I did not set out to write this book.
My first teaching job was as a K-8 special ed teacher, which really had me working with grades 3-6. And while I fell in love with the students and the staff, it quickly became evident that I didn't belong in an elementary school. I got married and tried to start a family; we learned quickly that we'd become fertility patients to make that happen. When I got a call from the IVF center during an IEP meeting, I knew I couldn't keep teaching. By some miracle, we conceived our first child, and then our second, and I was the SAHM and Nanny for our best friend's kids. As an aside, those 7 years were the best of my life: 4 kids, 3 years apart, with the occasional other child in the mix. It was magical, and I was all about it.
But kids grow up and go to school, as they are want to do, and I realized I needed to return to the workforce. At first, I didn't think I'd go back to teaching: I knew I didn't want to teach elementary school even with my K-8 special ed and gen ed certificates. I wasn't certified to teach high school, yet anyway. And while I loved working with kids who needed special ed supports, I didn't really want to jump back into that paperwork arena. I had tutored some kids who'd been in alternative ed, which was a new program since I'd been to college. It was designed as the crossover between special ed and regular ed, but became the place where kids who were at risk for not graduating with their 4 year cohort landed.
When my youngest 2 (it's complicated to explain, but I have 4 kids, 2 of which I birthed myself, and 2 my best friends did) went to kindergarten, I thought I'd have a year of subbing to figure it out. Turns out the Universe had other plans, because the alt ed teacher in my district resigned within the first month of school. I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring, but didn't expect it would take.
But it did, and so began a 17 year career teaching a revolving group of kids who, collectively, had given up on school.
Over that tenure, we created a cool kids club, where our classroom became a space in which they wanted to be. Kids graduated or withdrew, came back or transferred elsewhere. Some years we created a truce umbrella, while other years found us making pillows in geometry class. We moved rooms every 3 years, almost to the date. Each cohort was unique, and each one special in it's own way. Outside of motherhood, it is the most incredible thing I've ever done.
I'm the school social worker now: Covid and the resulting shutdowns mixed with my age and my changing health made it clear I needed a different role. I'd earned my MSW in 2019, and was able to transfer into this role within my district. It was the right move and I have no regrets... but sometimes, I miss the culture we created together. We all come to alt ed for a reason, even me. What I found was a space where I could teach academics and social skills simultaneously. I could teach unconditional love, making good choices, and how to write a 5 paragraph essay all at once. It was the Venn Diagram of education and social work. It was me.
I am writing this book as a way to share the things I've learned as a lifetime educator. My approach is not designed for anyone but me, anymore than I would absorb someone else's approach. My hope is it will share some insight on what I found effective, especially as modern public education in America is under constant surveillance. My approach is not radical--at least to my eyes, anyway--but it is non-traditional. Perhaps it allows you to consider your role as an educator in a different light; perhaps you throw the book down sputtering about this crazy woman and her truisms; if we're being honest (and we are always honest), this book is written for me. It is a way to document what I stumbled into and found to be immensely effective. I hope you find the same for yourself, in whatever way it develops.
