My Teaching Journey

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a Vetenarian Technician. I even took classes at a local college my Junior and Senior year of High School that were apart of their Vetenarian Technician program. However, my plans for a career changed my Junior year of High School. My mom wanted me to get a job at our local pool as a Lifeguard. I hated the idea but didn't want to dissapoint her so I did it anyway. While working there the Summer before my Junior year of High School I fell in love with the idea of teaching swimming lessons. I pursued my Water Saftey Instructor Certification that following Spring to start teaching swimming lessons. While taking classes at the local college and at my high school, I also worked in a Preschool classroom after going to school. I hated the idea of this job too, as it was another suggestion from my mom. As it turns out my mom requesting I apply for these jobs lead to my passion for teaching. I ended up working at the after school progam Preschool room for two years and worked at the local pool for six summers. I even ended up Lifeguarding and teaching swimming lessons at my college. As much as a I hated the idea of these two jobs I am so grateful for my mom pushing me and me taking a chance!

For my undergraduate degree I attended the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). I originally only wanted Elementary Education but they had a Integrated Elementary and Special Education program and I fell in love with the school. While working towards my degree I had to complete multiple practicums and student teachings. UMD really sets their future teachers up for success! Starting the second semester of my Sophomore year I spent every Wednesday of the first half of the semester in a classroom for a full day and then the second half of the semester I spent Monday through Friday full days in the same classroom. I was fortunate enough to have practicums like this in a Kindergarten classroom, K-2nd grade Special Education classroom and a Fifth Grade classroom. For student teaching I was placed in a Second Grade classroom for sixteen weeks and two different Middle/High School Special Education classrooms for ten weeks. All of these experiences made me confident with entering the workforce after graduation!

I was fortunate enough to be hired after only two interviews and before I graduated with my degree. The first interview was with the district I did my student teaching with. I was very bummed when I didn't get the job but they were very positive and assured me I would find a job. It turns out they hired someone with over ten years of experience in the classroom. Something new teachers can't compete with! As hard as it was on the time it also reminded me that there are some things you just can't control and one thing is your years of experience when it comes to a job. Either you have it or you don't and thats okay. Everyone starts with no experience. I ended up being hired after interviewing at a second district and that is where I had the pleasure of teaching my first three years! I taught Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Special Education. Over the three years there my caseload more than doubled and I was given students with all different disability types instead of the typical one or two disability categories. The job was hard and stressful. I came home many nights in tears. My classroom did not have para support and I was unable to support all of my students needs by myself. It was mentally and physcially draining. It got to the point my last year there that I lost a year long relationship because the stress turned me into another person. Now I am not saying it was a bad district by any means! The special education team was amazing and did what they could to support me and I'll forever be grateful for that! I learned a lot about writing IEPs and dealing with behaviors in a effective manner. I use these skills every day at my new teaching position and wouldn't have had these skills if it were for my time at there.

A year ago I made the move to Arizona! I had originally applied for a Kindergarten position but unfornatuely that was filled by the time I applied. However, the principal reached out to me withing five minutes of submitting my application and asked if I would be interested in a position teaching Special Education Preschool. I'll be honest, the first words out of my mouth were "I am not certified in Minnesota in that so I probably can't sorry". I had never thought about teaching Preschool and was trying to get out of Special Education. However, the principal came back with that Arizona would give me the license based on the licenses I hold in Minnesota. I took two weeks to think about the position. The principal was very persistant and helpful with my decision and even connected me with two teachers from Minnesota who worked at the school previously. She ended up selling me on the job and let me tell you it was one of the biggest blessing of my life! The principal and assistant principal were amazing and so supportive of me, my teaching goals and actually showed they cared about me as a person. One big example that stands out is getting an email on a Saturday morning when my mom was visiting stating "Enjoy the nice weather and have a great time with your mom.". How thoughtful is that? This job made me love teaching again and made me create goals for myself to continue my education beyond my Masters Degrees. The Preschool Team as a whole is moving to a new school but I cannot wait to see what my fifth year of teaching brings!

~Marissa