I am a 61 year old white

Submitted by Kathleen Petrelli (not verified) on September 16, 2006 - 05:53.

I am a 61 year old white female Career and Technical Education teacher (aka Vocational Education) and I have been teaching for over twenty years in the School District of Philadelphia.

But one thing I know is that most of my students don't look at me and see the person I have described in the above statement.

They know I'm smart, funny and crazy at times. They know I really care about them and will do anything to help them find their place in this world.

I know them…I know who likes to rap, who can draw, who likes anime, who listens to music and who can play music, who skateboards, who plays sports and who is just a spectator. I know who is good in academic subjects and who needs help.

Because I know all these things about each and every student of mine, I know how to make the technology available in my Digital Media Arts class work for them. I want them to see the big picture! I want them to have dreams and a backup plan.

It doesn't really matter what a teacher is (male, female, old, young, white, black, green, blue) what does matter is the ability of the teacher to connect with each and every student.

I will never be as good at what I do as they deserve, but it won't be because I didn't try.

These are the things I think are important if you plan on a career in education.

Reply

Share your thoughts on this story. Please increase the credibility of your post by including your name and city, and by demonstrating respect for others' opinions. Comments will not appear immediately; all comments are moderated and will be posted in order of submission.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options