After graduation, I went on interviews primarily for social service jobs. While waiting, I received a phone call from the director at the preschool. She asked if I would consider working for them as a substitute until I got a full-time job. I did this for the remainder of the school year, taking over a position that was left vacant. I enjoyed it, but continued looking elsewhere for employment. At the beginning of the next school year, I was asked by the owners of the school if I would take a position at their Kingston school as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher. They were fairly confident I could get certified to teach privately based on my existing degree. I am currently certified to teach in a private school setting from preschool through Kindergarten. I accepted the job, never imagining I would still be there years later.
This brings me to why I am here. I have a need to instill a love of learning in the young minds I teach. Nothing makes me more proud or happy than to see very young children excited about what they are doing and learning. I think it’s because I never felt it myself. Pre-Kindergarten is very important in our society. I’ve seen it change and become more and more necessary as the years go by. I love the curriculum in my classroom. I teach “The Letter People” program with my students. It truly is amazing how the children and their parents respond to this program. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s creative and leaves room for me to add whatever I deem necessary to encourage discussion, discovery and learning. I’ve even discovered a love for science with my Pre-K students! It’s fun to discover and experiment! The smiles, the joy, the fascination! It does my heart good. I am back in school now to get the credits I need to become a Pennsylvania State certified teacher in Early Childhood Education. Not only do I believe this will help my students, I also believe it will help me towards perfecting my skills as a teacher. Incidentally, I have finally taught myself how to study!
While my job is not perfect, I have found that I truly love my career. I never intended to end up where I am, but I am glad I found my way here.
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