It's been a
heck of a ride.
It's hard to
believe it's over.
The road to
becoming an educator started in my early years. A love for books. A
neighborhood full of kids. A learning-rich, nurturing, stable home environment
provided by Mom and Dad. An energetic, amazing, and inspiring fourth grade
teacher. A sibling nine years younger who was, in so many ways, my first
'student'. A strong support network of adults, including doting grandparents
and loving Aunts who made me feel like a million bucks via their guidance,
love, selflessness, and kindness.
I felt
passionate about working with children. A four year stint as assistant coach
for Dad's Little League team and a summer job as the YMCA's youth sports
coordinator only solidified the decision to select a career of working with
kids and in turn, making the choice to major in elementary education at
Northern Illinois University an easy one.
Student
teaching at Jefferson Elementary School in DeKalb, IL arrived in the fall of
1990. Mrs. Ippolitti was near the end of her long career and ran an extremely
structured, yet highly creative second grade classroom. I learned countless
things from her during those 16 weeks, with classroom management techniques and
the importance of daily preparation at the top of the list. She had a positive,
indelible influence on my budding career.
Graduation
arrived in December of 1990. The day before graduation I was hired as an ESL
aide at Jefferson; most of my time was spent working with two wonderful
Asian-American boys. I taught them English and they taught me a bit of Chinese
in return. We learned, joked, laughed, and had an incredibly fun time that
semester.
The summer of
1991 saw me job hunting. Resumes went out to schools all over Illinois but I
didn't land a job until mid-August, less than two weeks before the school year
was set to begin. Warren, Illinois, population around 1,400, was my new home. I
scrambled, finding housing, setting up my new classroom, and learning the
district's third grade curriculum all in a mad dash of eleven calendar days.
I settled in
fairly quickly in Warren. The kids were great and the people overall were nice,
but it became clear to me within a few months that a big city boy landing in a
small country town was never going to be a match. When the superintendent came
to me in March sharing how much he loved having me there, yet wouldn't be able
to offer me a position the following year because of low enrollment/staff
reduction, I was relieved. I was now able to ask for a recommendation without
feeling awkward.
In late May of
'92 I laughed at the irony of the Red Hot Chili Peppers singing, 'I don't ever
wanna feel like I did that day' on the radio as I left town. I did want to feel
this way. It was the beginning of summer vacation, and I was surely on to
bigger (city) and better (horizons) in my teaching career.
Alas, that
summer saw frustration mount as the days went by. I had a year's experience and
great references......but no job. Finally, just as I was about to resign myself to
a school year of substituting, a principal from South Beloit, Illinois called
in early August and stated she was 'just hired yesterday, they tell me I need a
third grade teacher, and your resume is on my desk.'
I had an
interview with her the next day and left it both angry and frustrated, as her
questions were too general; the interview itself was done in less than 15
minutes.
Five hours
later she called to offer me the job.
I learned later
she had already targeted me for the position and just needed to meet me briefly
in person to confirm her choice. I was so excited to have a job that I
completely forgot to ask how much my salary would be during that initial phone
call!
Another late
summer scramble for housing and room preparations ensued before life started to
settle into a new routine. About six months into that first year as a South
Beloit Sobo I made the decision to stay in the area long-term. Lower cost of
living than the suburbs. Friendly people. Little/no crime. No traffic jams.
Aurora/family was 90 minutes away. Upon being granted tenure a year plus into
the job, I officially had a new long-term home.
A clear pattern
began to emerge in the ensuing years. The most challenging second grader
(usually a boy) in the school would inevitably be placed in my third grade room
every fall, and there were times I had #'s 1, 2, and 3 on that 'challenging'
list all in the same year. I became an expert at classroom management, out of
both practice and necessity. Structure and routine were key elements to my days.
Fun, learning, and laughter were certainly prominent as well.
The national
testing era began in the early 2000's, and it changed a lot of things in
education. The differences didn't occur overnight, but it was clear that test
scores were becoming the most important element of a child's education in the
eyes of the powers that be. Some of the joys of teaching began to be sapped
from the profession because of testing, little by little, with each ensuing
year.
The school
years continued to go by. Some of them saw classes that were a pure joy to be
with daily. Others triggered stress and sleepless nights. Wonderful children
mixed with heartbreaking stories. Caring parents mixed with apathetic ones.
Amazing moments mixed with varying challenges.
Highlights of
the days were consistent over the years. The Beverly Cleary read-alouds. Giant
Step. Joking with the class. Everyday conversations with 8/9 year olds. The
'light bulb' moments. All-time QB during recess football games. Classroom
holiday parties. I'll miss all of those. Terribly.
This past
August my wife and I made the tentative decision to make the 2019-20 school
year my last one, which was solidified after a meeting with an Illinois
teacher's retirement official last October. From that moment forward it became
surreal knowing it was my last Halloween, last Christmas concert, last
Valentine's Party, last go around for everything as a third grade teacher.
COVID-19 turned
the last two plus months of my career into bizarre, uncharted territory. E-learning
took away the daily human interactions with third graders that I thrived on. My
last day as a third grade teacher physically in the classroom ended like any
other school day. No hugs or tears, as none of us knew in the moment that March
13th was the end of our school year together. It was certainly a less than
ideal way to end it all.
Looking back, I
can't help but think about the fact I was not just an instructor in the
classroom. I was also a role model, leader, cheerleader, actor, motivator, planner,
teammate, nurse, comedian, organizer, disciplinarian, father figure, counselor,
mentor, and friend.
Now here I am
on May 21st, 2020. It's the last day of a career that officially began in 1991,
yet saw those beginnings occur as a boy growing up in the 1970's at the end of
a cul-de-sac on Northfield Drive. That boy was able to live out his simple
dream, a career of helping children.
Hopefully I
helped to make my students not just smarter, but most importantly, better
people overall.
Hopefully the world is just a little better
place as a result of me being a third grade teacher.
