Interview

Every few posts I will try to do an interview with someone from the education field. Today, I am interviewing myself.

1. What is your official position now?

A. As of now I am officially working as a special education teacher at Bensalem High School.

2. What have been your past teaching positions?

A. I have worked as a Special Education Instructional Assistant at Liberty High School in Maryland. At the same high school, I worked as a Special Education Resource Teacher for two years. I then worked as a Special Education Teacher in the Carroll County Behavioral Emotional Support Team in the basement of Westminster High School. Last year, I got this job at Bensalem High School.

3. Can you say a little bit about your education?

A. I went to Liberty High School in Maryland (I later worked there). I graduated from there with a few college credits from AP classes and dual enrollment at the local community college. I studied at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD. I studied abroad in Florence, Italy and London, England. I also worked as a Resident Assistant and was able to graduate a year early. I then attended McDaniel college and was able to graduate with a Master's degree in Special Education.

4. Why did you get into teaching?

A. After I graduated from college a year early, I was going to use that extra year as a gap year to travel and figure out what I wanted to do. I worked at my alma-mater as an instructional assistant. I was then offered a job by the high school special education supervisor as a teacher. I really liked it, so I stuck with it and now its my career.

5. What inspires/ motivates you to work hard?

A. Every time one of my students does really well and I see an improvement on something we have been working really hard on together. It really makes me so happy and I constantly chase that feeling of helping my students.

6. How do you improve as a teacher?

A. I constantly try to improve as a teacher. Some things I do to get things to help me are subscribing to different educational blogs and education podcasts. I also try to read books on teaching and I am enrolling to get another masters in education.

7. What is one thing that the education system really needs to change

A. The education system really needs to change the achievement gap and it really starts with school funding. By giving all schools equal money federally, then schools would be able to close the achievement gap.

8. If your students were only able to learn one thing from you at the end of the year, what would it be?

A. It would be improvement. If I could have my students learn on thing it would be that they should constantly be working to do better. They should always be working to improve themselves.

9. Do you have any role models that you aspire to be like?

A. I aspire to be like the people that have changed children's lives forever. I think of people like Dr. Seuss, Walt Disney and Fred Rodgers. I would like to be someone that changes education and the lives of children just as those men did.

10. What is one piece of advice that you would give to all the other teachers in the world?

A. Keep trying to get better. You can become the best teacher possible, but you've got to work hard and always try your best.

P.S.

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