I love teaching! As early as 4 yrs old, I had my dolls and stuffies lined up to listen to me. Kindergarten came and I realized that not everyone had been blessed with the same skills that I had. My teachers nurtured my gift and invited me to help others. That just never got old. What’s the saying: Do a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life? My father always bragged that I had the “smartest dolls in the world”!

So, every teacher lives for those, what I call, “Ah-ha” moments. But once in awhile something really magical happens: When you teach in an elementary school you get to see the kids grow up. M****** had been a handful in his early years- often running around the school like his tail was on fire. Fast forward to this year and he is in fourth grade and guess who is on my roster! I was ready for the behavior issues, but with all of our work this year, he came up two grade levels in Reading!

I work in a very poor inner city school. We have shoes and coats donated, we give out food bags for weekends and holidays, etc. I spend a lot of my money buying rewards for the deserving ones. Short term goals, I feel, seem to matter more to my students and I will do what it takes to make sure that they have the tools and skills they need to succeed!