My name is KaLeah and I'm a teacher.
That sounds like a simplistic statement, but teaching is one of those jobs that permeates your identity. I've been a teacher for 16 years and in that time, it has become the case that you can't talk to me long without finding out that I'm a teacher. It informs many of my opinions. It dictates much of my schedule. It's also a profession that I'm very proud to be a part of. I come from a family of teachers. My grandparents taught during segregation and through integration. My mother and great aunts were teachers as well. I grew up at school, in my mother and grandmother's classrooms. I always told my students that I went into the family business and that when I walked into my classroom, they were all there with me, so I had to get it right. To that end, I try to continue learning and evolving as an educator. I do not have children of my own; I always say my students are my children. Having seen many of them go onto post secondary education and have careers and families of their own has been a great joy to me. I hope that the work I've done helped - in some minor way - put them in position to live the lives they desired. However, they would all be happy to know that I did finally get the dog I talked about for many, many years. I have a dog named Lola who is energetic and likes to wear dog clothes. |