The factor that greatly influenced me to become a teacher was my youngest brother.  When my brother Matthew was born I loved every minute of teaching him new things.  I was six years old when he was born and I loved helping my mother with his wants and needs.  I told my mother that year I was going to be a teacher when I grew up.  It was the early 1970s and my mother told me I should not be a teacher because there were too many teachers in the profession.  From that time until high school, I thought about other careers such as a judge, social worker, interior designer, etc.  In high school I became interested in other ways to work with children and looked into Speech Pathology.  In this occupation I could still work with children and have a better opportunity to get a job.  I thoroughly researched Speech Pathology and believed this profession was exactly what I wanted.  During college breaks I would substitute teach at the county special education school called Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).  This is where I had my first opportunity to work with students with disabilities. At the end of my freshman year of college I began working at Camp Haccamo in Penfield, NY over the next four summers.  Camp Haccamo is specifically for 5-35 year old disabled individuals to have a summer camp experience.  After that summer I wanted to change my major to Special Education, but my mother said I would be more employable as a Speech Pathologist and could still work with Special Education children.  I continued my major in Speech Pathology and Audiology.  My mother was correct; I was quickly hired as a Speech Pathologist in two Severe Speech, Language, Hearing Impaired Classrooms.  It was during that year that I decided to return to school and complete my Master’s Degree in Special and Elementary Education.  I wanted to work as a classroom teacher.  I believed I could make the greatest difference to the child as the classroom teacher.  That summer I started my Master’s Degree in Special and Elementary Education while working full time.  I can say that moment was a significant turning point in my career.  I could not be happier than when I am teaching my preschool special needs students. 

My greatest accomplishments would be continuing to teach special education for nineteen years and still taking pleasure in my job.  I started my teaching career as a Speech Language Pathologist but soon realized I could better influence the students I worked with if I was with them all day, not just 30 minutes twice a week.  Even with all my moves to several states throughout my teaching career, I have always worked and eventually found my teaching niche of educating the younger special education population.  My background in speech pathology is an advantage with my job.  Many, many, many special needs students have delayed to no language skills.  They require a language based program that meets their needs in all areas, but especially the language area.   Instead of being burnt out from teaching the youngest population of special education students I am happy to go to work everyday.  When a new child starts in my classroom and does not communicate verbally, then gradually begins to say sounds, words, phrases, and sentences, I find joy in that child’s growth and accomplishments.  It is the most uplifting and emotional moment when a child from whom I have never heard verbally requests an item.  Most parents assume that their child will be able to request, command, and comment on their environment, but when that does not happen it is frustrating for both the parents and child.  I love being part of the process of a child learning a new skill that was never part of their repertoire. Numerous children learn skills by incidental exposure to new learning but the students placed in my classroom need specific, detailed individualized instruction to learn many new skills.  I am one of the lucky ones to have a profession through which I can influence the learning of so many young children.  That is my greatest accomplishment.

I am proud to be the Teacher of the Year at Simpsonville Elementary School for the 2011-2012 school year!