My Path To Teaching...

I, like many other special education teachers, decided to go into this field because of my own experiences as a child.  In the early 1970’s, while I was in kindergarten, I was diagnosed as dyslexic and hyperactive. This was before anyone had used the diagnosis ADHD.   I was subsequently shipped off to another elementary school where I attended class with the other 9 “special” students in the district.  I spent 1st and 2nd grade in my “special” class.  Let me interject here quickly and add that I am not complaining at all about being in such a small class, I really think that it was beneficial for me.  The problem was, apparently in 3rd grade I was miraculously healed of all afflictions and sent to join the “regular” class back at my home school (remember this was the 1970’s).  I was given no support whatsoever, and as you can imagine, I started out OK but quickly fell further and further behind.

School became more and more difficult for me as the years went on.  Finally, in 5th grade I had the answer as to why I struggled so much…My teacher made it very clear to me that I was “lazy” and “stupid”.  She reminded me of this on a regular basis.  While this was a harsh reality for me it finally explained why school was so hard.  Oddly enough this knowledge made school much easier for me.  Since I was stupid I really didn’t need to try because I wasn’t going to learn anyway, right??  Throughout middle school I continued to accept my intellectual limitations.  

High school began as a nightmare, but I soon realize that what I lacked in brains I made up for in humor (often self-deprecating, go figure!).  In the meantime, I became friends for a girl from my middle school, she was the kind of person that barely had to study to get A’s (but she studied anyway, overachiever!) I soon began to really look up to her and wanted to be just like her, but how could I? I was dumb! I really wanted to be smart, but could I be smart simply because I wanted it bad enough, I didn’t think it worked that way, but what did I know.  Junior year I wanted to be in the college track English class.  I knew I wasn’t going to college, but all my friends were in the class.  I had two teachers, one of them, Mr. Foley, called on me to answer questions all the time (the nerve, didn’t he know I was dumb?).  Much to my surprise I got the answers right some of the time… and some of the time they were wrong, but he made me see that it was OK to make mistakes sometimes.  Finally, senior year rolled around and again I was in college track English class.  We spend most of the first semester writing the dreaded documented research paper (insert your own menacing music here…) My teacher Mr. Clish offered help to all students, and I took him up on it, a LOT!  For the first time I really tried on an assignment.  Finally, the day came when we got our papers back.  There were two teachers in my class the other teacher wrote in beautiful calligraphy the names of all the students who “aced” the documented research paper.  Naturally, my name was not there (remember, I was dumb).  As Mr. Clish was handing out papers he noticed that one of the students who received an “A” was not on the board.  He walked up and in his horrible handwriting (I loved him, but he had the handwriting of a doctor!) he wrote my name.  That was the first moment since 5th grade that I thought, maybe I am smart (not rocket scientist mind you, but not quite a box of rocks either!)  

After high school, I did go to college, just a local liberal arts college to get my Associates degree.  My first semester things started to click for me… I finally started to understand what a learning disability was, and that I was not cured of that pesky “hyperactivity”.   I realized that I needed to develop strategies for myself to be successful.  I then went on to a large 4 year school and decided that classes of 75 students was not for me.  I finished off at a private college in Chicago.  Since I really didn’t think I would go to college I didn’t put as much thought into my college education as I should have.  I did consider education but I really felt that I lacked the maturity to be a teacher.  

During college I fell into a job at a local bank and there I stayed for 17 years.  I finally decided that I needed a career that was more fulfilling, for me,  than banking.  So, I decided to go back to school to be a special education teacher.  9 years later I am still teaching!

While I am certainly not a candidate for teacher of the year, I always make sure that my students know that even though it takes them longer than their peers to learn something, they are smart.  “Stupid” and “lazy” are two works that are NEVER allowed in my classroom.   I am the teacher that often pushes my student to do what they don’t think they can do (I know they can do it!).  I don’t accept students who give up, I ignore students when they say “I can’t do it” and walk them through it until they can.  I celebrate their victories big and small.  Finally, I still deal with everything in my life with humor (how else does a teacher make it through the year without running screaming through the halls)!  

I hope that my story will inspire, entertain, and more importantly make you think about why you do what you do, and what a profound impact you have on the lives of children.  

Sue Flood