My name is Janet DeMeester. I am an elementary education major with an integrated science major as well. I have always wanted to be a teacher. *Fun Fact: DeMeester is dutch and stands for The Master or The Teacher.* Many people I know have tried to talk me out of teaching. I have even had professors who were unsure and urged me to contemplate my career. I refuse to give up though. I continue to try hard and learn new things everyday. After all isn't that what teaching is about? Learning and growing with your students and creating lasting knowledge and memories that connect to one another.
When I'm not teaching and studying, I am typically working. I have worked several jobs throughout the past 4 years. When I say several I mean I worked multiple jobs at a time. at one point I was working 5 jobs and going to school full time. I love to keep busy but I also love to escape.
My true escape is reading and watching TV series. I get so into reading and these shows that I feel I am the main characters. It's a nice change to pretend that the struggle of my own life has subsided and I am someone else for a few hours.
I have a dog and a cat and I am currently working on training my dog to do agility. His name is totem and he is a Morkie (Maltese-yorkie) and he is 5 years old. He's such a bright dog and follows me around like my little shadow.
Hi Janet, I love how your last name means "The teacher." It seems as if a teaching career is simply meant to be for you. I also have had some people try to talk me out of teaching, but I want to spend my life doing something that I am passionate about. Nice dog! My life would be a lot easier if my dog was as obedient as Totem. :)
ReplyDeleteTo both of you, you will get that a lot from both friends and family, particularly if they are (or know) educators already in the field. It's a pretty toxic climate right now, and the perks that compensated for a lower salary (vacation, benefits, pension) are dwindling. Always acknowledge their concerns, but also be ready to defend your choices.
ReplyDeleteJanet, I definitely relate as well to people wanting to talk me out of teaching. I get it almost daily actually. It's gotten so bad that I'm getting annoyed. But, we know what we love and we love kids and teaching. What books do you like to read? I know we had Pamela's reading class together but I lost your profile we did. If you'd like some suggestions I can share some of my favorites as well. Let me know.
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