There are many reasons or people that led me to my chosen career path of teacher. When I look back through my years as a student there are two people in particular who stick out to me the most. Thank you to Luckeyfrog's Lilypad for helping me to remember the why.
The first wonderful lady in my life was Mrs. Buffington. She was my 2nd grade teacher and I thought the world of her. When I look back on our time together I see how she really helped me to embrace my love of helping and teaching. One story in particular makes me giggle when I think about our year together. Please keep in mind I am not proud of this event, but it was a tell tale sign that I would grow up to be a teacher. One day Mrs. Buffington was out sick or at a meeting (because you know we attend a ton of those). There was of course a substitute and you know nothing good usually comes from having a sub. Mrs. Buffington had a stack of worksheets on a shelf in the back of the room. Anytime there were extras she would put them on the shelf. A couple of friends and I got the bright idea to take some of those worksheets, so we could play school. I took it to the next level and also took some workbooks. We were able to carefully sneak them into our backpacks. When I got home, my friend and I were playing school in my room with the door closed. Again, nothing good comes from a closed door. My mom came in and caught us with the stolen goods. This is where I gave major props to my parents. The next morning they marched me into school and took me to my classroom. I had to tell Mrs. Buffington what I did the day before. I was mortified! She was very sweet about the whole thing and just had me return the workbooks. I'm pretty sure she was able to see what I would one day become. Thank you Mrs. Buffington for a wonderful year!
The second lady came into my life much later. She was my high school Spanish teacher and we all called her Señora Shinovich. She was the spunkiest and most exciting teacher in the whole school. She was the reason I continued to take Spanish classes in high school. She actually made me want to become a Spanish teacher (I ended up in elementary education). The other day I ran into her in COSTCO. I looked at her and said, "Señora?" She recognized me immediately! It has been over 10 years since I sat in her classroom, not to mention I was 9 months pregnant with two other children climbing out of the cart. That meant the world to me that after all of the students who came and went through the years she remembered me. Thank you Señora for being a positive influence in my life!
Both of these ladies are the reason why I am who I am today. I love teaching and I am sure it is because of their infectious personalities and desire to teach. I hope to one day become that for one of my students.
I would love to hear about your teacher hero and I bet they would also love to hear it too! Reach out to your teacher hero while you can.
To help celebrate all of you teacher heros TPT is having a sale. Today you can get up to 28% off anything in my store. Just be sure to use the code HEROES.
