New Beginnings

Dear reader,
It's almost 1:00 in the morning and I decided that I couldn't live one more moment without creating a blog...so here I am. Blogging. I am not very techno-savvy...so please excuse me from not having marvelous pics, images or what-have-you. These things will come in time. Being that I am not an English major...please forgive any spelling and punctuation errors...misquoted quotes, garbled idoms and mangled metaphors. This is purely from the heart, and late in the evening, well...early morning.

I am a teacher. Not just a teacher, but one who has the privilege of teaching kids with special needs. I've been at this business now, for 22 years, and probably will be for the next 15 or so, depending on when my brain wears out, and my kids finish college. I teach in a vocational high school setting and all of my kids are juniors and seniors.
The span of learners I work with come to me with labels such as ADHD, learning disabled, hearing impaired, cognitively challenged, emotionally disabled, autistic, Asberger's Syndrome, Down's Syndrome, Tramitic Brain Injury, emotionally, environmentally and sometimes physically starved. I've taught kids from the wealthiest ends of town, to kids that have come from homes with no water or food, and have been wards of the state and passed through families and "systems". They walk into my classroom each year...not knowing what to expect, sometimes scared, shy or bashful, sometimes flippant or cocky...but looking for validation, respect and someone who quite possibly may have the right trick up their sleeve that flips their switch and makes their lightbulb glow. ( Mind you...not all light bulbs have the same wattage...but they are light bulbs none-the-less.)
I love to teach. I didn't set out to be in this noble profession...it found me. On a daily basis, I am immersed in college-prep Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physical Science, both in inclusion class rooms and in my own self contained class room. I can talk Kelvins, quarks and alpha decay...I can talk health, hygiene and insurance forms. This is why I love this job so much. It's never the same...and I always learn more from my students than they ever learn from me. Being a teacher is a good thing. Being a special education teacher, for me particularly, is a great thing.

Now with all that being said...I guess I can offically start to blog. I'm not sure which direction this will take...so hang on for a (hopefully) interesting ride!