Teach

      Think back to when you were a child. Some children dream about being a superhero or a fire fighter. I may have said that, but; more often than not said “When I grow up I wanna be a teacher!” If you have known me for any length of time, chances are you've heard me say this!  Many, like Aunt Sandy, have told me that's what I was born to do! Ever since I can remember I've wanted to be a teacher. Sure, I've had other aspirations along the way; (writer, veterinarian, physiologist, anything at Disney World, chef, the list goes on!) but, the one that truly stuck was teacher! I'm sure this dream started in 1st grade and was heightened in 4th. My favorite teacher was Ms. Brown. She was fun, funny and I learned a lot! I remember she made everything fun! I looked forward to come to school every day, these two years. I wish I could say this about every teacher but for every great one there is usually a bad one. In middle school, I had one teacher who was terrible. I hated to see lunch end; because, I went to her class afterwards! To this day, I'm convinced she rode a broom! I often looked for it outside! This May have hindered some people from wanting to pursue a career; but, this made me want to be a teacher even more! I wanted to make school fun for children; like Ms. Brown did for me for two years! Well, I finally landed my first teaching job at a school with 40 kids! Yes! You read that correctly 40! I can't believe the first year of my first "big boy job" is over! 

    This year was quite the experience for me. I learned a lot! Did I love it every second? No! Some children are very challenging; however, the challenges are a learning experience! I made several mistakes. Finally, towards the last few weeks, I feel like I'm not completely lost. I'm starting to understand how to effectively instruct and how to be strict! (This is my weakest teacher attribute!) A few students in the past three weeks have said “Woah, Mr. Rader, you're getting strict in your old age!” Am I there yet? No! Most teachers tell me it took about 2 ½ years to feel like they had a grip on things! Apparently, I still have 1 ½ years left just to get the grip! (Great!) Learning is a process and I believe you aren't finished until you take your final breath! 

     My jobs at this school were Special Ed Teacher by morning and PE teacher by afternoon! Let's start with PE. I didn't love it! I am not an athletic person and have never claimed to be. I was decent at kickball and that's about it! Trying to get kids excited about PE when you hate it yourself is a hard task! I guess I wasn't terrible; because, most kids didn't groan when I said “lineup!” When the principal told me I would be Special Ed and PE I immediately had mixed feelings! I was excited and scared! I have always thought being a Special Ed teacher would be awesome! I had always said “I'll never be a PE teacher!” God has a sense of humor! Well, I hope He had a good almost 10 months of laughter!

      Now, let's move onto Special Ed. I loved this part of my job so much! Everyday (well almost everyday) I lived for this part of my job! I loved working in small groups and being able to see the progression of students! I saw huge progress with many students, not just my special ed students but also my “intervention” students! Through testing results, goal-setting and end of the year awards that were given out, I know I have made a difference! Nothing is more rewarding than when you see “The Lightbulb Moment!” With students that struggle sometimes it may seem like it's never gonna click; but, when they do, it's worth celebrating! Nothing makes you feel like more like you're in the right place when students want to share their successes with you! The things the students do and say make me feel like I also was meant to be here. One gave me a hug everyday. Another said "Mr. Rader is my favorite thing about the school" in a survey! Also, when you see how at first they aren't overly excited about your existence, then they give you a hug or say "I love you!" That's when you know you've broken through that barrier!  I could go on; but, you get the picture. 

        I loved getting to work with every kid in the school every single day! I know this is not a reality at over 99% of schools in the world! How lucky am I that I got to experience that for a year? I ended up working in every class daily and then I would take the students while teachers did lesson plans or whatever needed accomplished! The staff there were great people. We were pretty close-knit. I was lucky to work with the staff I did! Stacy and Valerie gave me lots of good tips and I got to see them teach in action! They are awesome! Leatha and I made a great team! I also had some great parents and grandparents of my students, who were encouraging, Kayla, Tammy and Lisa. I know not every school has such great people! It is odd working at a school for the first year when you knew it would be your last. Its sad for the community to see something special to so many people be shut down. While the school is closing Dixie Elementary will always have a special place in my heart! I will be forever grateful to have worked here for a year! From May 2014-present day I have grown up a lot and teaching children was a huge part of that process for me!
         Feel free to like, share and comment!