A smile on my face

Growing up as an only child I didn’t have many people to play with. As I got older I found myself to be around more people; more specifically, around little kids. I always knew I wanted to work with kids, no matter what career choice I had in mind. I have gone from the medical field of being a pediatrician to the social science field of social work. Growing up I was always told that I would make a good teacher but it was never a decided career choice until the spring semester of my senior year.

During my senior year I was able to participate in a vocational program in my county. I could choose from a number of different career choices, but my heart was set on education. I had applied for the South Haven Elementary School, hoping I would get in. My guidance counselor had bore me the bad news that it was already full, but gave me another option. I could participate in the SELF School which was just like South Haven except for it had special needs kids. I have worked with special needs children before and I enjoyed it, so I thought that I might like this to. I wasn’t expecting what happened next.

On the first day of class our teacher gave us a tour of the school and had explained to us the different activities that we would be doing for the next year. During the year I learned how to create interactive bulletin boards, file folders, and lesson plans. I never know how much work a teacher put into their job until I started school there. The most important thing I learned while attending that school was how to work with and teach special needs students.

During each semester we were assigned to a classroom which was called our worksite. We spent 5hrs a week in that classroom interacting with the students and doing whatever the teacher asked of us. During this time I was given the opportunity to observe the teacher and their teaching methods. Being in the worksite was my favorite time of school. I would sometimes show up early, or leave later just so I could spend more time with the kids. I loved being in the environment of laughter and smiles, especially when these were coming from students who have had a rough past or were just upset. I was assigned to both a preschool classroom, and a developmental kindergarten. In preschool kids learn through play and that is exactly what we did. I would sit with the children and play with the farm, house, or dress up. It was amazing to just listen to what their imaginations would come up with. During those few minutes, they would bring the child out of me and that’s what I started to like about teaching. While I was in the developmental kindergarten class, we would work on more academic things like learning the alphabet, counting numbers, and writing their name. My favorite memory of being in the class was when I taught a little boy how to write his name. He wasn’t very bright and one of the teachers told me that if he didn’t learn to write it by the end of the year that he would have to repeat kindergarten. So every day I would sit down with him and we would write it 3 or 4 times. Finally one day he did it all on his own. He had the biggest smile on his face, and so did I. This is when I realized that teaching would be my career. The feeling I got that day is a feeling I want to have every day.

I’ve heard from many different people that teaching is a gift. But that being able to teach special needs is a blessing. I have learned so much more from those students and teachers, then what they have learned from me. Participating in a special education program has opened my eyes something I never knew before. I plan to major in elementary education as a fall back career in case I can’t find a job in special education or it just becomes too stressful, but in the future I see myself as a developmental kindergarten teacher in a special needs school. I have seen the hard work that has been put in by these teachers and the amazing outcome from it. I want to be a part of that everyday experience and that is why I have chosen a minor in special education. I want to give back to the kids what they have given me.