Teaching seemed like the best way to go. You have a good job, you get school breaks automatically, vacations time without having to ask for it off, and summers off. Plus the kids were supposed to be the most important thing.
I loved every single one of my teachers growing up. They were all so amazing role models. Except for one. 4th grade. I swear she must have hit her breaking point that year, cuz everyone told my parents I got a good one. But they were wrong.
Now me being diagnosed with ADD, and it being so new that no one knew what it was, or how to handle it, I was technically the difficult kid. IEPS weren’t around back than, and kids who were classified with special needs, went into a special class. My parents didn’t want to put me in that, thank God, and didn’t care. I was given a new medication called Ritalin and it was supposed to help with my attention span. More like put me into a trance the entire day.
So my teacher didn’t like having to explain everything more than once to me, and yelled at me most days and humiliated me and some of the other kids in my class when they couldn’t understand her lessons.
As the year progressed, she got worse. She finally hit her breaking point with me and another kid in my class and while the other kids were at recess she kept us back and grabbed our faces and squeezed our cheeks in word. Hurt like hell.
That was the day I went home and told my parents what she was really like. I don’t really remember much for the rest of the year, but In the end my parents and some others got together and got her removed from the district.
After that it was back to amazing teachers. One in particular, my 5th grade and 6th grade English teacher. She followed us up when we went into middle school. I want to quick thank her ( she knows who she is) for being the perfect role model to me, and I am grateful because of her, and it was cuz of her I wanted to be a teacher.
The middle school we all went to, was the newest one in the district and it was so beautiful. Ended up being a bullies paradise, which is why I left there and went to another my 8th grade year.
Flashing forward. It was only a week after I quit Sport Chalet that I saw that my old school district was hiring. I was excited to interview because I knew it would be the perfect place to work. Having gone through Kinder-8th grade in its halls and come back to do my Elementary Eduction Blocks there, I couldn’t wait to be back.
I applied for what looked like a Manager position for one of the sites. I had been a basic staff member at the charter place and after 4 years practically became a manager, I knew I could do it. They called it “Coordinator”
Went in for my interview and they told me they were promoting within for the position and I was interviewing for what they called “Lead.” A teacher position in their Early Learning Center program. Ages infant -5 at the time . (2008)
It would mean a pay cut. I Left sport chalet at 14.00 am hour, and was going down to 10.00. Ouch. But I wanted the job, and I would work my way up. I got the job, and was assigned a 3-4’s room at one of the sites. I loved every minute of it. I had a great assistant and a great team mate Lead who taught the 4-5’s room. Sure there were some kids who were crazy, but I loved them all the same. I kept them safe as taught them.
As far as what the program is, it’s ALL DAY DAY CARE , with PRESCHOOL material. Which is why a teaching certificate wasn’t required. It was day care. Later to be called Enrichment.
I was in a great place, with great people, who became my friends. What could go wrong?
Until part three.
The TAWL Mom 