Welcome to This Teacher's Journey

It's been a long time coming. A place to house all those thoughts, all those stories. Every day in a classroom is a brand new adventure, and I have had seventeen years of adventures. This Teacher's Journey has been spinning around in my mind for a while now, just waiting to be set free. I know that my life as a teacher has influenced my views, changed my thinking, and shaped me in numerous ways, and it is time for me not only share the stories of my own experience, but to share the stories of the educators, advocates, and others who have shaped me as a teacher. 

When I started teaching, we barely used computers in the classroom. I bubbled in attendance on a scantron form at the end of each day and calculated my grades by hand. No, it wasn't fifty years ago, it was 2001. Since I started my career as a teacher, so much has changed, including me. My first year teaching I was a naive twenty-something who thought I could work magic with a piece of chalk and an overhead projector. In reality, the most magical thing that happened that year was that I kept on teaching when it was over. 

My college education had equipped me with knowledge and philosophy. My student teaching had provided me with tricks of the trade and an insider look at systems and routines. Nothing prepared me to be in charge of 150 eleven-year-olds for seven hours a day.

Somehow, despite the tears, the self-doubt, and the trail and error, I did it. I finished a school year, and then another, and then another. Insert moving to a new school and teaching five different courses over the span of five years, and I slowly started to grow into my own skin. About five years in, I really hit my stride. I finally understood what it meant to have a "philosophy of education."

As five years turned to ten, and ten to fifteen, my eyes opened to the possibility that not only could I be a confident, masterful educator, but that I could use my voice to not only teach students about the world but to advocate for education, educators, and students. 

So, here it is. This Teacher's Journey. Thank you for joining me.